Supporting Learning Environment Level 2

To support students to develop understanding of characteristics of technological outcomes at level 2, teachers could:

• provide students with a range of technological outcomes and non-technological objects and guide them to identify which of these could be described as technological outcomes and explain why. Technological outcomes are defined as fully realised products and systems, created by people for an identified purpose through technological practice. Once the technological outcome is placed in situ, no further design input is required for the outcome to function. Taking this definition into account, technological outcomes can be distinguished from natural objects (such as trees and rocks etc), and works of art, and other outcomes of human activity (such as language, knowledge, social structures, organisational systems etc)
• provide students with a range of contemporary and historical technological outcomes and encourage them to explore these through such things as: using, ‘playing’, dismantling and rebuilding as appropriate
• guide students to identify the technological outcomes explored as products and/or systems. Identifying an outcome as a product or system will influence the description of its physical nature. For example, if a technological outcome is identified as a product, the focus for describing its physical nature will be on the physical attributes afforded by the shaping, cutting, finishing etc of the materials it is made from. If a technological outcome is identified as a system, the focus for describing its physical nature will be on the physical attributes afforded by the components within it and how they are connected
• guide students to identify the relationship between physical and functional attributes in technological outcomes. For example the flat bottom of a cup (physical attribute) allows it to be stable on a flat surface (functional attribute)
• guide students to recognise that physical and functional attributes can give clues as to who might use the technological outcome for its intended purpose.

Describe what technological outcomes are and explain how they are different to natural objects and other things created by people

Touchy feely bag/photos known and unknown objects

Categorise objects into technological and non-technological outcomes.
Set up photo/image activity to do the same.

Photo image activity, possibly a street scene, or an older image from inside a house (lounge room)

Give students a photograph (e.g. a street scene).
Provide students with a graphic organizer to write two lists, technological outcomes and the non-tech outcomes.
Have students explain/justify their lists.

Identify a technological product and describe relationships between the physical and functional attributes

Teacher has objects / objects aligned to a context for students to explore, and describe the technological outcome.
Could also use this strategy by using teacher sourced images.

Set up series of objects with starter questions for students to explore. Starter questions focus on materials objects are made from and why they’re important for the outcome to function.
Ask students what alternative materials the object could have been made from.

Venn diagram chart.

Use a Venn diagram chart to allow students to make connections between what something is made of, and what it can do.

Identify a technological system and describe relationships between the physical and functional attributes

Have a range of technological systems / products. Get students to identify those that are technological systems and the physical attributes of their components.
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Teacher to lead discussion around input, output, components. and why the connections between components is important.
Could use a remote control toy, windup toy or simple mechanical toy.

Describe the physical and/or functional attributes of a technological outcome that provide clues as to who might use it .

Physical and functional object matching game using images.

Using technological outcome from within a topic/context that’s students are familiar with, identify their physical and function attributes

Repeat exercise using technological outcome from within a topic/context that’s students are unfamiliar with.