Applying Laser Cutting Techniques Through Horology for ... · current laser cutter use are found in...

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Design and Technology Education: An International Journal 18.3

Applying Laser Cutting Techniques Through Horology for TeachingEffective STEM in Design and Technology

Lewis C.R. Jones and John R. Tyrer, Loughborough University, Wolfson School of

Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering

Nigel P. Zanker, Loughborough Design School

AbstractThis paper explores the pedagogy underpinning the use oflaser manufacturing methods for the teaching of science,technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) at keystage 3 design and technology. Clock making (horology)has been a popular project in design and technology(D&T) found in many schools, typically it focuses onaesthetical design elements. This paper describes a newproject, which has been developed to enhance the STEMcontent of a horology project through advanced utilisationof laser cutting machinery. It allows pupils to produce theirown products from self-made mechanical timingmechanisms. The central aim is to strengthen theapplication of the underlying technology of mechanismsand the manufacturing capability of laser cuttingtechnology in D&T.

Trials with schools have shown success in gaining pupils’interest in STEM and provided feedback to improve theproject. It has highlighted limits when delivering theengineering and maths content with teachers from non-technology backgrounds. The paper discusses thislimitation through subject pedagogy, categorisation ofteacher knowledge, and teaching effectiveness throughexperiential and problem-based learning approaches.

Key wordstechnology, teacher knowledge, problem-based learning,pxperiential learning, pction research, STEM

IntroductionConversation with teachers and the authors’ anecdotalevidence has revealed that laser cutting technology iswidely available and commonly used in secondary schooldesign and technology (D&T) education. However thereappears to be a lack of awareness of the applications oflaser materials processing in industry, the potential forschool practice or the safe and proper use of theequipment.

This paper questions and explores the use of resourcesthat have been made available to teachers and, in doingso, challenges the design work for which lasers are mostfrequently used. Laser cutters in classrooms have beenfound by the authors to be generally used to produce thecasing of products, which has greatly enhanced the qualityof parts. However, there are other possibilities forutilisation of the machinery’s capability. Examples of

current laser cutter use are found in Designing, publishedby the Design & Technology Association. Highlightedprojects are using the laser to produce boxes (Berrill,2011), or being used to produce jewellery (Elderton,2012). Teachers’ current knowledge of laser cutting hasbeen used to increase the aesthetic characteristics ofproducts at the expense of teaching, producing and usingtechnology. Reports from the Office for Standards inEducation, Children’s Services and Skills, an independentregulator for schools in England, also highlight the need forteachers to improve upon their initial technological trainingand how lack of training and expertise meant teacherswere not up to date with advanced technologies (Ofsted,2008, 2011).

The SET for success report (Roberts, 2002) highlightedthe importance of science, technology, engineering andmathematics (STEM) teaching to the economy. Designand technology offers many opportunities, as acontributory subject, for the teaching of STEM contentthrough enabling technologies and practical application ofskills (Johnsey, 2000; Roth, 2001; Sidawi, 2009). Schoolshave made large investments in computer-aided design(CAD) and computer-aided manufacture (CAM)technology in recent years. However, there are issues tothe actual benefit to education, as the possibilities of theCAD/CAM technology may not be immediately realised.Innovative teaching practice has the potential to improvethe use of existing, purchased technology in schools(Luckin et al, 2012). It contributes to developing pupils’practical skills to ‘achieve a professional quality’ (Ofsted,2011). This paper includes an attempt to mapping out thepedagogic theory relevant to this technology problem byconsidering pupil learning styles and teacher knowledge.

Literature ReviewThe first section of the literature looks at differentpedagogic theories suited to the delivery of STEM projects.They can be used to explain the value of features in theresources and to analyse problems identified in the casestudy. The resources created are intended to be interactivefor the pupils and allow independent actions and thought.

Mosston’s Spectrum of Teaching Styles (Mosston &Ashworth, 2002) can be used to order and structure theuse of pedagogic theories. The spectrum organisesteaching styles by the decision maker. It creates acontinuum from teacher to pupil directed styles. This is

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useful to this project where there is need to identifytheories or teaching styles suitable for independent andinteractive pupil work. The spectrum in Figure 1 is split intotwo clusters. Reproduction is concerned with theacquisition of basic skills and recollection of past andpresent knowledge. Production styles promote thediscovery and engagement in new concepts.

The authors have used Mosston’s spectrum to selecttheories, discussed below, to try and promote the use ofproduction styles to get pupils to interact and discover

their own knowledge. Specific features and activities in theresource were created using these theories in an attemptto move beyond only a basic understanding of technologyin D&T.

Surface learning is the term for when students are onlytaught to pass exams, whereas deep learning is whathigher education and industry expect of pupils. Deeplearning is the ability of a student to form their ownconclusions and develop new ideas from what they aretaught. The differences between surface learning and

deep learning are expressed in Table1.Teachers, through their lessons, shouldpromote a deep learning experiencewhich builds on surface learning bypupils (Entwistle and Marton, 1984).The information in Table 1 was used toidentify if deep learning was delivered inthe created resources aimed to improvelaser cutting technology education, andwas used to avoid surface learning.

The practical elements of D&T enableopportunities for activities to developdeep learning through Kolb’s (1984)‘experiential learning model’. Figure 2,shows the cycle of experiential learningwhere pupils begin with a concreteexperience, to acquire basic skills, andthen develop knowledge through theirapplication.


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Figure 1: Using Mosston’s spectrum of teaching styles to classify suitable theories (Mosston & Ashworth, 2002, p. 10)

Table 1: Different approaches to learning (Ramsden, 1988, p. 19)

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Experiential learning is the outcome of reflection onexperience. In comparison, a linear classroom experienceof information interaction is through teacher instructionwhere pupils are first taught abstractions (Keeton, 1976).Factors that can enhance experiential learning are theteacher, the learner or a third party. (Fowler, 2007)Resources created should be designed to guide andimprove the experiential learning process. A resource maybe created that is not just for practicing design,manufacturing or assembly skills, but to enableexperiential investigation of the design features to facilitatefurther learning.

Williams et al, (2008) describe how thecharacteristic features of problem basedlearning (PBL) are suited to the designprocess of technology education. PBLactivities include promotingobservational skills by using as manysenses as possible, using simulations orexperience to simulate reality, studentcollaboration, student directed learning,independent study and getting studentsto reflect on their learning process. Louet al, (2011) recommend integrating theuse of PBL strategies with a STEMproject, because these strategies canhave a significant effect on STEMintegrated knowledge learning.

The original taxonomy of educationalobjectives developed by Bloom in 1956,describes in the cognitive domain, a sixlevel heirarchy of thinking. Anderson andKrathwohl (2001) produced a revisedversion of the taxonomy which madeseveral modifications to the terminology,structure and emphasis. Figure 3 shows

the taxonomy, revised in verb form (ie through activity),making it a helpful tool for teachers to use in writingobjectives. The heirarchy describes the levels of learningthat students can progress through. Students pass fromthe lower levels to the top, and each level subsumes theprevious one. However, their starting point may be at anylevel, and levels may be omitted.

The taxonomy can be used to plan teaching activites(Ferguson, 2002; Pankajam, 2005) and to assess thelevel of cognition (thinking) to which students perform.This can be applied to features of resources being usedand sub-activities to facilitate pupils’ analytical, evaluativeand creative behaviours.

Two models of teacher knowledge have been included tobe used to analyse the behaviour of the teachersdelivering the content and using the resources. Shulman (1986, 1987) categorised types of teacherknowledge as:

• Content knowledge,• General pedagogical knowledge,• Curriculum knowledge,• Pedagogical content knowledge,• Knowledge of learners and their characteristics,• Knowledge of educational contexts,• Knowledge of educational ends.


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Figure 2: Structural dimensions underlying the process of experientiallearning and the resulting basic knowledge forms (Kolb, 1984, p. 42)

Figure 3: Revised taxonomy (Anderson & Krathwohl,2001)


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The most significant of Shulman’s categories for this projectare content knowledge and pedagogical contentknowledge (PCK), which identify the knowledge requiredfor transferring teachers’ knowledge into their teaching.Mishra and Koehler (2006) developed their technologicalpedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) framework, Figure4, by introducing technological knowledge to Shulman’smodel. The TPACK framework is the interaction betweenthe three primary forms of knowledge: Content (CK),

Pedagogy (PK), and Technology(TK). The primary knowledgeforms can be combined tocreate new knowledge forms.The TPACK knowledge formgoes beyond the three individualprimary forms creating the basisfor effective teaching withtechnology (Koehler & Mishra,2009).

The application of the TPACKframework to D&T is interestingas the use and understanding oftechnology is critical to thesubject. Mishra and Koehleridentified how technologicalknowledge is currentlyconsidered as a separateknowledge domain to pedagogic

related knowledge. They analyse how teachers areexposed and trained in a context free environment tooperate machinery involving new technologies.

Without developing technological and pedagogical contentknowledge, teachers may not teach technology aseffectively through its application to projects. This may bea contributory factor to explain the authors’ observations ofthe under-utilisation of laser cutting technology in schools.Polly (2011) shows how Mishra and Koehler’s TPACKframework can be used to grow teachers’ technologicalknowledge, technological pedagogical knowledge andcontent knowledge.

Project ProducedThe project that has been developed to teach STEM inD&T curriculum classes is a laser cutting project wherepupils make a mechanical timer. Intended as a Key Stage3 project the assembled base timer is shown in Figure 5.This is the minimum expected outcome as pupils will beable to adapt and produce their own products from thismechanism.

The project introduces novel use of laser cutters inschools, advancing the technology to its full capability andusing it to produce components for a STEM project. Figure6 shows the computer aided design (CAD) of themechanism which reveals that all the functionalcomponents, such as gears are also manufactured on thelaser cutter. The design makes use of the precision anddetail that can be achieved by computer aidedmanufacture (CAM). Pupils can produce their ownfunctional mechanical components at a fraction of the costand time of traditional manufacture, bringing engineeringconcepts to D&T.

The resources that have been created for this project, andprovided to teachers during the trial are 2D CAD data,Figure 6, and assembly instruction manuals, Figure 7. TheCAD files are available in Techsoft 2D Design file format asthis is the 2D CAD software taught and used in secondaryschools. The instruction manual provides a step-by-steppicture guide for pupils of how to assemble all the partsonce they have been laser cut.

For schools to be able to adopt the laser mademechanical project and run it in their own classroomteachers must be able to do it with the facilities they haveavailable. The laser made mechanical project has beendeveloped with an appreciation of the modern D&Tclassroom environment. The design has been developedfrom evolving horological work at Loughborough University(Jones et al, 2012).


Figure 4: The TPACK framework and its knowledgecomponents.Reproduced by permission of the publisher, © 2012by http://www.tpack.org

Figure 5: Laser mademechanical timer


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Materials have been selected to be affordable and typicallyalready available in schools. Thicknesses are suitable forlower-power school laser cutters while still maintainingperformance. Machined bushes and roller bearing unitshave been removed from the laser made clock designsand have been replaced with paperclip or panel pinsneedle bearings. These are significantly cheaper and easierto produce but performance has been maintained throughlaser processing techniques. The corresponding laserdrilled holes in MDF have large internal carbon depositsfrom the vaporisation process. This acts as a dry lubricantaiding bearing performance. The amount of required partsin the design has been minimised. This reduces assemblytime, material costs and cutting time. This involves creativefeatures such as the combination of pendulum andescapement pallets which removes the need for multiplebearing parts, separate pendulum detachment and thecrutch mechanism. Although the removal of these partswill reduce the accuracy of the pendulum motion it willstill be give satisfactory performance and the significantreduction in complexity will benefit the students. Lasercutting of the parts allows for parts to be efficiently nestedinto a smaller sheet of material and the supplied CAD filesonly require a small 450x250mm piece of MDF suitablefor school laser cutters and school budgets. The slot andpin methods are non-permanent allowing disassembly tocorrect any pupil mistakes. It also does not require the use

of adhesives removing the risk of toxic chemical use inlessons. The incorporated thread forms on parts of theclock are a unique feature of this design, made possibleby the small kerf width of laser cutting. They allowstandard nuts to be used for fixing and for pendulumcentre of gravity adjustment. The pendulum adjuster is areally simple mechanism feature that provides classroomexperimental potential.

The CAD files which are provided to the teacher are thestarting point for a STEM advanced project. The CAD filesare an innovative kit of parts, which incorporate the manydesign features highlighted. However the project is notintended to be a simple cut and assemble task. Pupilsshould use their CAD skills to customise, modify andimplement new design features. The basic kit allows pupilsto quickly produce the timing mechanism, which they canincorporate into their design work. The designs suppliedwill show pupils the advanced capability of the technologywith the teacher explaining the fundamentals of lasercutting including health and safety and how laser cutting isused in industry.

The intention of the design and instructions was to allowpupils to construct a complex mechanism easily. Thiswould enable pupils to be able to rapidly progress toinvestigating the mechanism to learn about it. There were


Figure 6: Timer cutting pattern in school CAD software



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learning activities incorporated into the design. Such asgetting pupils to identify and explain, using the correcttechnical vocabulary, the different components within themechanism. Also for pupils to calculate appropriate gearratios to alter the running of the mechanism to a desiredtime period and learning about gears throughexperimentation. As well as using 2D CAD to customisethe design and to make suitable modifications for laserprocessing. Additionally getting pupils to use theirmathematical and physics knowledge to explain how thesystem functions and experimentally test their theories toimprove their products.

One advanced feature included in the design is theadjustable pendulum. This can be simply made with laser

cutting technology and it allows pupils toundertake an experimentation activity.The mechanism will not run exactly ontime when first made, it requires pupils toanalyse how changing the effective lengthof the pendulum alters the rate of themechanism. The opportunity exists forteachers to run this as a scientificexperiment which would allow pupils tomake a hypothesis about how themechanism works from their physicsknowledge and then test it. This brings instrong cross-curricular links, creates manylearning opportunities and shows thebenefits of using maths and science indesign.

Results of Project TestingThe testing of the mechanical timerproject and its resources was donepredominantly through an action researchmethodology with PostgraduateCertificate in Education (PGCE) D&Ttrainees. Data was generated throughfocus group interviews with PGCE studentgroups, unstructured interviews withPGCEs and their supervising mentorsbefore the project began, notes taken infinal lesson observations, a shortquestionnaire for pupils and closinginterviews with the PGCEs students whodelivered the project. Table 2 shows theschedule of the different data generationactivities used to produce the casestudies.

Focus Group Session 1Five PGCE trainees were selected, to trial

the timer resource in their teaching placement schools.Three of the group had used a laser cutter previously butall reported being unfamiliar with the technology of a lasercutter. All five trainees were given a set to build and theinstruction pack. There were issues with following theinstructions, leading to mistakes. Some points wereunclear and amendments were made to the instructionmanual. Once the instructions were followed and thediagrams used, all trainees completed the timer assembly.The trainees were taught how to investigate the timer tounderstand how it works, the type of activity expected tobe performed in schools. Through this the traineesbecame more comfortable with the mechanism.

Figure 7: Example page of assembly instruction manual



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Focus Group Session 2To assist the selected five PGCE trainees in using theresource in schools they taught thirteen other PGCEtrainees how to assemble and investigate the mechanismin the second focus group. There were similar problems tothe first session where people did not follow theinstructions; this issue was reported by those instructing. Trainees with more technically able instructors in thissession were able to perform the analysis tasks, andshowed learning of the mechanism throughexperimentation. Trainees from non-mechanical productdesign backgrounds admitted that they struggled with thecore physics behind the design. When asked similarprobing questions about how the mechanism worked theywere not able to propose theories like the more ablegroup. This highlights the issues with the different abilitiesand backgrounds of trainees, as they develop contentknowledge in preparation to become teachers in schools. The group of trainees were very focused on how toassemble the mechanism and the issues that pupils inschools would have in building it. The discussion was ableto highlight areas of the design that could be changed tobetter suit schools.

Schools Case StudyThe PGCE trainees used the resources in their ownlessons on one of their teaching practices. Each trainee

has a school mentor to supervise the project. The mentorsand the trainees were provided with the CAD files andinstruction manuals for the design and were givenpermission to modify the files to suit their needs ifrequired. The resource had been developed to be used asa curriculum project aimed at year 9. Each school wasgiven freedom to utilise the resource as they wished.

School 1The resource was used in a three lesson extra-curricular,after-school activity for year 9 gifted and talented (G&T)pupils. The PGCE trainees and the school mentor hadmany reservations about being able to integrate it into thecurriculum as it was currently presented. They felt thatproduct design aspects of the project were not asignificant development from their school’s existing year 7and year 8 CAD and laser cutting projects. However, theschool considered the level of STEM learning andassembly required was suitable for only the higher abilityyear 9 pupils and so could not be delivered to a wholeclass. The school was concerned that the resource was notdeveloped enough for curriculum lessons and that pupilsmay find the subject matter uninteresting.

Twelve G&T pupils were approached but only fouraccepted. The school developed additional activities todeliver the different teaching areas, using their laser cutter

Table 2: Project schedule for data collection activities



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to produce more gears from additional files provided. Geartheory was taught through experimentation with examplegears and supported with existing activity sheets sourcedfrom the internet. The mentor expressed the opportunityto replace this manual experimentation with softwaresimulation, as the school had unused advanced CADsoftware.

The two pupils in the final activity were shown the lasercutter in operation and there was a discussion on suitablematerials with the trainees, but no detailed informationabout industrial use, health and safety or technology. Thetrainees did not prepare the same amount of work thatwould have been done for a normal lesson. There wasconfusion with cutting the parts from the correct filesprovided this shows lack of trainee knowledge andfamiliarity with the design. Trainees struggled to implementdesign corrections identified in the focus groups. The pupils were able to investigate and produce the timerby following the step-by-step guide. Pupils compared theirassembly to the pictures to confirm if it was correct. Thetrainees did not perform any of the investigation activitieswith the pupils once the assembly was complete.

School 2The resource was used in a twelve lesson curriculumproject for year 8 pupils. The PGCE trainee and thementor were enthusiastic about incorporating themechanism into a laser cutting project as they were awareit was an under-utilised resource in the department. The plan to integrate the mechanism into a class projectcovered many of the teaching aspects that were desired.There was sufficient time throughout all the sessions toinvestigate both the mechanism and the engineeringelements. The teacher gave the pupils a design problemto solve. The pupils worked in groups to build a newtiming product for each school department to use. Thisrequired pupils to incorporate the mechanisms into aunique product for their end user.

The trainee and mentor successfully integrated the timerresource into the standard design process. Project activitiesincluded design briefs and specifications with explicitterminology, investigating different materials andincorporating different processes into their design, such asthe use of textiles for aesthetic features. There were alsospecific lessons and activities for teaching gears.

Pupils were given pre-cut kits of parts customised by thetrainee, with each group using a different material.Assembly of the mechanism was spread over severallessons to allow time for problem solving and aestheticaldesign concepts. Before the final lesson the groups had

already investigated and evaluated their mechanisms. Itwas reported by the teacher that the pupils had reallyexcelled and been interested in the mechanism design. Animportant discovery is that the mentor stated that theproject had engaged pupils that the mentor normally andpersonally perceives less able or not interested in D&T.

The final lesson was a set of group presentations by thepupils. The groups were all able to explain how themechanism worked in relation to forces, gear ratios andpendulum function with the correct terminology. Somegroups had problems assembling the mechanism but theywere able to identify the faults. The groups had howevernot been instructed by the trainee or teacher to investigatethe relationship between pendulum length and timer rateand the pupils knowledge of laser cutting was limited tomaterial choice.

The mentor had reported unfamiliarity with laser cuttingtechnology and their lower power laser system preventedall pupils from individually cutting a mechanism, andexperiencing the technology, as the machine at this schoolwas too slow for use in lessons. The PGCE student didsuccessfully produce the mechanisms in various materialsfor the pupils, and also used the cutter to produceteaching aids for gear theory.

School 3The resource was used in a ten lesson curriculum projectfor year 9 pupils. The PGCE trainee at this school was notcomfortable with the technology and engineering aspectsof the resource, and had reported this to the researcher.The school had a new laser cutter but no projects orexperience, the member of staff that had used theprevious equipment had left.

The school’s existing projects were more aestheticallyfocused and the mentor saw this project as an opportunityto integrate the mechanism into teaching. The mentor’smain reservation with the resource was the lack ofdifferentiation as it was felt that it was currently onlytargeted to the more able pupils, the mentor and traineewere also unsure of what to incorporate the mechanisminto as the resource was not already provided with productdesign activities.

During the final lesson at this school, the pupils weresupposed to be evaluating the mechanisms they hadmade. However due to technical difficulties, manufactureof the cases had been delayed to the last session. Thepupils were unable to complete the manufacture of theirdesigns and were unable to test and evaluate themechanism within the initially planned 10 lessons. They



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had already manufactured and assembled the sub-components in other lessons and so had gained exposureto elements of the design. There were also fullyconstructed mechanisms, made by the trainee, to be usedfor discussion throughout the project. Pupils did not fullyunderstand the timer mechanism they were building orthe manufacturing process. They were unaware of theterminology and could not explain how the mechanismthey had previously seen worked.

Findings and DiscussionGeneral feedback from the PGCE focus groups waspositive, there was little objection to the idea of using alaser cut timer in D&T. Discussions at the end of the focusgroup sessions revealed there was a lot of variation in thetrainee’s content (subject) knowledge, with many in thegroup having low technological knowledge relating to theengineering elements of the design and the use of lasercutting machinery. The final discussion, led by one of thePGCE course teachers, was supposed to developpedagogical knowledge with the resource by formulatingways to use the resource but as they did not have thecontent knowledge to understand what would be theimportant STEM areas to teach the group was focused onhealth, safety and practicality issues.

Although everyone was able to assemble theirmechanism, some of those assembling the mechanismbecame dependant on the teacher. They stopped readingtheir instruction guide and copied the teacher. This isevidence of surface learning techniques. Deeper learningwould be promoted if pupils were allowed to investigate

and assemble the mechanisms for themselves, withminimal teacher intervention.

The method of experiential learning was successfullydemonstrated in the second focus group where learnersperformed the experimentation activity to explore therelationship between pendulum length and clock rate, andalso the function of individual components in themechanism. The cycle of the experiential learning modelwas; experimenting with the mechanism, apprehendingfrom experience, reflecting and discussing the proposedtheory with others and retesting their theory and finallycomprehending how the mechanism works.

Analysing the results of the case study from a teacherknowledge perspective revealed many of the problemsencountered and explained the results. Before theteaching project, the trainee and mentor from school 1were the most technically able and were confident indelivering the content from the school’s past experience ofteaching engineering and use of laser cutters; In contrastwith schools 2 and 3 who both reported unfamiliarity withthe STEM content and the use of laser cutters before theproject. This shows how the teacher’s own perceptions ofhaving to teach technology in D&T can take them out oftheir comfort zone. Although school 1 had the bestresources and was the most technically capable, havingexisting long running laser cutting projects, they wereresistant to delivering the more advanced features that thisproject offered. Their laser cutter was being used toproduce many different shape cutting projects, with whichthey were comfortable with. This shows that advanced

Figure 8. Laser cutting results from pupil questionnaires, n=36



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utilisation of this equipment may be limited as aconsequence of insufficient technological knowledge,even in schools that are frequently using the technology.

In none of the schools were the pupils made to performthe separate experimentation activity with the timer. Thisactivity was shown to the trainees, during the focusgroups, as a way to incorporate science investigation intothe lesson. In the final debriefing with the trainees this wasdiscussed with them. The trainees thought that thatteaching pupils about laser technology and understandingthe mechanism may not be relevant in D&T and is moresuited to the physics classroom. This again highlights anissue with technological knowledge but it is also a majorissue to the delivery of technical content in D&T. Thiscould be clear evidence that teachers from a non-STEMbackground have a substantial difficulty not just deliveringthe content but understanding its importance.The trainees themselves were unfamiliar with thetechnology and were unable to answer pupil questions onthe workings of laser cutters. Furthermore, they wereunable to deliver relevant content to pupils about lasercutters, as evident from pupils’ questionnaire results inFigure 8. This is the type of behaviour that the resource istrying to address as it is aiming to encourage the teachingof technology in D&T.

The fourth school withdrew from the research at an earlystage. This was because the trainees were unable toincorporate the resources given into a lesson plan todeliver to pupils. This was an unexpected result as thetrainee at this school was an engineering graduate so,therefore, had the technical knowledge but was unable todevelop it with the necessary pedagogical knowledge todeliver the content. This is a clear example of the TPACKframework where it is not enough to just understand theabstract technological knowledge; teachers must developa combined technological pedagogical content knowledgeto be able to use such resources for teaching.

There were observed issues with surface learning, forexample the pupils’ limited or incorrect use of technicalnames of the components which shows incompleteunderstanding of how the engineering and technologyworked. This was evident in school 3 where the pupilscould not relate the theory to their mechanism. Anunderstanding of how the mechanism worked, i.e. deeplearning, not just the names of components, wereobserved in the final pupil presentations of school 2. Thedifference in pupils knowledge is related the use ofexperiential and problem based learning techniques. Schools 1 and 2 produced experiential learning gearactivities to teach gear design to pupils. Through this, the

pupils could investigate different gear ratios to understandhow they work, they could then reflect on their experiencewhen learning the mathematics of gears. The experientialmethod of learning this worked well in these two schoolsand pupils were able to demonstrate their workingknowledge of gears at the end of their projects. Thetrainees at schools 1 and 2 also built demonstrationtimers so that pupils could experience the mechanism atthe beginning of the project; this appeared to help pupilsunderstand the mechanism so they could create theirown.

Pupils at school 3 were taught gear theory first beforetrying to design their own gear-based mechanisms and didnot use an experiential learning method. Observations atthe end of the project showed that pupils at school 3struggled to explain how the mechanism worked andcould not relate the gear theory to the design.

Features of a problem based learning strategy wereapparent in school 2. The teacher had incorporated themechanism into a product design problem for the pupils.The pupils worked in groups to analyse and solveproblems with incorporating the mechanism into theirproduct. The lesson plans from all three schools revealthat STEM content was delivered in specific lessons at thebeginning of the project, and was not applied elsewhereduring the project. It was thought that problem basedlearning, incorporating the mechanism into a product,would aid the integration of STEM throughout the project.Although guidance on how to deliver problem basedlearning, or which lessons should specifically deliver STEMcontent was not given to the trainees. This shows thatdirection for teachers on problem based learning andSTEM lessons needs to be introduced to the existingresources.

There was no evidence from the lesson plans,observations or post-activity interviews that the activitiesintended for the mechanism to achieve the higher thecognitive levels of the taxonomy of educational objectiveswere achieved or encouraged by the teachers. Theschools showed evidence of remembering andunderstanding the gear mechanisms and pupils were ableto apply their knowledge to gear calculations. The creativeaspects of the project were planned as opportunities forpupils to develop new mechanism features and apply theyown ideas in incorporating the mechanism into a product.The experimentation activity was also designed to getpupils to analyse and evaluate the mechanism, applyingtheir science and mathematics knowledge to design. Thefeatures of the resource intended to facilitate the higherlevels of the taxonomy were not clear enough for the



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teachers and the trainees reported were not confident indelivering the exercises and content.

Pupil satisfaction results from the questionnaire are shownin Figure 9. They reveal how positive the responses frompupils were in relation to the STEM content and thehorology project. This is a very successful initial result andindicates the expected level of enthusiasm pupils have fora STEM project as well as the success of using a complextheme such as horology to deliver it. The result opposesthe teachers initial reporting that pupils would not beattracted to such a technology driven project.

There were other factors affecting the results of theschools. The pupils in case study 3 were in an unexpectedsituation where they had already selected their GCSEoptions before undertaking the timer project. It was statedby their teacher that the majority of the class had selectednot to continue with D&T at GCSE. This has two effects onthe results of the project. The pupils are more likely to bedisinterested in learning the subject as they know it doesnot matter to them anymore, resulting in a poorer uptake;this could account for the surface learning results of thepupils in school 3. As they have already selected theirGCSE options the project cannot encourage pupils to aim

Figure 9 : Pupil satisfaction results from questionnaires, n=36


for a STEM career and cannot influence pupils to continuewith a STEM education.

Case study 1 observes the resources being delivered in anafterschool club, limited to the G&T pupils. The schoolmade this decision as they felt that the content of theproject was beyond the capability of a full year 9 class.Due to the successful implementation of the project witha full year 8 class, school case study 2, the content issuitable for years 8 or 9.

ConclusionsIn order to enable this small trial there has been asubstantial amount of work in the preparation of thematerials in a form which is accessible and suitable forteachers and pupils to use. It was essential to produce adesign of a suitable quality to introduce the intendedconcepts in a creative and challenging way to pupils. The design was carefully crafted not to overshoot theability of this age group of pupils. This was something thatmay have happened if using examples of traditionalmechanical clockwork. Likewise, the capability of schoolequipment and budgetary constraints were consideredfrom the beginning. There was a significant amount ofwork in the design to ensure that it was robust enough tobe successful. If the level of work was reduced then it wasthought that it would not allow pupils to build a functionalproduct that they could appreciate. The detail included inthe mechanism allowed for future development of newactivities, as there were many more potential areas forpupils to investigate.

The results in Figure 8 demonstrate that at this age groupthe pupils were unaware of the details in using thistechnology and this showed that pupils would not haveintuitively done these types of activities. However, Figure 9shows that they did enjoy the content. It is encouragingthat pupils do want this level of complexity in a project.The results also revealed the need for more teacherfocused resources to help fill the gaps in technologicalknowledge and pedagogic content knowledge relating tothe application of laser cutters and mechanical systems. The question we have attempted to answer is, could weinspire pupils who don’t understand laser cuttingtechnology to do more with the equipment they haveavailable? Although this was a small trial of the project theresearch demonstrated that pupils in year 8 wereresponsive to STEM projects that use appropriate delivery

and experiential teaching methods. It is hoped thattargeting this age group will improve the number ofstudents continuing with STEM education at GCSE leveland beyond. The teachers’ limitations affecting the deliveryof specific content in the project have been identified andcan be addressed with future developments andadditional resources.

There is plenty of opportunity to expand the project andintroduce other schemes of work to increase the teachingof technical content following the same pupil learningmethods. Further work includes the formation of an onlinedelivery method for the resources allowing pupils todirectly access projects to improve independent learningand teacher facilitation as well as the creation of acontinuing professional development course for teachersin laser manufacturing to train them in unfamiliar content.Additional teaching resources should include guides to themodule and its content, resource based activities andmore explicitly promote experiential and problem basedlearning actions.

Subsequent projects to be developed will investigate theother areas associated with laser cutting. For example,introducing advanced concepts such as parametric CAD,to exploit more functionality, and to investigatemanufacturing of textile components using lasers to createfootwear. Eventually, the aim is to have a series of projectsthat develops pupils’ knowledge in STEM and thecreative/practical skills associated with laser technology asthey progress through education.

This project was relatively small, with three schoolparticipants, but the foundations have now been createdto be able to further investigate these projects and theirimpact in schools. It is now believed that the project canbe expanded and studied on a larger scale. The teachingmaterials created from this research are available atclocks.lboro.ac.uk. Feedback is welcomed.

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