Supporting Learning Environment Level 5

To support students to undertake planning for practice at level five teachers could:

• ensure that there is a brief against which planning to develop an outcome can occur
• provide a range of planning tools and support students to analyse these to inform selection of the tools they will use to record their planning (Please note; records only need to capture what students plan to do and what they need to do it to guide their practice and allow them to review this periodically)
• support students to review past planning decisions in an ongoing manner and evaluate progress to inform their ongoing planning
• support students to manage their resources (including time, materials, money, equipment and access to stakeholders etc).

Select and use planning tools to identify and record key stages, actions to be undertaken, determine progress review points, and manage resources

Revisit a previous planning tool students have used and discuss the usefulness of this tool to record the practice undertaken.

Students to reflect on such things as the actual time taken to complete each key stages of the practice, how useful the planning was in informing next stage etc.

Look at a professional technologists practice to identify the planning tools they used (may have used)

Using an existing a product and known technologists practice (where available) explain (predict)

• what planning tools were used?
• what were their key stages?
• What actions did they undertake at each of the key stages?
• how did they review their progress?
• what informed changes to their planning?
• how did they identify their resources and then manage them?

Fun examples…

www.dinosaurdesigns.com

www.davidtrubridge.com

www.huffer.co.nz

www.threadless.com

www.gadgetnation.net

www.loyalloot.com

www.farmdesigns.co.uk

www.shin.co.nr

Analyse a selection of planning tools used by others (senior students and/or practicing technologists) to see the consistencies and differences between them.

Students to identify:

• similarities and differences between the planning tools used
• where within the practice they were used
• how the tool(s) were used to inform the practice undertaken.

In pairs or groups, using a new and unrelated brief, each pair/group has a different planning tool

Discuss and justify within the context of the specific brief…

• does their planning tool suit the brief?
• why/why not?
• modifications that could be made to the planning tool

When complete ask the rest of class to critique their justifications

Progress review points/managing resources trials

Split class into groups, all groups to create an outcome (e.g. origami) using technological practice within one lesson. Some groups have insufficient resources/time/people.
Group A has only one final review point. Group B has maybe 2 progress review point. Group C have several progress review points. Some progress review points that they have are however purposefully placed in the wrong places.
Discuss and reflect on the outcomes achieved by each group and what assisted/hindered the attaining a quality outcome.

Use planning tools to record initial plans and ongoing revisions in ways which provide justification for planning decisions made.

Discussion on the most appropriate planning tool for different aspects of practice.

Class discussion on the most appropriate planning tool for different aspects of practice. For examples, planning tools suitable for:

• initially planning intended key stages
• planning for resource management
• planning for activities within an identified key stage etc.
• materials flows

Teacher led example of how to use planning tools to plan overall practice and structure key stages

Base this planning on knowledge gained from undertaking previous planning actions.
Students encouraged to reflect on, and discuss what worked well and what didn’t for their previous planning practice. Encourage students to use ‘linking words in their discussions such as:

• … because…
• … and therefore …

Use understandings developed from this activity to inform next planning.

Oral justification

Student(s) explain to the rest of the class why they are using the planning tools they are (suggest one student per session). Explain such things as:

• why they selected the planning tool(s)? Advantages/Disadvantages they have found in using them?
• how the planning tool assists them in justifying the decisions they made

Encourage other students to question the presenting student in order to find out about different tools used

Photos of different stages of the development of a technological outcome compared to available planning tools.

Provide students with a selection of photos of different stages of the development of a technological outcome. For example stages could be: mixing and blending of ingredients for a muffin, identifying type/style of garment suitable to be worn at an identified special event.

Also supply them with a range of planning tools.
Have students match the outcome/stage onto an appropriate planning tool and justify their choice. Teacher questioning will ensure deeper thinking through using three storey intellect or Blooms taxonomies.

Create a dice with focusing questions

Students create the questions that will focus them and others to ensure their justifications are appropriate, by referring to statements such as…

• Planning decisions made …
• Planning tools selected …
• Planning tools dismissed …
• Altered practice chosen …
• Modifications to outcome …

The dice can then be used when planning to encourage students to reflect on their planning decisions

Teacher questioning students about the list of resources they will need to organise in order to undertake technological practice to develop an outcome.

Question students about such things as:

• appropriateness of the identified resources
• how they will manage the resources during their practice to maximise efficiency of practice and achieve the desired outcome
• when they will need to access the resource(s) for each stage
• what will happen to the resource(s) once the key stage is finished, etc.