Learning about structures: a pilot study comparing physical and IT - based models

It has been argued elsewhere that models as used in design & technology education may be seen not only as information carriers, but also as capable of modelling conceptual structures, and conceptual relations. When models are carefully produced to carry out the latter function perspicuously, they can fulfil a teaching role which is quite distinct from their role as information carriers. However, our researches, both into much of the current literature dealing with the uses of models in teaching and learning, and into the everyday uses of modelling activities in the classroom, indicate that models and modelling activities are often not as pedagogically effective as they might be. One of the main difficulties highlighted in earlier discussions is that designers of models and modelling materials, particularly those used in pedagogic contexts, tend to assume that these models are more transparent to the learner than they actually are. This transparency factor as we may describe it, is an important consideration if models are to serve not only as effective carriers and communicators of information, but also as pedagogic devices for the teaching of key concepts in design & technology education.