Teacher Guidance Level 1

To support students to develop understanding of Brief Development at Level 1, teachers could:

• provide the need or opportunity and develop the conceptual statement in negotiation with the students.
• provide a range of attributes for discussion and guide students to identify the attributes an appropriate outcome should have.

Indicators of Progression

Teaching Strategy

Explanation

Communicate the outcome to be produced.

Talk about technological products.

Have students explain the attributes and uses for a range of known technological products. For example, a pencil is made from wood, used to write and draw.

Literacy development – use of describing words.

Get students to describe products using terminology such as: light, heavy, shiny, red, plastic, paper etc.

Describing products from drawings.

Students are asked to describe from a picture of a known product such things as:

• What it is made from?
• What is its colour, shape?
• What it is used for?

Using products students have used, seen and/or made before.

Through discussion and/or during story-writing time, students describe/record products they have used, seen and/or made before. This can be in a written format (by teacher) or visual format (by students). Have a range of products prepared for student engagement.

Identify attributes for an outcome.

Talk about a range of technological products in terms of their attributes.

Students are asked to talk about the products in terms of what they do/are used for, what they are made from, where they are used etc.

Describing who will use an outcome, where it will be used, what it needs to do.

Use a template with stems for students to complete. For example:
Outcomes will:

• be used by …
• made from …
• be used to …

Teacher Guidance Level 2

To support students to develop understanding of Brief Development at Level 2, teachers could:

• provide the need or opportunity and develop the conceptual statement in negotiation with the students.
• guide students to discuss the implications of the need or opportunity and the conceptual statements and support them to establish a list of attributes an appropriate outcome could have.
• provide students with an overview of the resources available and guide them to take this into account when identifying the attributes for the outcome.

Indicators of Progression

Teaching Strategy

Explanation

Explain the outcome to be produced.

Explain a range of technological products in terms of:

• the problem they resolve (what they do)
• their attributes
• where they are used.

Use a range of known and unknown technological products so that students explain them:

• from their experience of interacting with them
• through 'predicting' where they are used, who uses them etc.

Explaining who will use their outcome, where it will be used, what it needs to do.

Use a template with stems for students to complete. For example:
Outcomes will:

• be used to … This will …
• be used by … to …
• will enable/allow … by …

Describe the attributes for an outcome that take account of the need or opportunity being addressed, and the resources available.

Literacy development – use of technical words.

Getting students to describe products using terminology such as: plastic, attributes, wood, copper, stakeholders, gears, lever, screw etc.

Describing who will use their outcome, where it will be used, what it needs to do.

Encourage students to use technical terminology to describe the attributes of their outcome. For example:
Outcomes will:

• be used by stakeholders who will …
• be made from 3mm diameter wire …
• be shiny to reflect …
• oval in shape to …

What are resources?

Teacher prepares a collection of physical resources or photographs.
Discuss:

• What are resources?
• What resources will be used for this outcome?

Teacher Guidance Level 3

To support students to develop understanding of Brief Development at Level 3, teachers could:

• provide the need or opportunity and develop the conceptual statement in negotiation with the students
• guide students to describe the physical and functional nature of an outcome (eg, what it looks like and what it can do) taking into account the need or opportunity, conceptual statements and resources available
• guide students to identify the key attributes an appropriate outcome should have. Key attributes reflect those that are deemed essential for the successful function of the outcome.

Indicators of Progression

Teaching Strategy

Explanation

Describe the physical and functional nature of the outcome they are going to produce and explain how the outcome will have the ability to address the need or opportunity

Describe their outcome using key questions

Questions to consider:

• What will it be used for?
• What will it look like?
• What will it be made out of?
• Where will it be used?
• Who will use it?
• Why am I making it?

Describe attributes for the outcome and identify those which are key for the development and evaluation of an outcome

Matching descriptions of 'key' attributes to a range of products.

Matching a list of described 'key' attributes (eg, made from soft spongy material that is light weight) to a range of products that students are both familiar and unfamiliar with.

Describing 'key attributes', for their outcome.

Use a template with stems for students to complete. For example:
This outcome:

• will be used to …
• look like …
• feel like …

Matching key attributes to technological products

Matching phrases that describe attributes of technological products to pictures of products, eg, 'able to cut paper' matched to 'scissors'.

Using the 'key' attributes of given products, students identify what the product is/does.

This will be used by … to …
This will be made from … so that it will …
This must be able to … so that …

Students' evaluating the 'fitness for purpose' of products against given 'key' attributes.

Provide students with a list of key attributes that describe a product.
Students asked to identify what the product is.
What makes that product 'fit for purpose'?

Students using developed key attributes to evaluate the fitness for purpose of others' products

Students evaluate a range of products against a set of given 'key attributes' to determine their fitness for purpose.
What makes that product 'fit for purpose'?

Literacy development – use of evaluative words

Students evaluating their peers developed products against their brief, making suggestions for changes to 'key' attributes to allow an evaluation to occur where necessary.

Using a 'touchy/feely bag'

Getting students to describe attributes of products using terminology that enables others to know what the product is:

• made from
• its shape
• used for

Students asked to describe a range of products concealed within a bag that they can physically touch but not see in terms of what they are feeling and smelling.

From given products attributes identify what the product is/does.

Provide students with a list of attributes that describe a product. Students asked to identify what the product is.

Students evaluating the 'fitness for purpose' of products against given attributes.

Evaluate a range of products against a set of given attributes to determine their 'fitness for purpose'.

Teacher Guidance Level 4

To support students to develop understanding of Brief Development at Level 4, teachers could:

• provide an appropriate context and issue that allows students to access resources (including key stakeholders)
• guide students to identify a need or opportunity and develop a conceptual statement
• guide students to understand the physical and functional nature required of an outcome, and how the key attributes relate to this
• guide students to consider the key stakeholders and the environment where the outcome will be located.

Indicators of Progression

Teaching Strategy

Explanation

Identify a need or opportunity from the given context and issue.

Brainstorming needs or opportunities from a given context.

Class brainstorms on board, datashow or smartboard to identify potential needs or opportunities including identification of who their stakeholders would/may be.

Using a video of a natural or man-made disaster.

Students to identify needs and/or opportunities for technological advancements/solutions that would have alleviated a disaster occurring (eg, building failures).

Personal contexts/issues.

Use personal contexts/issues to generate needs or opportunities. For example:
What needs/opportunities exist in:

• a messy bedroom?
• tramping?

Establish a conceptual statement that communicates the nature of the outcome and why such an outcome should be developed.

Analysing conceptual statements.

Providing students with a range of conceptual statements that have been used to develop technological outcomes. Encourage students to identify the 'key' information presented in the conceptual statements.
For example: A need or opportunity will be resolved by the technological outcome:

• Why it is needed?
• Where will the outcome be used?
• Who will use it?

Writing conceptual statements that describe a technological opportunity.

Presenting students with a range of needs/opportunities and asking them to write a conceptual statement that would enable technological practice to be undertaken to address them.

Writing conceptual statements from existing technological practice.

Students practice writing conceptual statements for issues/opportunities provided by teacher/identified from:

• video clips of technological practice
• Techlink resources (student examples or real Technologists' Practice case studies).

Establishing the key attributes for an outcome informed by stakeholder considerations.

Use of mind maps to identify the 'key' attributes for a range selected products.

Students work in groups to identify key attributes and discuss these in order to justify those identified.
What might have been the stakeholder need that led to those attributes?

Stakeholder questions.

Developing a series of questions that can be used to interview a person that will identify their need or opportunity. See:

• Technology student website (page 1)
• Technology student website (page 2)

Communicate key attributes that allow an outcome to be evaluated as fit for purpose.

Identifying how key attributes may vary due to different uses of similar products.

Provide a range of products that perform similar functions and discuss how different attributes are prioritised because of their intended use/stakeholder needs.
For example: Scissors:

• hair-cutting scissors – must be sharp, needle pointed end, comfortable to use.
• craft scissors – must be able to cut cardboard, blunt ended, plastic handle.

Teacher Guidance Level 5

To support students to develop understanding of Brief Development at Level 5, teachers could:

• provide an appropriate context and issue that allows students to access resources (including key stakeholders).
• support students to identify a need or opportunity and develop a conceptual statement.
• support students understand the physical and functional nature required of an outcome.
• guide students to develop key attributes into specifications.

Indicators of Progression

Teaching Strategy

Explanation

Identify a need or opportunity from the given context and issue.

Brain storming off a given context.

Class brainstorms on board, datashow or smartboard to identify potential needs or opportunities, including identification of who their stakeholders could be.
Develop a series of questions that can be used to interview a person that will identify their need or opportunity.

Using a video of a natural or man-made disaster.

Students identify needs and/or opportunities for technological advancements/solutions that would have prevented the disaster from occurring.

Personal contexts/issues.

Use personal contexts/issues to generate needs or opportunities.
For example:
What needs/opportunities exist in:

• a messy bedroom?
• tramping?

Establish the specifications for an outcome based on the nature of the outcome required to address the need or opportunity, and informed by key stakeholder considerations.

Distinguishing the difference between attributes and specifications.

Provide students with a range of briefs that contain both attributes and specifications. In groups, students identify the attributes and the specifications. (Use Techlink case studies, especially the student workbooks.)

Bulls-eye chart.

Draw three concentric circles – label the outside circle attributes, the middle circle 'key' attributes, and the inner circle specifications. Students to refine identified attributes into specifications (measurable/observerable performance expectations).

What? How? Why?

Students move from writing attributes to specifications, and then consider stakeholders.
The What = Attributes
The How = Specifications
The Why = Stakeholder considerations

Identify stakeholder considerations.

Create a client profile, to identify specifications that can meet their needs. See: Technology student website – client profile

Visiting technologists explaining the practice they undertake to develop their brief (conceptual statements and specifications).

Students to seek justifications for the specifications written in the technologists brief (ie, why were they selected?).

Deconstructing an existing product to identify specifications.

Students write brief specifications for an existing product through deconstructing it to identify such things as materials made from, cost, size of components, relationships between components, safety considerations etc.

Students presenting their developed brief to their class.

Students focus on justifying why their selected specifications are important to the need/opportunity being addressed.

Establish a conceptual statement that justifies the nature of the outcome and why such an outcome should be developed.

Writing conceptual statements for given needs or opportunities.

Students practice writing conceptual statements for issues/opportunities provided by teacher/identified from above activities.

Students presenting their conceptual statement to their class.

Students focus on justifying the nature of their outcome and why such an outcome should be developed.

Communicate specifications that allow an outcome to be evaluated as fit for purpose.

Identify how specifications may vary due to different uses within similar products.

Provide a range of products that perform similar functions and discuss how different specifications have been prioritised because of their intended use/stakeholder needs.
For example: Scissors:

• hair-cutting scissors are made from surgical quality stainless steel, because …
• craft scissors are made from carbon steel, because …

Critiquing specifications to test their measurability or if they are observerable.

Sort a range of statements into those that are specifications and those that are not measurable/observerable.
What it is that makes a specification measurable?
What it is that makes a specification observerable?

Teacher Guidance Level 6

To support students to develop understanding of Brief Development at Level 6, teachers could:

• provide an appropriate context and issue that allows students to access resources (including key stakeholders) and guide them to take into account wider community considerations
• ensure students identify a need or opportunity relevant to the given issue and context
• ensure students understand the physical and functional nature required of an outcome
• support students to develop specifications and justify them based on key and wider community stakeholder considerations.

Indicators of Progression

Teaching Strategy

Explanation

Identify a need or opportunity from the given context and issue.

Understanding the differences between a context, issue, needs and opportunity.

Scaffold students' understanding through activities such as:

• First definition /second definition
• Place mat

Use teacher-provided examples and Connected series to look at example (page 11, Support Material).

Identifying issues, needs and/or opportunities from video/case studies that describe a context.

Do the same for issue and needs and opportunity. For examples of activities refer to the book Top Tools for Social Sciences Teachers.

Reviewing the technological practice undertaken by a technologist.

Students to identify potential issues, needs and/or opportunities and provide justifications as to why they believe these are relevant to the context. Use Techlink Technologists' Practice case studies, video, and/or visits to a practicing technologist to observe their practice.

Developing questions to identify the issue, need or opportunity.

Provide a context to students and ask them to structure questions that will identify the issue, need or opportunity. This will also promote students skills in questioning techniques.
Questions can go on to a dice template to be used by current and future students.

Potential client presenting their context.

Client (real or role-play) presents their context/issue. Students question client to gain more information.
Based on this presentation/interview, the students identify the need or opportunity, and could also identify the stakeholders. Encourage students to provide justifications as to why they believe these are relevant to the context.

Establish a conceptual statement that justifies the nature of the outcome and why such an outcome should be developed

Expand on activities above

Establish the specifications for an outcome as based on the nature of the outcome required to address the need or opportunity, consideration of the environment in which the outcome will be situated and resources available.

Analysis of brief developed by practicing technologists.

Use briefs that evolve as the outcome progresses towards a technological outcome, for example:

• client specifications to architect
• architect specifications to builder.

Students are asked to identify:

• how specifications change according to their intended audience, and help clarify the justification for and needs of the outcome.
• the constraints imposed by the brief on the outcome, and therefore on the practice to realise that outcome.

Students to determine the specifications that focus on the outcome and those that are concerned with the practice undertaken to realise the outcome.

Communicate specifications that allow an outcome to be evaluated as fit for purpose.

Expand on activities above

Justify the specifications in terms of key and wider community stakeholder considerations.

Analysis of the physical and social environment in which the technological outcome will be situated including feedback from key and wider community stakeholders.

Use of evaluation tools such as :

• CAMPER (consequences, actions, minimisations etc.)
• SWOT/SWOB analysis

Teacher Guidance Level 7

To support students to develop understanding of Brief Development at Level 7, teachers could:

• provide a context that offers a range of issues for students to explore.
• support students to select an authentic issue within the context. An authentic issue is one which is connected to the context, and allows students to develop a brief for a need or opportunity that can be managed within the boundaries of their available resources.
• ensure students identify a need or opportunity relevant to the issue.
• ensure students understand the physical and functional nature required of an outcome.
• support students to justify the nature of their outcome in terms of the issue it is addressing.
• support students to develop specifications and provide justifications for them drawing from stakeholder feedback, and wider community considerations such as the resources available to develop the outcome, ongoing maintenance of the outcome once implemented, sustainability of resources used to develop the outcome and the outcome itself, disposal of the developed outcome when past its use by date.

Indicators of Progression

Teaching Strategy

Explanation

Explore the context to select an issue.

Use of a range of evaluative tools to explore and evaluate a context.

Evaluation tools could include:

• PMI
• CAMPER (consequences, actions, minimisations, etc)
• SWOT/SWOB analysis
• Waterfall questions
• What if questions
• Ryan's thinkers keys
• Evaluating dice – with key questions
• Question Box, with key questions colour-coded for different levels – see Bloom's Taxonomy.

Exploring contexts and issues.

Provide students with a variety of scenarios (contexts) to critically evaluate to identify issues that allow the undertaking of technological practice to derive a feasible solution.
Students undertake feasibility studies on the issue(s) and the likely technological practice that is required to resolve the issue(s).

Identify a need or opportunity relevant to their selected issue.

Expand on examples above

Establish a conceptual statement that justifies the nature of the outcome and why such an outcome should be developed with reference to the issue it is addressing.

Literacy development – using linking words to provide justifications.

Encourage students to use linking language such as:

• as a result of …
• because …
• therefore etc.

Student (and/or practicing technologist) critique of student developed conceptual statements.

Students (and/or practicing technologists) critically analyse other students' developed conceptual statements to ensure that they are robust and can be justified.
How does the conceptual statement address the issue?

Establish the specifications for an outcome using stakeholder feedback, and based on the nature of the outcome required to address the need or opportunity, consideration of the environment in which the outcome will be situated, and resources available.

Discuss strategies for soliciting stakeholder feedback.

Students explore the advantages and limitations of the following kinds of strategies to obtain feedback from key and wider community stakeholders:

• surveys
• Email, social networking sites
• interview – face-to-face, phone, Skype

Teacher/students create a specifications checklist.

Do the specifications consider:

• stakeholder feedback
• the nature of the outcome
• the need/opportunity
• its environment
• resources

Communicate specifications that allow an outcome to be evaluated as fit for purpose.

Students work in pairs to clarify their specifications.

Students share their specifications with a partner. The key question each asks is: Are the specifications explicit enough to be used to evaluate the fitness for purpose of a developed outcome?

Justify the specifications in terms of stakeholder feedback, and the nature of the outcome required to address the need or opportunity, consideration of the environment in which the outcome will be situated, and resources available.

Literacy development – using linking words to provide justifications.

Encourage students to use linking language such as:

• as a result of …
• because …
• therefore …
• henceforth …
• consequently …

Student (and/or practicing technologist) critique of student developed specifications.

Students (and/or practicing technologists) critically analyse each other's (student) specifications to ensure justifications presented are robust. Focus on answering questions such as:

• How do the specifications address the need or opportunity?
• How has stakeholder feedback been considered and incorporated?
• How is the outcome's environment considered?
• How do the specifications take into account the available resources?

Teacher Guidance Level 8

To support students to develop understanding of Brief Development at Level 8, teachers could:

• support students to identify a context that offers a range of issues for them to explore.
• ensure students select an authentic issue within their selected context.
• ensure students identify a need or opportunity relevant to the issue and context.
• ensure students understand the physical and functional nature required of an outcome.
• support students to justify the nature of their outcome in terms of the issue and context.
• support students to develop and justify specifications that will allow the evaluation of the outcome and its development to be judged as fit for purpose in the broadest sense. Fitness for purpose in its broadest sense refers to the 'fitness' of the outcome itself as well as the practices used to develop the outcome (eg, such things as the sustainability of resources used, ethical nature of testing practices, cultural appropriateness of trialling procedures, determination of lifecycle and ultimate disposal).

Indicators of Progression

Teaching Strategy

Explanation

Identify and evaluate a range of contexts to select an authentic issue.

Use of student exemplars and case studies of technologists practice.

Analyse previous students' technological practice/case studies to identify the critical evaluation which occurred to determine a suitable context and issue to undertake technological practice. Questions that could be answered by students include:

• What implications did the selected context impose on the technological practice undertaken to develop the technological outcome?
• Who initiated these?
• Who (stakeholders) were the beneficiaries and losers?
• What were the consequences of implementing the technological outcome?
• What was prioritised in developing and implementing the technological outcome?

Use of compare and contrast templates, such as a Venn diagram.

Students do exercises in comparing and contrasting such things as:

• contexts
• technological outcome technological practices and their component parts, such as stakeholder interactions, technological modelling, planning techniques etc.

Identify suitable clients from possible issues.

Students to critically evaluate scenarios of potential client issues to determine their suitability as potential clients. Students to justify their choices.

Developing questions to determine client suitability.

Class brainstorms to identify questions that will solicit information that will determine a potential client's suitability, such as:

• Is the client providing an opportunity to undertake technological practice to resolve an issue?
• Can a technological outcome be realised within the time constraints and using the available resources?

Identify a need or opportunity relevant to their selected issue

Relevance of need/opportunity to the issue.

Student presents their need/opportunities to class.
Class critiques the need/ opportunities relevance to the selected issue.

Establish a conceptual statement that justifies the nature of the outcome and why such an outcome should be developed with reference to the issue being addressed and the wider context

Expand on example above

What is the wider context?

Wider context is …

Establish the specifications for an outcome and its development using stakeholder feedback and based on the nature of the outcome required to address the need or opportunity, consideration of the environment in which the outcome will be situated, and resources available

Expand on example above

Communicate specifications that allow an outcome to be evaluated as fit for purpose in the broadest sense.

Student critique of a range of practicing technologist developed briefs.

Students critically analyse the technological practice undertaken by a range of practicing technologists to develop a brief. Students to identify whether or not the specifications are robust and will allow a developed technological outcome to be evaluated as being 'fit for purpose'. Vary the selection: architect, product designer, graphic designer, engineer, food technologist etc.

Justify the specifications as based on stakeholder feedback and the nature of the outcome required to address the need or opportunity, consideration of the environment in which the outcome will be situated, and resources available.

Expand on example above