Post Graduate Certificate/Diploma in Managing Design and Technology
Sheffield 2008/9 Developing CAD/CAM in the D&T Curriculum
Context
CAD/CAM is now firmly established within the Design and Technology curriculum and innovative developments in both software and hardware continue to drive its application in schools. One of the many challenges for a curriculum leader is to keep abreast of these developments, to devise new teaching and learning strategies and to develop resources that engage students and raise standards of achievement.
Whilst CAD/CAM in schools can deliver excellent quality results and provides many opportunities to exemplify industrial applications of technology and manufacturing, the financial and logistical implications of its integration into the curriculum can be considerable. Every school has different facilities, priorities and philosophies relating to the use of CAD/CAM within the Design and Technology curriculum and the challenge is to maximise the impact of these through the development of quality resources to enhancing teaching and learning.
Evaluation of software and hardware is a key factor in ensuring that finite departmental resources are used in the most efficient way to deliver results or to allow the curriculum leader to present a coherent argument for further investment.
Assignment Brief
For this assignment you will be expected to carry out a small scale curriculum development project aimed at raising standards of teaching and learning in CAD/CAM. Your assignment should include an analysis of existing provision, the production of a brief action plan, the development of quality teaching strategies and resources and an evaluation of their impact in the classroom. Your work will fall broadly into the following categories:
Initial Research :
As in introduction to the assignment you should undertake a brief analysis of the CAD/CAM provision within the department, including current approaches to learning and teaching. This can incorporate the preparatory work done for the mid-course tasks.
Your analysis should culminate in the identification of a specific area for development in the teaching and learning of CAD or CAM or both.
Curriculum Development Planning:
Having identified an area for development, you are required to present an outline time plan of how you and, where appropriate, other members of the department will address this development need. This plan could include an evaluation of software/hardware, analysis of existing resources (e.g. CAD/CAM framework), identification of learning objectives, ideas for curriculum materials, staffing/resource needs etc.
Curriculum Development :
Having produced the plan, your assignment could include brief evidence of the outcomes of various stages. e.g. evaluation of strengths/weaknesses of software/hardware in the context of learning and teaching, outcomes of meetings/brainstorm sessions, teaching & learning strategies, resource implications etc.
For your chosen curriculum area you are required to develop resources / strategies for learning and teaching that will enable you and other members of staff to deliver the planned improvements to departmental provision in CAD/CAM.
This should include reference to:
· clear learning objectives
· a delivery plan
· specific teaching resources, including photographs of exemplar artefacts, worksheets, multi-media resources, CAD files etc. as appropriate
Arrangements should then be made to trial the resources with classes / small groups of pupils. As a precursor to the trial, you should devise a ‘tool’ to enable an objective assessment of the impact on learning and teaching to take place.
Critical reflection :
Using your observations from the trials, reflect on the effectiveness of the resources / strategies with reference to the following :
§ how the resources/strategies were deployed
§ impact on learning and teaching
§ implications of curriculum development on, for example, staff / pupils / longer term planning etc
§ potential refinements that could be made to further develop the resources / strategies.
Submission Details
Submissions should be typed and printed using double spacing. A completed university assignment cover sheet should be attached to the front. The written element of your submission should not exceed 4000 words in length. Please use the Harvard system of referencing. Your digital resource materials and exemplar pupil work (in the form of photographs, 2D work etc’) can be submitted on CD ROM.
Submission Date
Your completed assignment should be submitted by post to arrive not later than Tuesday 15th September, 2009. Submissions should be marked for the attention of John Lee / Mark Helliwell and sent to:
Claire Rayner
Post Graduate Administrator,
Sheffield Hallam University,
City Campus,
Harmer Building, (4th Floor),
Sheffield.
S1 1WB