Cognitive development and technology education at secondary level : matching abilities to the demands of the curriculum.

This investigation was designed to explore the relationship between pupils' cognitive
level of development and their response to design and technology curriculum. The
purposes of the investigation were to (a) analyse the cognitive level of the pupils, (b)
analyse the cognitive demands of design and technology in the National Curriculum,
(c) develop a series of cognitively based questions dealing with design and
technology, (d) determine whether pupils respond successfully to design and
technology that was appropriately matched to their cognitive level of development.
To accomplish these goals, pupils from schools across two inner London Boroughs
were selected. The investigator selected and analysed design and technology in the
National Curriculum using a design and technology taxonomy developed for the
investigation. The taxonomy was designed using a Piagetian-type framework and
modelled after the taxonomy developed by Shayer and Adey. The investigator
developed practical tasks and some written questions that were administered to the
pupils. All responses to the investigator's practical tasks and written questions were
recorded and analysed using not only the Structure of Observed Learning Outcome
(SOLO) Response taxonomy, but also developmentally. Data from Piaget's test of
formal reasoning was collected and compared to the pupil's performance in design
and technology tasks.
The results indicated that (a) analysing pupil's responses to questions that were
cognitively rated provided a developmental sequence of the characteristics of the
different cognitive levels. (b) pupils will respond to questions that are matched to their
cognitive level of development. (c) the pupil's cognitive level of development and not
the age of the student are related to hislher mean cognitive level of response. (d) in
predicting a pupil's mean cognitive level, the most significant variables will be the
mean cognitive level of the question and the pupil's design and technology
achievement. (e) a taxonomy for estimating the level of thinking demanded by design
and technology can be developed. (f) pupils in the early years tended to repeat actions
(operation) illogically, then become increasingly logical (systematically as they
progress through the years. (g) technological thinking judged from the tests
administered, involves factors that include 'general ability (intelligence)" 'perceptual
analysis (spatial ability)', 'function/structure', 'practical ability', 'systematic/logical
thinking', and 'science reasoning'. Curriculum implications for the development of
design and technology curriculum, teaching and in-service training are drawn.