Supporting Learning Environment Level 6

To support students to undertake brief development at level six 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
• support students to identify a need or opportunity relevant to the given issue and context
• support students to understand the physical and functional nature required of their outcome
• support students to develop specifications and justify them based on key and wider community stakeholder considerations.

Identify a need or opportunity from the given context and issue

Understanding the differences between a context, issue, need 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 an example (Page11, Curriculum Support Material).

Identifying an issue, need or opportunity from a video or case study that describes a context.

Provide students with a range of videos or case studies and have them determine an issue, needs or opportunity.
For examples of activities refer to “Top Tools for Social Sciences Teachers” (Book)

Reviewing the technological practice undertaken by a technologist.

Students identify a potential issue, need or opportunity and provide justifications as to why they believe these are relevant to the context.
Use case studies, videos, 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 an issue, need or opportunity. This will also promote students skills in questioning techniques.
Questions can go onto a dice template and used by them and/or other students in the future.

Potential client presenting their context.

Client (real or role play) presents a context and/or issue. Students question client to gain more information.
Based upon presentation and questioning the client, the students identify a need or opportunity.
This can include the identification of key 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

Using a technologist to critique student conceptual statement

Technologist critiques student conceptual statements once developed.
Students critique a technologist’s conceptual statement.

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 evolved as the outcome progresses towards a technological outcome
i.e.

• client specifications to architect
• architect specifications to builder

Students to identify:

• how specifications change according to their intended audience but that in changing they are making clearer the justification for and needs of the outcome
• constraints imposed by the brief on the outcome and the practice undertaken for its realisation.

Students to determine those 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.

Key stakeholders critique specifications to determine if they will enable an outcome to be evaluated as fit for purpose.

Key stakeholders informed to ensure that they understand the difference between a specification and an attribute

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

Analyse the physical and social environment in which a technological outcome will be located - include feedback from key and wider community stakeholders

Use evaluation tools such as :

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