A teacher's account of their experiences teaching graphics in Technology classrooms

Abstract

In Technology, learners are introduced to draw both technical and artistic graphics, in addition to skills such as investigation, design, making, evaluation and presentation. These skills should be gradually improved each term. However, it has been observed that teaching graphics remains a challenge for many high school technical teachers and pre-service teachers in higher education institutions. A major focus of engineering graphics and design education is on drawing-based communication, such as technical drawings. Technical drawing is considered a universal language understood by technicians and engineers around the world. The aim of the study was therefore to investigate the experience of teachers teaching graphics in technical high school classrooms, particularly in the Senior Phase Technology classrooms. The study was a case of a semi-rural school involving a Technology teacher with experience in teaching Technology and graphics. Qualitative was-structured interviews and non-participant observation were used, and inductive content analysis was used for data analysis. The results showed that although the teacher understood very basic concepts of graphics, the use of demonstration aids graphics teaching. Furthermore, the results showed that procuring resources for successful graphics teaching is a challenging factor. This article then concludes that constructivist theory has potential towards the teaching of graphics.