wing a holistic view of pupil learning experiences, as well as taking into consideration assessment for learning when reflecting on successes and failures. Grant (1983, p.145) states, ‘’The learner is like a television set which can receive information on several channels. Usually, one channel comes in more clearly and more strongly than the others and the learner may come to rely on that channel as the primary means of learning and expression.’’ Object based learning provides this direct experience that enables the application as well as the acknowledgment of experimental learning styles for both the pupil and the teachers benefit.
On the other hand, Christodoulou (2014, p.101) states, ‘’..the most effective way of remembering something is to think about it.’’ To learn a concept, one must think about it to learn and to then apply it. She goes onto state that pupils should be taught they have the ability to solve real world problems but individually, avoiding teaching them that they can already solve those problems themselves, Christodoulou (2014, p.104). This type of learning method offers fewer avenues for differently skilled pupils to walk through and learn. Teachers as well as pupils need to be able to identify varied pupil learning styles to support and recognise pupil development and assessment also. When limited aspects of these are experienced, there leaves less confidence in the pupil-teacher relationship. This passive and theoretical type of learning promotes pupil disengagement, where pupils can only depend on fewer senses for them to be able to participate in lessons.
Teachers have a responsibility to engage pupils with ranging abilities as best as possible and active/object based learning is a route that assists the success of this, ‘’The tactile system involves receptors in the skin. When you run your fingers over a surface, your tactile system gives you information on texture, shape, and temperature.’’ Grant (1983, p.151) mentions the ‘tactile’ system introduces tangible abilities in retaining information. She explains the relevance of this sensory learning method in relation to how the rest of our body assists in acquiring different bits of information at one time. From a young age, children use their senses to establish characteristics and properties of an object, ‘’They handle a new object, look at it from all sides, listen to any sound it makes, smell it, and often put it in their mouths both to taste it and to explore it with their tongues.’’ Grant’s (1983, p.144) point here supports object based learning and stresses that this type of learning has been innate in pupils from their early years. Continuing the use of such learning and teaching in the design and technology classroom benefits pupils and supports their instinctive behaviour, as well as expanding their cognitive development.
It is crucial for structure to be present in the process of analysing objects and collaborative discussions in active/object based learning. This is seen in pivotable research from Jean Piaget’s four stages of development:
The Sensorimotor stage: where the learning takes place through touc
