Design & Technology and the Historic Environment: a Teacher's Guide
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DOCUMENT RESUME ED 445 972 SO 031 611 AUTHOR Barnes, Jonathan TITLE Design & Technology and the Historic Environment: A Teacher's Guide. Education on Site. INSTITUTION English Heritage Education Service, London (England). ISBN ISBN-1-85074-399-1 PUB DATE 1999-00-00 NOTE 42p. AVAILABLE FROM English Heritage, Education Service, 23 Savile Row, London W1X lAB, England; Tel: 020 7973 3000; Fax: 020 7973 3443; E-mail: [email protected]; Web site: (www.english-heritage.org.uk/). PUB TYPE Guides Classroom Teacher (052) EDRS PRICE MF01/PCO2 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Built Environment; *Design; Foreign Countries; Heritage Education; *Historic Sites; Intermediate Grades; Primary Sources; Secondary Education; Social Studies; *Technology IDENTIFIERS England ABSTRACT Design and technology are subjects that are about the real world, involving the application of scientific and related knowledge to a problem. The built environment is an excellent context for work in this area, as every building involves both design ideas and technological skills. This guide suggests practical activities and ideas for using the historic environment in a stimulating way for teaching the skills and concepts of design and technology. It explores the ways in which any historic environment, from a school or housing development to a castle or cathedral, can be used to stimulate exciting design and technology assignments, or to build up a fund of knowledge to be applied to otherwise unrelated projects. It encourages teachers to get out of the classroom so that design and technology work can be placed in a real context and explains how teachers can use the historic sites in the care of English Heritage for more than just the predictable history field trip. The guide is divided into the following sections: "About This Book"; "Why Use the Historic Environment?"; "Choosing an Assignment"; "Designing Skills"; "Making Skills"; "Evaluating"; and "Design and Technology across the Curriculum." Contains an illustrated glossary and a bibliography and resources list. (BT) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. Design & Technology and the Historic Environment: A Teacher's Guide Education on Site Jonathan Barnes U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS CENTER (ERIC) BEEN GRANTED BY This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it. Coral Seeley Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy. BEST COPYAVAOLABLE DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY AND THE HISTORIC -ENVIRONMENT Jonathan Barnes ENGLISH HERITAGE t -s-- TIE-ACHER'S, Books in the Education on Site series arewritten especially for teachers to help themmake the best use of the historic environment. Series editor: Mike Corbishley Cover illustrations Front cover: Building an arch at DoverCastle (English Heritage) Back cover: Siege machine at Dover Castle (English Heritage) Edited and produced by JennieFordham and Suzanne Spicer Illustrations by Michael Richardson Designed by em associates Printed by Hythe Offset, Colchester First Published 1999 by EnglishHeritage © English Heritage, 1999 All drawings and plans are thecopyright of English Heritage unless otherwise stated. ISBN 1-85074-399-1 EDIJCA.111101`.1 UN SATE A teacher's guide to DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY AND THE HISTORIC ENVIRONMENT Jonathan Barnes ENGLISH HERITAGE itilL<Mbi-.N AL .1111..NO1LJUY AND THE 1-111S'IBURILU EN V1KUNMENT CONTENTS ABOUT THIS BOOK 3 WHY USE THE HISTORIC ENVIRONMENT? 4 Detail and scale 4 CHOOSING AN ASSIGNMENT 6 Preparation 6 Conservation 7 Conversions and additions 8 Case study: the Tannery Project 9 Games and souvenirs 10 Meals 11 Preserving our heritage 11 Case study: heritage citizenship 12 DESIGNING SKILLS 13 ,1 Developing awareness 13 Case study: reconstructing a ruined building 15 Looking for detail 16 Objects 17 Case study: design a tie 18 Thinking about problems 19 Inside information 20 Case study: a cathedral visit 21 MAKING SKILLS 22 Materials old and new 22 Making movement 23 Case study: making a drawbridge 24 Manufacture and marketing 25 Using video 25 EVALUATING 27 Thinking for yourself 27 Asking others 28 Testing 28 DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY ACROSS THE CURRICULUM 29 Other cultures 31 ILLUSTRATED GLOSSARY 32 Building materials 32 Arches, buttresses and columns 34 BIBLIOGRAPHY AND RESOURCES 35 Acknowledgements 36 OZ .11 Ek..;1711...1Mill,Uti 1-1.1.ND IL till- ABOUT THIS BOOK Hoover factory, west London. Berney Arms Mill, Norfolk. t-t fts, 4". .s . 'A. .1 , t 1\3.. Maiden Castle hilifort, Dorset. Stott Park Bobbin Mill, Lake District. Whitby Abbey, North Yorkshire. Look through the window closest and technology work can be placedsubject has its own knowledge and to where you are sittingis it a in a real context understanding, and requires an good or a poor view? What makes awareness of alternatives and an it attractive or boring? How have explains how teachers can use evaluation process. The historic people made or changed it? What the historic sites in the care of built environment is an excellent might improve it? Why is there a English Heritage for more than place to learn these aspects of window there anyway? Without just the predictable history field design and technology because moving from your chair or trip each building is a collection of the wielding a single tool you have argues that design and tech- work of many designers and been involved in a design and nology projects should be kept dozens of technological skills. technology activity; investigating small and manageable unless Teachers and pupils should also be aspects of a product, distinguishingteachers are able to devote many aware of the application of creative between how it was made and howdays to planning. minds to the appearance of a final it was designed perhaps applying product. Design and technology skills and knowledge from other The National Curriculum in may be taught alongside subjects subject areas such as history, art design and technology expects like history, geography, maths and and mathematics. pupils to develop, plan and science which are more commonly This book: communicate ideas through the focus of a historic site visit. At designing and making as well as its most well planned, design explores the ways in which you thinking about the made world. It can use any historic environment, arising from the historic involves the application of environment will leave pupils with from a school or housing estate to scientific and related knowledge to a castle or cathedral, to stimulate a feeling that the designed world a problem; identifying the most around them is worthy of closer exciting design and technology appropriate tools and materials for assignments or to build up a fund attention. the job; knowing how to use them This book will make reference to of knowledge to be applied to safely and efficiently and finally otherwise unrelated projects the constructed world of the past, producing a plan and/or product details of which may now be found encourages teachers to get out to solve the problem. Practical in museum collections as well as in of the classroom so that design cai3dbility is needed, but the buildings and landscapes. DESILUN & TECHNOLOGY AND THE HISTOMC ENVON ENT WHY USE THE HISTORIC ENVIRONMENT? An historic environment DETAIL AND SCALE need not be a castle, Working in a challenging and dif- monastery or country house ferent environment allows you to it could equally be the direct pupils to detail and the small street nearest your school, scale. This is important because the school itself, your local design and technology can be church, museum, shopping weakened when too much depends centre or public gardens. upon large scale theoretical Whether your pupils are projects such as design a theme recording aspects of these park or construct a model of a places, proposing improve- proposed underground station. ments, using parts of them Since many pupils find difficulty as inspiration or planning an in even gluing card together, this activity within them, they kind of assignment is almost will be fulfilling some parts bound to fail for all but the most of the design and technology able. Design a postcard based curriculum. `e upon four contrasting doorways or Throughout history design take four digital photographs and technology skills have 3 expressing four different moods of generally been applied in your local church in preparation response to a need. These for an advertising poster may be a needs have often involved more worthwhile exercise for improving the quality of life novices. but the solutions have not Even to the television and video presented themselves out of the Pupils record measurements of the castle ramparts so that they can make an generation a well chosen historic bluethey have arisen out of a accurate scale model back in school. mix of previous experience and The view through a window can be greatly creativity. It is the unfamiliarity of most his- affected by the style of the frame. Look through your window again.toric environments that However new the environment it isis perhaps their greatest historic in some sense. How wouldstrength. The unique- you improve the view? Would you ness of these surround- plant a tree? Paint a drainpipe? ings can be harnessed to Place a piece of sculpture or motivate both teachers demolish a wall? Sketch your idea and pupils towards more of the improved view on a scrap ofimaginative ideas. Many paper, or plan a better window historic sites have the frame to enclose it if you like it as added benefit of being it is. You have identified a need, traffic free and enclosed planned a solution and moved but nevertheless safety some way towards making a must be considered in product (especially if you felt visit preparations and in inspired to make a model or ring the pupil/teacher ratio.