Elementary, Secondary, and Informal Education: Assessing Technological Literacy in the United States

国家工程院和国家研究理事会教育中心提出了一个为期两年的项目，其目标是确定评估技术素养的最可行的一个或多个方法。根据提案的定义，技术素养包括对技术的性质、设计过程和技术历史的了解；就技术提出问题和作出知情决定的能力；以及与使用技术有关的一定程度的动手能力。该项目将关注美国三个不同的人群：K-16岁的学生、K-16岁的教师和失学的成年人。它将由国家研究委员会在与国家工程院协商后任命的一个委员会监督，该委员会将由认知科学、评估、课程开发、技术教育和教师教育等领域的专家组成。该委员会将收集和分析相关文献，并通过研讨会和委托撰写的论文获得信息，然后就评估技术素养提出建议。主要成果将是一份报告，介绍委员会的工作、调查结果和结论，然后提出建议。结果将是一份广泛传播的、可见的、得到充分支持的文件，它将：(A)提高教育研究人员和政策制定者对现有的和新的技术素养评估方法进行批判性评估的能力；(B)鼓励将与技术相关的项目纳入既定的评估(如NAEP)；以及(C)帮助开发新的方法，以确定美国人口的不同亚群对技术的了解程度。

The National Academy of Engineering and the National Research Council Center for Education propose a two-year project, the goal of which is to determine the most viable approach or approaches for assessing technological literacy. Technological literacy, as defined in the proposal, includes an understanding of the nature of technology, the design process and the history of technology; a capacity to ask questions and make informed decisions about technology; and some level of hands-on capability related to the use of technology. The project will focus on three distinct populations in the United States: K-16 students, K-16 teachers and out-of-school adults. It is to be overseen by a committee appointed by the National Research Council in consultation with the National Academy of Engineering which is to be comprised of experts in such fields as cognitive science, assessment, curriculum development, technology education and teacher education. The committee will collect and analyze relevant literature and get information through workshops and commissioned papers prior making a recommendation for assessing technological literacy. The primary product will be a report that describes the committee's work, findings and conclusions, and then presents its recommendations. The outcome will be a widely disseminated, visible, well-supported document that will: (a) increase the ability of educational researchers and policy makers to critically evaluate established and new methods for assessing technological literacy; (b) encourage the inclusion of technology-related items in established assessments (e.g., NAEP); and (c) help develop new approaches for determining what various subsets of the U.S. population know about technology.