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Designing
and Making for Children With Special Needs |
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School: St James Church
of England Middle School, Bury St Edmunds |
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Fellow: Ricky Wilkinson |
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Email: Ricky5844@aol.com |
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Aim |
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To develop exemplar design
and making activities for pupils engaged
on National Curriculum Design and Technology
based on the requirements of children
with special needs |
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To disseminate good practice through
INSET, Conferences, lectures, exhibitions
and seminars |
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Description |
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Pupils have visited schools
and centres for children with special needs
to identify opportunities for design and making
projects within the National Curriculum. As
a result of this research, they produce artefacts,
which are reviewed by their "clients".
The process is highly motivational and boys’
underachievement is not noticeable. Indeed,
in many cases, achievement has been outstanding
for the ability levels. The results have featured
in Channel 4’s "Technology to Order"
programme and been displayed at the 1998 Design
and Technology Education Show. |
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Continuing work has been undertaken to record
case studies and observations of pupils’
work, including their motivation and achievement
levels and to research new design opportunities
for problem solving work in technology within
the National Curriculum. |
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Outcomes and achievements |
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Slide and video materials
showing exemplar activities |
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Prof. R. McCormick presents the Memorial
Lecture Capability Lost and Found at
NEC Birmingham National Design and Technology
Exhibition (Nov.’98) using research
findings from Ricky Wilkinson’s
Technology teaching methods at Key Stage
3. A research team from Open University
carried out an in depth study and observation
of pupils engaged on design problem
solving in Ricky Wilkinson’s Technology
workshop at St James Middle School |
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Channel 4 TV broadcast programme Technology
to Order in the series Schools at Work
showing designing and making by year
8 pupils from St James Middle School
for other children with special needs
in the community |
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Paper for DATA (Design and Technology
Association) July 1999 Conference -
Opportunities for students to design
and make for the real needs of children
with disabilities - presented by R.Wilkinson
at Royal Court Hotel Coventry |
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Paper by R.Wilkinson presented to
international delegates at the International
Design and Technology Education Research
(IDATER 99) Conference at Loughborough
University (23rd – 25th August
1999) with an exhibition of Key Stage
3 Technology work for the 3 day conference.
Paper title: Key factors relating to
good practice in the teaching and learning
of Key Stage 3 design and technology
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Web page of the project on the IDATER
Loughborough University website |
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Paper accepted for National Design
and Technology with Science Exhibition
Nov. 4th-5th’99 at NEC Birmingham.
Paper title: Designing for other pupils
with special needs – A Key Stage
3 Initiative |
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2 Design and Technology Awards for
excellence presented to the Technology
Department St James Middle School by
NAAIDT – National Association
of Advisors and Inspectors in Design
and Technology |
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Attended an assessment for Curriculum/Community
award for Riverwalk Special School for
the St James Middle School community
link in designing aids for children
with disabilities at the school. The
project was seen as a major part in
the assessment for the award |
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Outline of Project |
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As part of the National Curriculum Design
and Technology course, all year 8 children
at St James Middle School design and make
aids for children with special needs in the
community. Design problems to solve come from
Occupational Therapists, REMAP, Teachers and
carers from special schools, Child Development
Centres and Opportunity groups locally. Often
the problems are telephoned in to the Technology
department directly. These design challenges
are added to a design opportunities list to
be given to the new Technology Group when
they have the first session of their 9 week
Technology course. |
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Children work in Design Groups of 2 or 3
and start with a brainstorming session to
sketch some initial ideas and possible solutions
to one of the challenges from the list of
problems after they have listened to a talk,
watched a video and seen examples of previous
projects. |
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A visit to research the problem is made
by one member of the design group to meet
the child with a special need and discuss
the problem with the Therapist, Teacher or
parent of the child. The design group writes
a design brief and a working sketch enables
them to start making. |
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The device or toy is made in the workshop
by all members of the group using a wide variety
of materials.
Another visit is made to present and test
the finished product and see whether any modifications
are needed using advice from the expert who
set the challenge or from observations with
the child using the product. |
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Successfully completed projects qualify
for a Community Service Volunteer Certificate
(CSV). Pupils are highly motivated especially
after visiting children with disabilities
to research specific design requirements,
and they stay on task well throughout the
nine sessions of 160 minutes. Design teams
know that the benefits to the child with the
disability will be directly attributable to
the success of their project. Underachieving
boys seem to latch on to the notion that it
is "cool" to succeed because the
need is so real. They enjoy working in teams
using the strengths of each member to achieve
the quality needed for a successful design. |
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Children with special needs benefit, not
only by receiving a special aid or toy for
the next stage in their development, but also
by meeting other children in the community.
Some of our young designers continue their
association with the handicapped children
with music performances for them or design
projects when they move to upper school. |
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Examples of projects: |
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A device with a musical
reward to encourage simultaneous control
of both hands in a hemiplegic boy |
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A slow eye tracking device for a child
with poor eye control |
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A farmyard to teach children with
learning difficulties the names, shapes
and sounds of animals |
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A device to hold paper so that a hemiplegic
child can use scissors |
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A jack-in-the-box to be operated and
reset with one hand for children with
co-ordination difficulties |
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A device to encourage recognition
of parts of the body for children with
learning difficulties |
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