About Research
Current and recent research that Torben is involved in includes:
- Systems Thinking.This work is focusing on secondary education, with a particular focus on the use of systems thinking in ECT within D&T and on the uses and understandings of systems diagrams. This work will , I hope, constitute the core of a PhD thesis. So far this work has produced some conference papers.
- Creativity and Electronics, with John Martin. This is a study of the teaching approaches adopted in electronics and the effect these have in encouraging, or not, creative work. Preliminary findings are outlined in a papers to the BERA 2004 and DATA 2005 conferences.
- Autonomy in Primary D&T, with Alan Cross. The focus here is on the ways that D&T is taught in primary schools and the effects that teaching methods have on pupil autonomy.
- Non-rotational courses in KS3 D&T, with Louise Davies. This is a short study, funded by QCA, of some schools that have found ways of organising their KS3 D&T curriculum without the use of rotational or 'carousel' arrangements. The findings were summarised at DATA's 2005 conference and will be published in due course by QCA.
Torben is a member of the editorial boards for the Design and Technology Association's (DATA) ‘Journal of Design & Technology Education’ and annual International Research Conference.
The publications section of this website contains details of all research papers written by Torben, most are available as PDF files.
Previous research has included:
- Relationships between Maths, Science and D&T
- The development of online learning systems
- The development of Internet use in UK schools from 1997 onwards, with Alan Jervis.
