Learning involves recognizing the consequences of one’s actions
Recognizing the consequences of one’s own actions can be a hard lesson to learn. The shop class setting is a natural place to practice reflecting on one’s actions and how they affected their work, their relationships, and interactions with the land. This principle is not always intrinsic to students, or even many adults, and may require teachers to step in and aid students in reflecting on their actions and what the consequences may have been.
Individual responsibility, social responsibility, and safety
Technology education intuitively offers many opportunities for students to recognize the consequences of their actions. When in a shop with many extremely dangerous tools and machines, students need to be aware of the dangers to themselves and others. The British Columbia Technology Education Association (BCTEA) offers a guiding document for covering safety in the technology education classroom, Heads Up! For Safety (2019). This guide demonstrates the minimum standards to keeping technology education classrooms and shops safe for students and teachers. It is critical that students understand machine use and safety before ever operating said machine for the safety of themselves and others (BCTEA, 2019). Strict protocols need to be put in place to prepare students to uphold safety standards for themselves and to also ensure the safety of others in the room. Creating a classroom culture of mutual safety among students is paramount to reducing physical, mental, and emotional harm.
Precision and mindfulness
Almost every technology teacher can attest that students who are careless or rush their work will create an inferior final product. Educators need to aid students in learning what patience is and how it often pays off in the long run. It is a hard skill to learn and (perhaps appropriately, if not ironically) takes a long time to learn. Helping students hone their skills of focusing on the task at hand and taking their time will set them up for future success.
Care for the land
Technology is often seen as the root to many of humanity’s problems (such as climate change) while also being trusted to save the planet, our health, and increase economic productivity (Seemann, 2009). Integrating Indigenous views and ways of knowing will aid in inspiring Indigenous learners and open the minds of non-Indigenous learners to different ways of approaching sustainability-focused design (Gumbo, 2017). By creating an environmentally conscious course, educators prepare students to think critically about what they are designing and making, how they relate to themselves and their community, and the potential environmental ramifications they or others could create if proper care and research is not taken.