Becoming a D&T Teacher

Design and technology prepares pupils to participate in tomorrow's rapidly changing technologies. They learn to think and intervene creatively to improve quality of life. The subject calls for pupils to become autonomous and creative problem solvers, as individuals and members of a team. They must look for needs, wants and opportunities and respond to them by developing a range of ideas and making products and systems. They combine practical skills with an understanding of aesthetics, social and environmental issues, function and industrial practices. As they do so, they reflect on and evaluate present and past design and technology, its uses and effects. Through design and technology, all pupils can become discriminating and informed users of products, and become innovators.

Design and Technology - The National Curriculum for England, DfEE & QCA

The National Curriculum in England also specifies the activities through which D&T should be taught:

• Product Analysis; in which pupils examine the designing and making of others
• Focused Practical Tasks (FPTs); short tasks with a specific teaching point to develop, for example, a technique, a skill, understanding of a processes or knowledge
• Design and Make Assignments (DMAs); longer tasks in which pupils demonstrate their capability to design and make in the specialist area.

Training to teach D&T in England

Teaching is a graduate profession - that is, you have to have a first degree then gain Qualified Teacher Status (QTS).

There are therefore, broadly, three routes into teaching:

• A first degree that offers QTS - entry to all undergraduate courses is via the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS)
• A post-graduate teacher training path - entry to most post-graduate routes is through the Graduate Teacher Training Registry (GTTR)
• The School Direct Training Programme administered directly by theTeaching Agency offers a learn-on-the-job route into teaching. This replaces the previous Graduate Teacher Programme (GTP) and provides an employment-based route into teaching for high-quality graduates with three or more years’ career experience.

In addition, some institutions offer a D&T specialist degree in Education Studies that offers progression onto a PGCE course after graduation.

Training to teach D&T in  Wales

To find out more about training to teach Design and Technology in Wales, go to www.teachertrainingcymru.org

Training to teach D&T in Scotland

To find out more about training to teach Design and Technology in Scotland, go to teachinginscotland.com