Educational scholars urge that new approaches to teaching science and mathematics emphasize hands-on experience to supplement or replace traditional textbook teaching. Their research findings show the need for a design component to provide this hands-on experience, particularly for the elementary grades. A new hands-on approach initiated at The University of Texas at Austin greatly assists the teaching of elementary school mathematics and science. The innovative design technology and engineering program was developed by UT mechanical engineers and professionals at the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory in Austin. Students understand mathematics and sciences through the challenge of doing and applying, not by passively observing and listening from a seat in a classroom.
Many teachers lack extensive backgrounds in mathematics and science.
Even if they took college-level courses in mathematics and science, teachers often have difficulty in relating basic principles to the technology that they and their students encounter in everyday life. The program also fosters curiosity and interest in technology that many teachers pass on to students. The observed result, in many cases, is a dramatic increase in spatial skills and in personal confidence to investigate engineering and technology that saturates our world. Design technology, beginning in Great Britain during the 1970s, was initially integrated within a craft, design, and technology framework, and student activities involved materials and awareness of industrial processes. Early in the curriculum, students are assessed on their ability to recognize problems and generate problem statements.