Collaborative learning in technology education: D&T unit on puppetry in different Indian socio-cultural contexts

The paper reports on the trials of a Design and Technology (D&T) unit carried out in three different Indian contexts with a focus on collaborative learning. Both collaboration and technology education are not common to the Indian school system. As part of a larger project to introduce technology education, suitable for middle school girls and boys in urban and rural areas, three culturally appropriate and gender sensitive D&T units were developed. All the units were tried out with middle school students in different socio-cultural settings: two schools in urban areas (with different languages of teaching and learning) and one in a rural area. This paper presents details of a unit on puppetry which involved making a puppet and staging a puppet-show. Aspects of collaboration within and among groups were observed with respect to: roles played by the members, conflicts and their resolution, sharing of resources, communication and peer review among the students. The trials in the three clusters indicate the potential of this D&T unit to provide collaborative learning situations for the multicultural contexts of Indian classrooms.