An Analysis on American Technology Learning Standards for High School Students and Its Enlightenment

【Abstract】：Massachusetts is located in the northeast of the United States and is a part of New England region. It not only has a large number of institutions of higher education， but its excellent secondary education resources are also second to none in all states. In the United States， the high school education is the most important stage to cultivate the students’ technological literacy. “Standard for Technological literacy： Content for the Study of Technology” is the guidance document of technology curriculum standards in the United States. Massachusetts technology learning standards for high school students is the deepening and refinement of “standard for technological literacy”， and it is also an important textual bases for the state’ high school technology education and learning. The study of the Massachusetts high school technology learning standards can help us to better comprehend the status of technology education.

【Key words】： Massachusetts State high school technology learning standards

1. Technology learning standards for Massachusetts high school students

In the pre-primary education， the state students have access to technology education and technology thinking， which has done a very good bedding for the future learning. Technology education in high school is also divided into seven modules： Firstly， engineering design involves the ability to solve practical problems， the ability to invent and research. Secondly， architectural design modules require high school students to explain the engineering properties of the materials used in the structure and explain how the material is selected in the building. Thirdly， fluid system require high school students to learn to the fundamental differences between open fluid systems and closed fluid systems and illustrate how they relate to manufacturing and transport systems. Besides， thermal systems involve the conduction， convection， radiation of energy and are used to control the environment. While the communication technology require students to interpret the information transmission in wires， fibers， air and space. Lastly， material technology module include how to describe the manufacturing process flow of each stage and to identify the necessary conditions for the selection of safety tools and procedures in the material process. The above learning standards of the seven modules require students who should have ability to solve problems or meet challenges with using engineering design processes. So these curriculums have compact structure which is conducive for students to master the technology concepts and technology literacy.

2. The enlightenment for Chinese high school technology education

Firstly， the Massachusetts technology learning standard is an operational plan that incorporates the specific characteristics of the state's economic and social development. At present， China pursues the principle of \"more textbooks based on one guideline”， and regards the country's \"technology curriculum standards\" as the fundamental direction. However， every province or city did not draw the local standards for technology education by combining the characteristics of their economic structure and industrial development. Hence， we should establish local technology education standards in line with regional characteristics.

Secondly， Massachusetts technology education learning standards reflect the further transformation of American education concept. what all these expressed is that students should know some factors， comprehend some procedures， perform some operations. This is the most concrete manifestation of the student-oriented educational ideology in the technology education documents. While， in our country， we have experienced the change of the teaching idea from performing the \" teaching syllabus standards\" influenced by the Soviet education thoughts in early years of founding nation to observing the \"curriculum standards\" affected by western education thoughts. While the student-oriented educational concept is the basic root that the school education should rely on. So， we must definite the subject status of students， pay attention to protect their individuality， develop their potential.

Thirdly， Massachusetts technology education ran through the whole basic education stage from the pre-primary education to high school education ， which formed a complete， continuous and systematic technology education system. However， in our country， kindergarten did not have the technology education， high school students mainly study labor technology and information technology. All in all， The grim reality of Chinese technology education calls for a complete and continuous technology education system.

In summary， from the above analysis of the main content of Massachusetts technology learning standards as well as their advantages， we can gain enlightenment to establish local technology study standards fitting regional characters，obey student-centered philosophy of technology education and form a systematic technology education system in basic education.

Word cited

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Massachusetts Department of Education.Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering curriculum Framework.21.Feb 2017.< http：//www.doe.mass.edu/frameworks/scitech/1006.pdf>.

Veysey Thorstein. The Higher Learning in America： A Memorandum on the Conduct of Universities Business Men. New York： B.W. Huebsch， 1918.

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