Values in Design and Technology: More Than Just Technical Decisions
In this episode of Talking D&T, I explore the complex role of values in design and technology education. Drawing on research from influential scholars like David Layton, Mike Martin and Rhoda Trimingham, I unpack how values aren't merely peripheral to D&T but are, as Layton puts it, "the engine of design and technology."
I examine two key perspectives: values within design (how values influence design decisions) and values developed through design and technology (how students develop values as they become technologically literate). Particularly fascinating is Trimingham's research observing designers in practice, revealing how both internal and external values shape design decisions, often unconsciously.
We explore how early curriculum frameworks categorised values as technical, economic, aesthetic, and moral—frameworks that remain relevant despite their absence from the current National Curriculum. This raises important questions about how we as educators bring our own value systems into our teaching, potentially modelling these unconsciously to our pupils.
For D&T teachers, this episode offers an opportunity to reflect on how we might make values more explicit in our teaching, helping pupils understand not just how to design, but how their values influence those designs. Whether you're teaching in England or internationally, considering the role of values adds depth to design education and helps students develop critical awareness of design decisions.
How might you bring conversations about values more explicitly into your D&T classroom? Could examining values help your students make more thoughtful design decisions? Let's continue this important dialogue with colleagues about preserving these vital aspects of our subject.
Acknowledgement:
Some of the supplementary content for this podcast episode was crafted with the assistance of Claude, an AI language model developed by Anthropic. While the core content is based on the actual conversation and my editorial direction, Claude helped in refining and structuring information to best serve listeners. This collaborative approach allows me to provide you with concise, informative, and engaging content to complement each episode.
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