LEARNING PRIORITY OF TECHNOLOGY PROCESS SKILLS AT ELEMENTARY

LEVEL

Hung-Jen Yang & Miao-Kuei Ho

DEPARTMENT OF INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION

THE NATIONAL KAOHSIUNG NORMAL UNIVERSITY

Outline Introduction and Literature Review Research Purpose Methodology Research Finding Discussion Conclusion Suggestion

INTRODUCTION AND LITERATURE REVIEW Grade 1-9 Curriculum in Taiwan Science process skills The purpose of learning technology and

learning science Technological literacy

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY The purpose of this study was to

identify the learning priority of technology process skills that elementary school students should learn.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS The following research questions were listed

to be examined in this study: 1. What is the meaning of technology

process skills? 2. What are the contents of technology

process skills? 3. What are the technology process skills

that elementary school students should learn?

4. What is the learning priority of technology process skills at elementary level?

METHODOLOGY Sample Questionnaire Data Analysis

RESEARCH FINDINGS In the analysis of the consent degree, the

consent degree of the items of technology process skills are between 4.53 and 5.39.(1-7)

In analyzing the items of technology process skills at elementary level, the results of t-test are all reach the significant level.

In analyzing the contents of technology process skills at elementary level, the results of t-test are all reach the significant level.

Results of GLM procedure, there existed significant difference among eight sub-groups.

DISCUSSION(1) From literature review, technology process

skills are the process of designing and applying technology. Their contents should include intelligence skills and motor skills via learning and studying.

Findings of the investigating result through the questionnaire, elementary teachers agree with those 8 sub-groups and 36 contents of technology process skills suggested from this study as requirement for elementary level.

DISCUSSION(2) From the analysis of General Linear Model,

there existed different learning priority of each sub-group of technology process skills.

The process skills of technology and science are also different.

Students should develop technology process skills that Enable student to possess the general skills in the technology society.

CONCLUSIONS The meaning of technology process skills The contents of technology process skills The learning priority

of technology process skills

RECOMMENDATIONS There is a lot of relevant research with

science process skills in the science education, include student's background and science process skills, thinking ability and science process skills, experiment teaching and science process skills, and the relevant research of teacher's cognition of science process skills.

But scholars have not done much related study yet on the topic of technology process skills. It is suggested that research related to this field should be conducted.

END

Thank you!!

Grade 1-9 Curriculum is carried out in Taiwan Grade 1-9 Curriculum is carried out in Taiwan as

the top priority of education reforms. This is the first time to merge both science and technology into one field for providing integrated learning directions.

Grade 1-9 Curriculum puts emphasis on the developing core competences which a modern citizen should possess.

The Curriculum Goals appears by the way of Benchmarks.

One of the science and technology benchmarks is developing science process skills.

Science process skills

AAAS (1967) illustrated that process skills are include Classifying data, Communicating, Controlling variables, Designing operationally, Designing experiments, Formulating models, Hypothesizing, Inferring, Interpreting, Measuring, Observing, Predicting, Questioning, Using numbers, Using space/time relationship.

The technological purpose is different with science The scientific research purpose is

to probe into the truth of the universe (Yu Jian, 2003).

Technology deals with the human-made world we live in and how people design and improve products and environments ( ITEA, 2002).

Technological literacy The purpose of technology education is

training all students' technological literacy.

Technological literacy is the ability to use, manage, assess, and understand technology. A technologically literate person understands, in increasingly sophisticated ways that evolve over time, what technology society, and in turn is shaped by society (ITEA, 2000).

Sampling The population of this study was

the whole elementary teachers in Taiwan. The total amount of elementary teachers are 102882 in 2004 school year (MOE, 2005).

For reaching the 95% confident level, there were 383 teachers randomly sampled.

Questionnaire(1) The research tool is the

questionnaire of technology process skills at elementary level.

This questionnaire was designed from the contents of technology process skills after literature review via the experts' guidance, and carrying out survey in the network.

Questionnaire(2) Based on both technology education

objects of USA, England, and Australia and intellectual and motor skills of technology literacy, items were developed to form the questionnaire to measure the consent degree.

The pretest procedure was applied to evaluate the questionnaire. The overall cronbach alpha is 0.9612, and alpha value of each sub-group is higher than 0.8.

Data Analysis After correcting data, descriptive

analysis, t-Test, and GLM procedure were applied to verify the priority of process skills that elementary students have to learn through using SPSS.

The percentage, frequency distribution, mean, and standard deviations of collected data were also reported.

The meaning of technology process skills

The meaning of technology process skills is that people need to obtain the intellectual and motor skills from learning when they solve problems with knowledge, resource, tools, materials, equipment, systems and originality.

The summary of contents of technology process skills

observing investigating combining communicating choosing using controlling evaluating

The contents of technology process skills(1)

The skills are through experiencing, observing and examining to the environment in order to collect, analyze technological information, question.

The skills are to design technological scheme. The skills are to communicate the idea with

people. The skills are to choose technological

scheme, technology products, tools, materials, working procedure and method in order to solving problem.

The contents of technology process skills(2)

The skills are to use machinery, make the best of the technology products, operate basic tools, materials, resource, technique, technology way, procedure and method, and making technology products with cutting, measuring, connecting or making up.

The contents of technology process skills(3)

The skills are to control the technology method, the making procedure, and the function of products, in order to avoid negative effects.

The skills are to evaluate technological question, products, working routine, method, development trend, benefits and risks, and impacts of individual, family, society and environmental.

The learning priority of technology process skills

the technology process skills of elementary students are

1. observing, 2. using, 3. combining, 4. choosing, 5. evaluating, 6. communicating, 7. controlling, and 8. investigating.