Supporting Learning Environment Level 3

To support students to undertake brief development at level three 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 (e.g. 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.

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

Use key questions to describe the physical and functional nature of the intended outcome.

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?
• what problem might this address?

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 (e.g. 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 e.g. Outcome:

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

Matching key attributes to technological products

Matching phrases that describe attributes of technological products to pictures of products
e.g. 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 is 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 a set of given 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 another student’s technological outcome against its brief, making suggestions for changes to ‘key’ attributes to allow an evaluation to occur where necessary.

Using a ‘touchy/feely bag’ where students cannot see the products inside

Getting students to describe attributes of products using terminology that allows 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 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’.