Show Notes
Send me a message. In this episode, I delve into the fundamental purpose of the design and technology curriculum, focusing on the concept of D&T capability. Drawing from seminal research by Richard Kimball and Kay Stables, I explore how this capability encompasses creative and critical thinking, problem-solving, and solution creation within authentic contexts. I unpack how D&T capability isn't something that simply emerges through teaching knowledge and practical skills – it requires ...
More from Talking D&T
Send me a message. This week I'm digging into curriculum consultations — specifically the one currently open for Northern Ireland's Technology and Design curriculum, which I helped draft and which closes on 30 September. Before getting into the detail, I wanted to clear up something that keeps coming up in conversations, including one I had only today: what a national curriculum document actually does. In England and Northern Ireland, these documents say what should be taught and why — not ho...
Send me a message. I’ve been away for a while, and coming back means being honest about why: an Achilles rupture that never healed properly, surgery at the end of July, and six weeks in a boot that has forced me to slow down. Recovery has been “pretty alright” and also a bit rubbish, but the bigger story is what that pause has done for my headspace. Stepping back from the constant churn of design and technology education has given me room to think about what matters, what helps, and what the ...
Send me a message. I recently attended an event at Nottingham Trent University that wasn't really aimed at me — but it got me thinking in ways I wasn't expecting. Industry designers were talking to final-year product design students about what it takes to succeed in the profession, and I found myself scribbling notes and asking: what does any of this mean for D&T classrooms? In this episode, I share my reflections on that event and dig into some of the ideas that stuck with me. We're talk...
Send me a message. A curriculum can look tidy on paper while the teacher behind it is quietly thinking, “Am I getting this right?” We sit with that reality and treat it seriously, because design and technology education is full of high-frequency decisions that rarely come with neat, usable evidence attached. When you are choosing content, planning projects, or defending DT to senior leaders, guesswork is a poor tool, yet it is often what we are left with. This week I unpack some of the speci...
Send me a message. D&T curriculum leadership often feels like making consequential calls with half a map. When time is squeezed, pupils disengage, policies shift, and senior leaders want clear rationales, it is easy to end up relying on instinct or borrowed evidence from other subjects. I wanted to pause on a simple but uncomfortable question for primary and secondary Design and Technology subject leads across England, the UK, and beyond: what decisions are you making right now where you ...