Teaching materials technology

Materials technology is also known as 'resistant materials'; it covers the designing and making of products primarily in metals, timbers and plastics, and modelling in card and foams. It may also, in some schools, include ceramics, electro-mechanical systems and compliant materials such as textiles. As the subject has developed, in some schools it has become 'product design' or 'core design'. If teaching in all these areas sounds daunting, don't panic! Your training will cover materials technology, core design and at least one additional area. If you are a post-graduate student, your first degree is unlikely to have covered the breadth of knowledge and skills required for materials technology. However, teaching in a design and technology department is a team operation; you and your colleagues support one another. Senior management will have recruited a team with complementary skills who can work together. Throw yourself into your new professional role and continue to learn as you teach. This chapter aims to help you identify the knowledge and skills you will need to teach materials technology through analysing curriculum guidelines and examination specifications. This is particularly important because as you move on in the teaching profession you will adopt new specifications, and inevitably any National Curriculum or guidelines in place now will change. It is vital, therefore, to develop your ability to analyse the curriculum and specifications and identify from them: • the knowledge and skills you need to teach • the level to which you need to teach them • what you already know and don't know • where you need support or development.