Supporting Learning Environment Level 6

To support students to undertake outcome development and evaluation at level six teachers could:

• ensure that there is a brief with attributes against which the outcome communicated by the conceptual design can be evaluated, and that there is a more developed brief with clear specifications against which a developed outcome can be evaluated
• establish an environment that supports student innovation and encourages critical analysis of existing outcomes
• support students to develop drawing and modelling skills to communicate and explore design ideas. Emphasis should be on progressing 2D and 3D drawing skills and increasing the range and complexity of functional modelling
• support students to explore a range of materials/components and to develop the necessary knowledge and skills to evaluate and use them
• support students to undertake prototyping to evaluate the outcome’s fitness for purpose and identify any further development requirements
• support students to gain targeted stakeholder feedback.

Generate design ideas that are informed by research and the critical analysis of existing outcomes

Have students critically analyse a case study or an existing technological outcome from others prior practice to identify those features which completely address the specifications it was designed to perform/meet and those that were only partly addressed

Identify the types of knowledge and understandings required by the technologist (person who made the outcome) in order to produce their outcome(s). Have students focus on:

• materials that were used?
• the tests undertaken to justify the outcomes addressing of the need or opportunity
• component parts included in the outcome – what part do they play in the overall function/aesthetic qualities of the outcome.
• what knowledge from other domains did the technologist draw on to develop their outcome?
• what opportunities exist to improve the outcome

Analyse existing products that have similar functional properties to those required in the outcome students are developing

Use a PMI chart to identify those functional properties that may be useful to consider when the students develop their own outcome – identify design ideas for how these could be included into their outcome.

Encourage students to access stakeholder feedback and considered this when generating their design ideas.

Students need to identify their key stakeholder/s and determine the tools they will use to obtain this feedback.

Undertake functional modelling to refine design ideas and enhance their ability to address the specifications
.

Develop students functional modelling techniques to:

• test design ideas
• communicate conceptual designs

Look at models, mockups, testing and trialling software that enables the communication and testing of design ideas and conceptual designs such as:

• Pro Engineer (3D modelling software)
• Blender (shareware)

Explore ways/techniques to test design ideas and conceptual designs including:

• CAD programmes
• Physical drawing
• 3D and 2D physical models
• Verbal - Audacity – voice thread
• Video

Analyse advantages and disadvantages of each testing/communicative technique.

Explore techniques for gaining wider community feedback

Explore techniques for effectively communicating design ideas to the wider community including:

• Email
• Skype
• Phone
• Fax
• Solid modelling

Analyse advantages and disadvantages of each communicative technique.

Evaluate design ideas in terms of their ability to support the development of a conceptual design for a feasible outcome

Use photographs and/or mock-ups of existing design ideas.

Students analyse against a set of given specifications to determine if the design ideas have the potential to address the need/opportunity.
If changes necessary suggest what these might be.

Provide students with opportunities to sketch and mockup design ideas – evaluate these against known key specifications to determine if the ideas have the potential to be developed into a conceptual design that addresses a brief.

Focus learning not just on developing student sketching and mockup techniques but also on enhancing the quality of the tests they carry out to determine the potential of the design idea.

Provide a selection of technological models/mockups of varies design ideas for an outcome – have students test these against known key specifications to determine if the ideas have the potential to be developed into a conceptual design that addresses a brief.

Provide students with a variety of 2D and 3D mockups, graphical representations of design ideas with descriptions, virtual models, and descriptions only of design ideas.

Evaluate the conceptual design against the specifications to determine the proposed outcomes potential fitness for purpose

Students analyse a variety of tools that support functional modelling.

Explore, analyse and develop skills in using functional modelling tools such as:

• CAD programmes – auto desk, pro desktop/pro engineer, sketchup
• 2D, 3D – hard materials, cardboard
• Video – capturing in terms of virtual
• Photoshop and/or In-Design Illustrator – these programmes can enable the prototype to be shown virtually in its intended social and physical environment.

Analyse others practice to determine the nature of the overall practice they applied to determine the fitness for purpose of conceptual designs and the functional modelling they used to do this.

Use exemplars of previous students work or Case Studies off the Techlink website.

Evaluate suitability of materials/components, based on their performance properties, to select those appropriate for use in the production of a feasible outcome

Analyse their own and others technological practice to identify how they have justified their selection of materials/components.

Have students present and justify their findings.

Analyse case studies of others practice to identify how they have justified material suitability for their technological outcome(s).

Use resources such as:

• Nuffield books
• STAR profiling
• Inspiration software
• SKRBL software

to assist students to identify the materials/components used and explore their attributes/reasons why they may have been selected for the inclusion in the outcome.

Develop an attribute profile of the materials/components used in an existing product which is familiar to students. Repeat activity with products which students are initially not familiar with.

Do exercises such as SCUMPS – size, colour, uses, materials, parts, shape. Relate these prompts to ‘what if questions’:
e.g.

• What if you change the colour of the outcome/materials
• What if you change the use of the outcome
• What if you change the materials used in the outcome
• What if you change a part of the component
• What if you change the shape of the outcome?

Produce and trial a prototype of the outcome to evaluate its fitness for purpose and identify any changes that would enhance the outcome

Explore a variety of tools and techniques that can support the production of a prototype and determine their advantages and limitations.

Prototyping tools and techniques explored could include:

• CAD programmes – auto desk, pro desktop/pro engineer, sketchup
• 2D, 3D – hard materials, cardboard
• Video – capturing in terms of virtual
• Photoshop and/or In-Design Illustrator – these programmes can enable the prototype to be shown virtually in its intended social and physical environment.

Support students with specialist knowledge and experience in construction/manufacturing processes.

Use an outside expert to demonstrate and instruct students in the use of these tools/techniques.

Trial a prototypes performance and evaluate its fitness for purpose.

Use either an existing prototype with a known set of specifications that it was required to meet or students own developed prototype.
Focus on enhancing students trialling and evaluation techniques.
Students suggest changes that would enable the outcome to be fit for purpose.

Analyse others practice to determine the nature of the overall practice they applied, and the trialling techniques they used to test their prototypes fitness for purpose.

Use exemplars of previous students work and/or Case Studies off the Techlink website.

Use stakeholder feedback to support and justify key design decisions and evaluations of fitness for purpose.

Analyse case studies of others practice to identify the tools and strategies they used to seek stakeholder feedback and key design decisions and evaluations of fitness for purpose.

Peer Evaluation: presentation of findings to the class for evaluative feedback.
Written personal evaluation. Video presentation.