Technically Speaking Why All Americans Need to Know More About Technology (2002) / Chapter Skim
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Pages 103-114
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From page 103... ...
educational innovation. While more categories are possible, the committee believes this set provides an appropriate, balanced, and feasible agenda for enhancing technological literacy in the United States.
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From page 104... ...
Four key points in the system are curricula, instructional materials, student testing, and standards. Currently, few curricula or instructional materials at the K-12 or undergraduate level integrate nontechnology subjects with technology-related content.
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From page 105... ...
can support integration by developing background materials for teachers of science, history, social studies, civics, the arts, and language arts keyed to national standards and benchmarks in those subjects. At the state level, science and technology advisors and advisory councils can use their influence with governors, state legislatures, and industry to encourage the inclusion of technology content in nontechnology subjects, not only in the general K-12 curriculum but also in school-to-work and technician-preparation programs.
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From page 106... ...
NSF- and DoEd-funded instructional materials and informal-education initiatives should also stress these connections. State boards of education in the United States should explicitly link K-12 content in the sciences, mathematics, history, social studies, civics, the arts, and language arts with technology content in their standards, curriculum frameworks, and student assessments in ways suggested by the appropriate national standards.
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From page 107... ...
In a parallel action, federally funded projects in informal education, particularly those supported by the NSF, should be required to make explicit the relationship between technology and the main academic subject focus of the initiative, as spelled out in the appropriate national standards. A better understanding of the distinctions between science and technology as well as their interdependencies would enable teachers to focus their efforts on technological design issues in the classroom, which could lead to more discussion of attitudes and assumptions about technology.
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From page 108... ...
Teachers at all levels should be able to conduct design projects and use design-oriented teaching strategies to encourage learning. Developing a Research Base Efforts to improve technological literacy in the United States have been hampered by a weak research base.
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From page 109... ...
Developing a research base for technological literacy will require creating cadres of competent researchers, developing and periodically revising a research agenda, allocating funding for research projects, and incorporating research findings in teaching materials and techniques. Recommendation 5 NSF should support the development of assessment tools that can be used to monitor the state of technological literacy among students and the public in the United States.
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From page 110... ...
The results of this research must be translated into practical strategies for enhancing learning and teaching in the classroom and in informal settings, such as museums, science and technology centers, and through materials in print, online, and in the broadcast media. Enhancing Informed Decision Making In a modern nation like the United States, a substantial number of decisions have a technological component.
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From page 111... ...
In general, efforts to enhance public involvement in technological decision making in the United States could benefit from the experiences of other nations, particularly Denmark and Holland. The informal education sector, especially museums and science and technology centers, is well positioned to prepare the nontechnical public to grapple with the complexities of decision making in the technological realm.
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From page 112... ...
The engineering community, which is directly involved in the creation of technology, is uniquely equipped to promote technological literacy. An engineering-led effort to increase technological literacy could have significant, long-term pay-offs, not only for decision makers in government but also for the public at large.
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From page 113... ...
Better media coverage of technological issues would help inform citizens, who would then be better equipped to make decisions in their own lives. Rewarding Teaching Excellence and Educational Innovation One of the biggest obstacles to enhancing technological literacy in the United States is the limited amount of high-quality instructional materials and curricula available.
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From page 114... ...
Recommendation 11 The White House should add a Presidential Award for Excellence in Technology Teaching to those that it currently offers for mathematics and science teaching. The NSF, which administers the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching for the White House, should consult with the International Technology Education Association (ITEA)
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