Creating a Year 1-8 Technology workroom
Green Bay Primary and Intermediate School in West Auckland didn't stop at half-measures in making the commitment to deliver the Technology curriculum through Years 1-8, and students now work in a purpose-built Technology room. Although Year 7-8 students take Technology at neighbouring Green Bay High School, the intermediate teachers still make opportunities to use the room.
As part of the school's curriculum review Principal Jude Black initiated a review of how Technology was being taught in the school. The Review found that only some aspects of the curriculum were being covered well and more work was needed. It also identified significant obstacles to teachers delivering a more effective Technology programme. A lack of space, equipment and storage was seen as one of the main problems and a designated Technology room suggested as the remedy. Teachers also said that they didn't feel confident in teaching Technology and lacked some of the requisite skills. Jude investigated how she could support her staff with professional development and, following earlier support from Team Solutions, was offered help from National Professional Development Facilitator Paul Neveldsen who worked regularly with the staff from mid-2009 through 2010.
The Board of Trustees was reviewing its five-year property plan, in a consultative process with the staff, school community and an architect, shortly after the Technology review. In response to the request for a specialised teaching area, the Board made building a Technology room a priority action. It allocated some of its government-funded property budget to the new project but needed money from other sources as well. Jude applied for grants and approached community groups to raise money for the new room, and school fundraising helped top up the budget. The local Portage Licensing Trust, supported the new room and later provided funds to help with outfitting it.
The new room was made by renovating an old prefab, a process that involved gutting the prefab to create a large teaching space with a kitchen area. The room was joined on to the library/computer room and a door installed between the two rooms to allow scope for students who needed to research aspects of their Technology work. A veranda around two sides of the room provides more work area and means that dust-producing drills and saws can be operated in the open air. The adjoining walls are fitted with large windows, to supply extra light to the room and so that teachers can more easily observe students from inside or outside the room. The veranda has power points so the central power supply in the room is switched off every night as is the water, in case anyone wandering around the school out of hours is tempted to turn them on. Plastic blinds will be purchased, when funds allow, so that the veranda can be used during rainy weather.
The Technology room was completed in early 2009. This was a critical time, Jude says, because the then-empty room would only ever be perceived as integral to delivering Technology if teachers used it and felt it was practicable to go there for their lessons. She attributes the designation of a staff member to run the room as contributing to the successful implementation of Technology in the school. Classroom teacher Diana Comp was given a management unit and an hour each week to take responsibility for the new room. Her initial brief was to work with the school's property officer to decide on furniture, whiteware and equipment. They did a lot of research and visited Green Bay High School to observe how their Technology rooms were set up and used, before passing their recommendations on to Jude, who consulted the whole staff before authorising the purchases.
Diana had become involved when the plans were drawn up but before construction began. As a teacher, she could immediately see what would or wouldn't work well with a class of 29 students. Contemplating the chaos of cleaning up with only two sinks, she requested an extra sink and freed up space by relocating the clothes-drying rack from the kitchen to the veranda. Extra bench space was created and a sink was moved from a corner because she realised that children would be too crowded in that area. Despite scrutiny from many people, one mistake wasn't spotted until after the renovation when it was realised that the sewing and outside benches were too high, so the builder had to come in and lower them all. The flooring plan was modified slightly so that the lino was installed in two colours; the red curved around the kitchen to help remind students to 'stop' and remember that only kitchen materials are allowed in the kitchen, in the interests of hygiene.
Some of the basic furniture, such as tables and chairs, was paid for with the Ministry of Education furniture grant as was some of the whiteware. Jude applied for grants to buy other fittings, and was later able to purchase equipment such as sewing machines, overhead lockers and a sand tray with money donated by the Portage Licensing Trust and the Perry Foundation.
Teachers were still developing their Technology knowledge and skills, so it was decided that they should teach a Food Technology/Biotechnology unit first because most had more experience and more confidence in those areas. The initial equipment purchases, therefore, were for the kitchen, so three stoves and three microwave ovens were installed. The six cupboards were equipped with basic equipment for teaching Food and Biotechnology (and six sets of tools etc, were purchased for the other Technology areas later). All the kitchen utensils are colour-coded and have a photo model, to make it easier for the children to replace them on the correct shelf.
After a successful Food/Biotechnology unit, in which Year 1-8 students mass-produced items such as biscuits, pickles and ginger beer to sell at the school's farmers' market, the focus moved to Soft Materials. The school bought three good-quality sewing machines, as well as an overlocker and sewing equipment, such as scissors, needles, etc. Teachers who didn't know how to use specialised equipment such as the overlocker started their students on simple projects like wheat bags, but their capability is gradually evolving with further training and encouragement. The school also acquired the estate of an elderly ex-seamstress which included a large array of buttons, yarns, elastic, lace, etc, and one of the two second-hand mannequins which brighten up the room with whichever creation they are wearing.
With teachers growing in confidence, a 2010 unit was based on Hard Materials and yet again Jude applied for grants to get the necessary equipment. The school also encouraged families to select items from a priced list and provide monetary donations but this approach met with only limited success. The drills, saws and drill press are used on the veranda but stored inside an adjoining shed for security. Jude provided release time for a classroom teacher, Hayley Woolrich, to take on responsibility for working in the Technology room one morning a week to help other teachers and raise confidence in working with and teaching Hard Materials.
Finding room to store resources is always an issue but especially so in Technology, so two storage areas were constructed next to the new room. The inside storeroom holds equipment such as food, fabrics and cleaning materials and is equipped with a washing machine and dryer (although, adds Diana, they try to use the drying racks as much as possible). The outside storeroom opens on to the veranda and houses Hard Materials tools, paints and the sand and water trays. (Sand and water are useful for teaching concepts such as volume, and as extra activities for junior students waiting to work with an adult on using tools, but the trays might be relocated to the junior block due to the space they take up and the extra mess involved.)
Students using the room for the first time were also new to some Technology terminology, so laminated posters of vocabulary and equipment were displayed around the room. Other resources, to reinforce students' learning and as extra reading, are also put on the walls or the moveable whiteboard. Although the room is next to the library/computer room, it is often not practicable to be managing students using tools outside, watching those working inside and to also have them next door so this isn't usually an option. However, plans for the future include buying laptop computers for students to use in the Technology room.
Teachers were each allocated a fortnightly two-hour slot in the Technology room but there was another barrier to overcome. Because teachers have all their resources in their classrooms, including extra activities for students to do while waiting for help, there was a slight feeling of reluctance in having to either leave them behind or waste time transferring things. To overcome this, a trolley was provided so that teaching aids could more easily be taken to the Technology room. However, Diana notes, setting up and tidying are still quite time-consuming so, as part of her responsibility for Technology, she tries to ensure that the appropriate resources are ready for use and tidies the storeroom at the end of the day.
Extra thought went into how Technology could fit within the school's Enviro programme (at the room's inception, the school was working towards a Bronze Enviro Award and is now, having since achieved Silver, working towards its Green-Gold). Architect Colin Pauling from Waitakere Architects was interviewed by members of the school's Enviro Council to ensure that the room had environmentally sustainable features in its construction – and was most impressed with their knowledge of sustainable buildings.
Students and teachers are expected to take sustainable environmental practices into account when planning Technology projects and during an integrated unit on Consumerism students looked at human-made products from the extraction through to disposal stages – concepts they then applied in their Farmers' Market project. Students also have to consider aspects such as the carbon footprint of raw materials and give preference to locally-sourced or recycled raw materials. They must also consider how to dispose of any waste materials, and care is exercised over whether the purchase of brand-new materials is justifiable.
The school's chickens and organic garden provide evidence of the school's commitment to sustainability, and the eggs and food they produce are often used in the students' cooking. A special bin for food scraps was installed in the Technology room so that students can sort out compost and chicken food.
The Technology club, which meets every Tuesday on 'Clubs Day', makes good use of the room and its members have sometimes been especially trained to act as 'class experts' for a Technology unit. A teaching team, which included the school secretary, an expert craftswoman and seamstress, worked with a group of students to produce entries for Waitakere City's Trash to Fashion Awards in 2010, resulting in four finalists and three winners.
Diana, Hayley and Jude have shown a lot of people around the Technology room and say they're happy to have more visitors and discuss what worked well or could work in a different environment.
[Read about the successful school-wide integrated unit taught in 2010 in the Techlink Case Study Moveable Toys.]
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