Educational research as a foundation for curriculum development in D&T

Educational research has been criticized for being inaccessible to practising teachers and both removed from and irrelevant to their needs. Seldom does the research inform curriculum development, the production of learning materials, or their effective use in the classroom. Earlier research by the authors revealed limitations in pupils’ constructional skills, technical knowledge and aesthetic appreciation as they develop a solution to a design and make task. Knowledge of these limitations and the design procedures adopted by the pupils informed the development of a Capability Task and a suite of Resource Tasks so that the same design and make task could be used in a classroom setting. Current research is providing insights into ways in which teachers can be introduced to a pedagogy and the development of curriculum materials. The results of this work are, in turn, providing the basis for the development of more general model for using research findings to inform the design of curriculum materials and associated pedagogy.