Interaction, dialogue and a creative spirit of inquiry

The aim of technology and design is ‘to enable all pupils to become confident and responsible in solving real life problems, striving for creative solutions, independent learning, product excellence and social consciousness’ (NICC 1991: 15). A main aim of the present study was to create an environment and climate for learning that would enhance design capability and problem solving. To achieve this, pupils from two Year 7 classes (mean age 11 years-old) were organised into groups of four as creative learning communities. Working collaboratively and co-operatively pupils were able to discuss, clarify, brainstorm, think through their ideas, negotiate and arrive at a shared contextual understanding for their talking, thinking, planning and making. A local story was used as a stimulus for critical and creative thinking and as the platform for design and technology activity. Methodology included digital video and audio recordings, picture capture, classroom observation, pupil and teacher semi-structured interviews, teacher logs, researcher field notes, project evaluation. Findings, from the transcripts of classroom-based discussions, showed that active participation and careful scaffolding of the learning by the teachers, enabled pupils to achieve at a higher level than they would have done if left unassisted. Individual creativity and problem solving was enhanced, as evidenced by the high levels of pupil engagement in the process and diversity of pupil outcomes. Dialogue, interaction and a creative spirit of inquiry were significant in the teaching-learning process. As technologists, pupils were learning how to learn and thinking how to think within a context that was real and of interest to them.