Initiation of verbal expression in young children in Design and Technology education: a case-study

Abstract

The Australasian Journal of TechnologyEducation is a peer refereed journal, and provides a forum for scholarly discussion on topics relating to technology education. Submissions are welcomed relating to the primary, secondary and higher education sectors, initial teacher education and continuous professional development, and general research about Technology Education. Contributions to the ongoing research debate are encouraged from any country. The expectation is that the Journal will publish articles at the leading edge of development of the subject area. The Journal seeks to publish • reports of research, • articles based on action research by practitioners, • literature reviews, and • book reviews. Abstract Designing is a thinking activity that benefits from expression, because verbal expression serves interaction. Through the integration of exploring, creating and thinking, this interaction can become a stepping stone towards broad thinking and sharing ideas. Successful interaction needs shared language and knowledge about the rules and means of verbal expression. Therefore teaching approaches that scaffold expression are required. In the case study reported, the teacher used the thinking hats of De Bono to teach these rules and means to four to six year old pupils. The subject of the verbal expression was a cuddly toy. This approach proved to support the pupils to be expressive and verbal informative. The hats provided a structure that enabled the pupils to get and express varied ideas. As a result, the class set a starting point for skillfulness in how to express oneself and set a structure in which other subjects could be discussed.