Wood Technology and Key Skills

In addition to their specific content and knowledge, the subjects and short courses of junior cycle provide students with opportunities to develop a range of key skills. There are opportunities to support all key skills in this course, but some are particularly significant. The examples below identify some of the elements that are related to learning activities in Wood Technology. Teachers can also build many of the other elements of particular key skills into their classroom planning. The eight key skills are set out in detail in Key Skills of Junior Cycle.

Key skill	Key skill element	Examples of student learning activities
Being creative	Exploring options and alternatives	Students will research design solutions to a given design brief.
Being literate	Expressing ideas clearly and accurately	Students will select the most appropriate media to communicate their ideas/solutions.
Being numerate	Expressing ideas mathematically	Students will use correct scientific and mathematical notation when calculating moisture content.
Communicating	Using language	Students will demonstrate correct technical language when explaining a process.
Managing information and thinking	Thinking creatively and critically	Students will engage in innovative thinking to create a solution and critique their solution based on the needs of the problem.
Managing myself	Setting and achieving personal goals	Students will establish a plan of work and apply it to the creation of an artefact.
Staying well	Being responsible, safe and ethical in using digital technology	Students will work ethically and safely online and when using the internet as a learning resource.
Working with others	Co-operating	Students will collaborate to research and develop solutions to a given problem.