Gatsby Teacher Fellowships

2007-08 Final projects
Click here for more details

you are here: home> projects > 2006-2007: Design and Technology> project 87

Literacy in Technology

	School: The City of Portsmouth Boys’ School, Portsmouth
	Fellow: Helen Cushion
	Email: Helen_Cushion@yahoo.co.uk

Interim report:

Background

Attending the June Seminar was great in many ways however it did also cause me many problems in so far as it inspired me with a whole host of ideas that I wanted to put into practice at school. I had recently been promoted to Subject Leader and within days of the seminar I was changing the curriculum and meeting with the Design and Technology LEA advisor for guidance. Consequently my work load increased dramatically. At the same time I was also accepted on a Masters course in Design and Technology Education and became a Lead Practitioner in Engineering. It appeared that one minute my main concern was year 9 lesson plans and the next I was organising seminars and conferences!
The aim of my Gatsby project was to create resources that could be given to newly qualified Design and Technology teachers to help them meet the Literacy objectives. I took the opportunity of slightly decreasing my work load by using Literacy as my action research project for my MSc. By doing so it meant that I could focus on gaining all the background research required for my Gatsby project. Consequently I was able to use some of the Gatsby money (about £300) to allow me to spend three days researching and writing my paper.

My research paper

From my research I found out that there is no real definition as to what Literacy is and that Literacy levels completely depend on how it is assessed. For instanc,e I became aware that in many countries the levels of Literacy are based on how many years students have attended school regardless of how well they can read and write. As a result of this some countries may show high Literacy levels even though compared to the UK they may actually be quite low. It also became very clear within my research that Literacy was directly related to social inclusion. I found that there was evidence that prison populations and fertility rates rose as the levels of Literacy fell. For instance, according to the Literacy Company, more than three out of four people in America that are on welfare, 85% of unwed mothers and 68% of those arrested are illiterate. About three in five of America's prison inmates are illiterate. With regards to Literacy in the Design and Technology classroom I realised that one of the main barriers was that teachers weren’t actually trained or used to planning Literacy within their lessons. They just didn’t know how to other than spellings and vocabulary. The Literacy Strategy was implemented by the Labour Government when they realised that low levels of Literacy were having a fundamental effect on the economy. The National Strategy document Literacy and Learning in Design and Technology helps to guide teachers through the three main areas of the Literacy Framework including learning through talk, from text and through writing. However, this is quite a time consuming document to read and the tasks aren’t easily transferable to schemes of work. I discovered links between talking and writing and it is this relationship that I chose to focus on for my action research.

My Action research

My action research project is due to begin during the forthcoming term. I intend to focus on a group of year 9 students who I will be seeing once a week for 8 weeks. My action plan is as follows:

Action	Method	Success Criteria
Assessment of current Literacy standards (baseline data)	Research individual KS2 SAT results	Recognise a control group of students to work with
Assessment of baseline data	Record CAT results and reading age	Determine the less and more able students in the group
Assessment of base line objective data	Create a baseline assessment including presentation and written test	Create a baseline set of data to compare with final results
Assessment of group	Record of IEP’s and medical history of students	Identify students who have extenuating circumstances
Record subjective data	Video or transcribe classroom discussions and presentations,	Baseline data to show improvement
Record objective data	Identify written work within the group that is suitable for improvement	Work is identified and suggestions for improvement noted
Introduce Literacy skills in talking in group	See DfES 6006 2004 (appendix)	Improved Oral skills with regards to Design and Technology
Introduce Literacy skills in listening to group	See DfES 6006 2004 (appendix)	Improved Listening skills with regards to Design and Technology
Introduce Literacy skills in writing to group	See DfES 6006 2004 (appendix)	Improved Written skills with regards to Design and Technology
Record subjective data	Video or transcribe classroom discussions and presentations,	Ongoing data to show improvement
Record objective data	Identify improved written work within the group	Work is identified and improvement noted
Record attendance	Registers	To ensure students are well prepared for their tasks
Interview students regarding presentations	Find out what students considered key issues about a presentation	Concur that their key issues were the same as the intended key issues
Record student involvement in improving their Design and Technology Literacy skills	Question students	Students understand why Literacy is fundamental to their education in Design and Technology
Improve learning environment of students with regard to their experience of Literacy in Design and Technology	Scaffold templates/ posters Teacher Observations regarding the use of Technical language in lessons	Students are immersed in Literacy as soon as they enter the Design and Technology classroom enabling them to become fluid in the language of Technology
Collect data and Analyse	Use all the above data to record any improvements in students writing	Students will have improved their listening, oral and writing skills

Reflection

I wasn’t initially planning on researching Literacy in so much detail but on reflection I think that my Gatsby Project would be quite superficial if I hadn’t spent so long ensuring that I fully understood what Literacy was. I spent a long time researching Literacy in Design Technology and spent £50 buying a Literacy resource that is currently available. I found this product similar to what I was initially proposing in so far as it included spellings and wordsearches. However, having completed my research I now realise that, although these resources do have value Literacy is far more complex and needs more sophisticated strategies if standards are going to be raised. Consequently I am going to research as to whether my resources actually affect the fundamental Literacy capabilities of those students who use them. The results of my research will determine if the resources that I am creating are beneficial in a Design and Technology classroom.

The Future

Now that I have done the research I can focus on creating the Literacy resources in line with the national strategy. I am in the process of creating the starter/plenary activities that can be used as fun literacy reminders. However, I think that my main project is now going to be directly related to the Literacy and Learning in Design Technology document. This will involve creating a number of worksheets and powerpoint presentations to help guide students in their reading, writing, talking and listening within Design and Technology. All the activities and worksheets will be bound in a photocopiable work book with a cd for newly qualified teachers to down load. I have gained the support of BAE SYSTEMS to help create this resource and a number of posters for teachers to refer to. I think that if I can show clear evidence that my resources have improved Literacy within technology then the work book will be justified. When I originally created my action plan I was hoping to have created all the resources by December 06. Unfortunately, due to my extended research period, I’m not as far ahead as I thought I would be. This is not a set back though, as the time I’ve spent researching has been very worthwhile. It is, however, a slight change of direction. I hope it will have a beneficial outcome with the result being more superior resources than originally planned!