Abstract

Often there is complaint about the lack of resources for the practice of technology education.  Resources in this case refer to materials that are used in a technology education classroom or workshop. The stipulation from the South African education policy document (DoE, 2002:1) that learners should “identify and solve problems and make decisions using critical and creative thinking” can be exploited to create a solution to the shortage of resources through the use of waste-bin materials. Identifying or relooking at the waste-bin to find resources is a creative way of solving some of the resource problems in a technology education classroom or workshop. In this article, the waste-bin is seen as a niche area for technological material resources. While there are different waste-bins, there are also all sorts of different materials that can be found in a waste bin. An argument is made in this paper that “waste materials” should not of necessity be construed as wasted materials as these can still be reused.  Three technological projects are undertaken using waste materials.  The purpose is to prove that materials from the waste bin can be used for a technological encounter, knowledge and experience. A workshop was organized with 30 student teachers taking an advanced certificate in technology education course. Evaluation was conducted at the end of the workshop to establish whether the purpose of this study was achieved or not.

Key words: Technology, technology education, waste-bin, waste material., scavenging, resources, critical and creative thinking.