Collaborative learning in technology education: D&T unit on puppetry in different Indian socio-cultural contexts

• Published in: International journal of technology and design education Vol. 19; no. 1; pp. 1 - 14
• Main Authors: Mehrotra, Swati, Khunyakari, Ritesh, Natarajan, Chitra, Chunawala, Sugra
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01.03.2009; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Asian culture; Behavioral Objectives; Collaboration; Cooperative Learning; Cultural Context; Design; Education; Educational Quality; Educational Research; Educational Technology; Foreign Countries; Group Dynamics; India; Information technology; Learning and Instruction; Learning Processes; Middle School Students; Middle Schools; Puppetry; Rural Areas; Science Education; Teaching Methods; Technology; Technology Education; Units of Study; Urban Areas; India; Technology education; Middle school students; Gender; Socio-cultural settings; Collaborative learning; Communication
• ISSN: 0957-7572; 1573-1804
• DOI: 10.1007/s10798-007-9037-1

The paper reports on the trials of a Design and Technology (D&T) unit carried out in three different Indian contexts with a focus on collaborative learning. Both collaboration and technology education are not common to the Indian school system. As part of a larger project to introduce technology education, suitable for middle school girls and boys in urban and rural areas, three culturally appropriate and gender sensitive D&T units were developed. All the units were tried out with middle school students in different socio-cultural settings: two schools in urban areas (with different languages of teaching and learning) and one in a rural area. This paper presents details of a unit on puppetry which involved making a puppet and staging a puppet-show. Aspects of collaboration within and among groups were observed with respect to: roles played by the members, conflicts and their resolution, sharing of resources, communication and peer review among the students. The trials in the three clusters indicate the potential of this D&T unit to provide collaborative learning situations for the multicultural contexts of Indian classrooms.