Design: The Only Methodology of Technology?

Technology, and certainly technology education, can be characterized as more of an activity than a discrete body of content (McCormick, 1996). Techno- logical knowledge can be divided into procedural knowledge which relates to the activity, and conceptual knowledge which relates to the body of content (Hennessey & McCormick, 1994). There is probably more international agreement among technology educators about the activity of technology than about the content of technology. This is a helpful separation to make when designing curriculum and discussing teaching, but it is not a separation which should be evident to the students. Students should perceive technology as a thoroughly integrated activity, not one which can be separated into content and process, or theory and practice. Some curriculum documents separate these two areas of knowledge. An example is the two attainment targets in the UK technology curriculum of Design and Make. In others, the differentiation is less such as the Content Standards of the Technology for all Americans Project (ITEA, 1998).