Design and Technology
Design and Technology is an important developing area of the school curriculum. It has a significant part to play in involving pupils in new technologies and giving them the confidence and the capability to make informed choices about the kind of technological environment in which they live and work. This is achieved through providing pupils with exciting experiences in which they draw on skills and knowledge to design and make products and systems for specific purposes. As well as evaluating such products and systems through technical performance, pupils are encouraged to consider criteria related to social, economic and environmental aspects of the project, and the appropriate nature of the design and technology used.
The course is practically orientated and aims to provide a stimulating introduction to teaching by working through ideas for successful topics. Trainees are encouraged to adapt these ideas to their own teaching situation and gradually to develop their own ideas in co-operation with school staff. Design and Technology in schools covers a wide range of experiences which might be new, even to recent graduates. For this reason, the course provides teaching inputs on design practice and safe working practices relevant to computer aided design and manufacture. In all of these components, the work is related to topics and activities which pupils could undertake in schools. Emphasis is placed, throughout the course, on the development of interpersonal and organisational skills for effective lesson planning and delivery.
Graduates who successfully complete the course will be able to provide appropriate and relevant learning situations for pupils on GCSE and 'A' Level courses, and the foundation courses which lead up to them. Such graduates will also be able to contribute to a range of local and national vocational courses.
Candidates with a degree in aspects of industrial or product design, electronics or engineering are particularly well qualified for ths course. Other candidates who can offer related skills and qualifications will be sympathetically considered. For instance, applicants with Art and Design based degrees, providing they are willing to learn new technological skills too, have been very successful. Loughborough has been at the forefront in producing some of the most sought after newly qualified teachers of Design and Technology because of their ability to introduce exciting innovations in the use of new materials and technologies.