From the Handbook of Technology Education, “Philosophy of Technology: Themes and Topics”

From Delft University of Technology (TUDelft):

Marc’s primary interest is to make insights from the philosophy of technology fruitful for the pedagogy of technology and design. Philosophical reflections on the nature of technical artefacts, technological knowledge, design processes and the relation between technology and humans/society provide important clues as to how technology and design can be taught and learnt. Given the intimate relations between science and technology in practice, teaching about technology and design can also contribute to a deeper understanding of concepts in science.

de Vries-2018-Philosophy of Technology-Themes and Topics.pdf

https://www.bookdepository.com/Handbook-Technology-Education-Marc-De-Vries/9783319446882

Summary of The Chapter

Prof. Dr. Marc J. de Vries' chapter from the Handbook of Technology Education, “Philosophy of Technology: Themes and Topics” introduces and unpacks many forward thinking ideas about the evolution of technology education. He begins by defining technology and engineering as concepts. Although these ideas may both lie in the STEM field, they often appear as disjointed in terms of a definition. Dr. de Vries indicates that these two concepts are in fact quite connected as they are both practice-oriented types of knowledge. He differentiates between what we know as engineering sciences, which include both technology and engineering, with what we know as the natural sciences, which can be seen more in the direction of chemistry, biology and physics. The clear distinction between the engineering sciences and the natural sciences is determined not by their relative fields of study, but rather their observation of an artifact. The natural sciences observe what is the “observed reality” of the artifact, where the engineering sciences would study more the focus of the functionality of the artifact.

Prof. Dr. de Vries then continues his discussion of technology education to highlight the importance of modeling in the realm of engineering sciences. The abundance of models that are created within the engineering sciences serve a remarkable purpose of being able to help in the development of an artifact.

A key note that was highlighted during our discussion with Marc, was the idea that the model itself, is something that is not commented on enough. Although we do identify it as an essential component of the design process, the study and discussion of these models has the potential to be expanded upon far beyond current practices.

Throughout the NL technology curriculums, modeling is a significant portion of the design process. Dr. de Vries highlights the importance of discussion as a part of the modeling process. This is something that we as teachers can incorporate into improving the delivery of the current Newfoundland & Labrador curriculum by allowing students to engage in more discussion about the models that they are creating. These models are developed in ideal conditions, students in engineering sciences need to take part in a discussion that takes into consideration all of the external impacts that may exist in a real life situation that are not applicable to the models that we create.

Another important aspect that de Vries addresses within the philosophies of technology is the noting of the ethics and morals associated with a technological artifact. This again dives into the differences between the natural and engineering sciences. The different types of sciences have very different definitions of what “good” is. People who study within the field of the natural sciences are concerned with what the item physically or ideally is. A “good” item is something that in a perfect system would complete the task at hand. This is very different from the ideas in engineering sciences, because they talk directly about the practicality and functionality of an object in real conditions. This is an important concept to discuss with students as well, so that they are aware of the differences in the fields of study, and how that may impact their vocabulary and descriptors used in different situations.

The research that Dr. Marc J. deVries does in the field of technology and its various components continue to contribute greatly to the changing world of technology education.