Supporting Learning Environment Level 8

To support students to undertake outcome development and evaluation at level eight 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 and knowledge of material innovations
• support students to critically analyse the ways in which the fitness for purpose of existing outcomes have been determined, and how appropriate development practices were established
• 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 make effective use of them.
• support students to establish which materials/components would be optimal for use when taking into account all contextual dimensions
• support students to undertake prototyping to gain evidence that enables clear judgments regarding the outcome’s fitness for purpose and determine the need for any changes to enhance the outcome
• support students to gain targeted stakeholder feedback and understand the implications of the physical and social

Generate design ideas that are informed by research and critical analysis of existing outcomes and knowledge of material innovations

Compare and contrast the knowledge used by practicing technologists - use live presentations by technologists and/or case studies /DVDs of technologists practice.

What knowledge did the technologists need to know in order to generate design ideas that offered a contribution to allowing an outcome to be fit for purpose - how did this knowledge differ between the technologists.
Use a graphic organiser such as Inspiration software to compare and contrast the knowledge they used.

Compare and contrast the research techniques used by practicing technologists - use live presentations by technologists and/or case studies /DVDs of technologists practice.

Use a graphic organiser such as Inspiration software to compare and contrast the research techniques they used. Determine situations where one technique may be more suitable than another.

Determining the difference between analysis and critical analysis

Case Studies from the Techlink website /DVDs of technologists practice and/or students past technological practice to identify features of ‘critical analysis’ as opposed to an ‘analysis’. Use a graphic organiser such as Inspiration software to compare and contrast these differences.

Develop design ideas for feasible outcomes that are justified with evidence gained through functional modelling that serves to gather evidence from multiple stakeholders and test designs ideas from a range of perspectives

Trial ways of modelling to test and communicate feasible outcomes. Identify advantages and disadvantages of each model and determine situations when each would be best to use.

Explore modelling, mockups, testing, trialling software that enables you to model

• Autodesk
• Blender (free software)

Identify the advantages and limitations of this software.

Capturing evidence for testing design ideas with multiple stakeholders and communicating design ideas using:

• CAD programmes
• Physical drawing
• 3D and2D physical models and mockups
• Verbal - Audacity – voice thread
• Video.

Students explore strategies to gain key and wider community feedback

Identify advantages and disadvantages of using tool to communicate conceptual ideas to key and wider community stakeholders such as:

• Email
• Skype
• Phone
• Fax
• Solid modelling

Use of thinking tools to support justification of the potential fitness purpose of design ideas

Explore thinking tools such as:

• CAMPER (consequences, actions, minimisations … )
• SWOT/SWOB analysis
• Waterfall questions
• What if questions

Developing student skills in using tools to support functional modelling

Functional modelling tools could include:

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

Undertake evaluation of design ideas informed by critical analysis of evaluative practices to support the development of a conceptual design for an outcome that optimises resources and takes into account maintenance and disposal implications

Break down complex ideas into smaller, more understandable parts.

Example could be Inspiration - see:

www.inspiration.com/Inspiration

www.ted.com/talks/
pattie_maes_demos_the_sixth_sense.html

Analyse the relationship between the materials and their use within a technological outcome.

Topic = material (e.g. use of silver within an item of jewellery) and topics for discussion are
A= physical properties of material
B= environmental consideration for its inclusion in the outcome (both during development of the outcome and in use within its intended environment
C= fitness for purpose of material within overall outcome

Ask students to discuss the material in relation to topics ABC (Note: more topics can be added to increase the complexity of this activity) Use techniques such as CAMPER (consequence, … ) and
SCAMPER (substitute, consequences, actions, minify/modify/ magnify, put into another use, eliminate, reverse) to focus on enhancing students ability to critically analyse.

Undertake functional modelling of the conceptual design to provide evidence that the proposed outcome has the potential to be fit for purpose

Analyse others practice to determine the nature of the overall practice they applied and the functional modelling they used to test their developing outcome.

Use exemplars of previous students work, Case Studies from the Techlink website or a visit to a practicing technologist for students to observe and discuss their practice. Focus analysis on functional modelling techniques that were used to test and inform the development of the outcome(s) and ensure its overall fitness for purpose.

Evaluate suitability of materials/components, based on their performance properties, to select those appropriate for use in the production of a feasible outcome that optimises resources and takes into account maintenance and disposal implication

Analyse case studies of others practice to identify how they have justified the suitability of materials/components they have included (and if possible excluded) for use in an outcome

Students present and justify their outcomes as being fit for purpose to an expert technologist (Dragons Den format) and receive their feedback.

Focus student justifications on how they:

• determined the suitability of materials/components included outcome,
• considered how to optimises the resources used to develop an outcome
• considered the maintenance and disposal requirements of the outcome post its implementation.

Identifying advantages and disadvantages of materials/ components testing techniques to test the fitness for purpose for inclusion in an outcome

Techniques explored could include those such as:

• using randomly selected, representative sampling or control group testing panels
• monadic testing
• paired-comparison testing.

Undertake prototyping to gain specific evidence of an outcomes fitness for purpose and use this to justify any decisions to refine, modify and/ or accept the outcome as final

Expose students to a range of prototyping techniques. (Internet e.g. Youtube)

Students produced prototypes need to be placed in situ and evaluated against the specifications.
Suggestions for refinements/ improvements to the prototype justified against test findings.

Use of evaluative experts/focus group

Use of an informed experts/focus groups to evaluate the fitness for purpose of the prototype.

Use stakeholder feedback and an understanding of the physical and social requirements of where the outcome will be situated to support and justify an evaluation of the outcome and development practices as fit for purpose.

Develop evaluation criteria to determine the key design decisions that need to be made and justify the outcomes as fit for purpose.

The criteria developed will need to allow an informed experts/focus group to judge the success or otherwise of the outcome.
Students will need to access the environment/location where the outcome is to be located in order to evaluate all of the environmental factors both known and unknown. (physical and social) that may impact on the outcome.

Presentation to an expert and/or stakeholder (key and wider community) forum

Demonstrate that the evaluation undertaken to determine the fitness for purpose of an outcome was robust and considered all of the functional and physical properties required in the outcome.