Supporting Learning Environment Level 2

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

• guide students to understand that design concepts refers to design ideas for parts of an outcome, as well as the conceptual design for the outcome as a whole
• provide students with the opportunity to explore a variety of functional models and identify the specific design concept/s being tested
• guide students to discuss the sorts of things that could be explored and tested using functional modelling
• provide students with a range of prototyping examples and guide them to identify the specifications that were used to evaluate the prototype. Examples should include the modelling practices of technologists.
• provide students with the opportunity to discuss how specifications provide a way of measuring the fitness for purpose of the prototype

Describe the sorts of things that functional modelling can be used for in technology

Discuss examples of functional models for a range of products

What information about physical nature does this model give me?
What information about functional nature does this model give me?
What was the purpose of this model? (testing physical attribute and/or functional attributes)

Provide students with examples of tech outcomes alongside possible forms (pictures /photos) of functional modelling

e.g. Technological outcome = mobile phone. Functional modelling = drawings, circuit diagrams, mock ups.
What can functional modelling be used for?
Discuss how each functional model could be used, what information does it provide, e.g. to test design ideas (parts of e.g. just buttons), conceptual ideas (the whole)

Identify the design concept being tested in particular functional models

Explore functional modelling in the story of the development of a technological outcome.

Give students a story (Gadget Nation book is good) about a tech outcome and its development. What forms of functional modelling was done? They identify the design concepts being tested in the functional modelling done. Discuss both the functional models that were described in the story, as well as other forms of functional modelling that could/might have been done but weren’t written about. They also describe the information the technologist gained from that functional modelling.

Identify why prototyping is important in technology

Explore prototyping in the story of the development of a technological outcome.

Give students a story (Gadget Nation book is good) about a tech outcome and its development. What did the prototyping process tell them? What did it tell them about the outcomes fitness for purpose? Why is prototyping important?

Prototype products that have never gone into production
(e.g. apple prototypes… )

Show examples and discuss

• what testing was/might have been done?
• what did/could it have told them?
• why did it go no further?
• why is prototyping important?
  

Identify the specifications used to evaluate particular prototypes.

Explore prototype products that have never gone into production
(e.g. apple prototypes… )

Show examples and discuss

• what might have been the specifications for this product?
• how was the prototype used to measure these specifications? e.g. testing of the prototype
• what did/could this process have told them?
• why did it go no further? next steps?