Albany Senior High School/Coursebook/3PRD

What is this course about?
In Product Design at level three there will be a focus on the independent application of design knowledge and skill supported by the requirements of a design brief. The main aim is to enable the ongoing development of students into emergent, competent designers. Term one focusses soley on the demonstration of complex workshop skills within a given project. In terms two and three students will be offered choices and flexibility within the major project. There is also the possibility of study for scholarship at this stage. The available standards are set out in the year plan and tables below:

What sorts of things will I do?
Term One 

In term one the focus will be on developing the practical skills, knowledge and understanding that will support your own design work when you undertake your major project. You will be provided with the context and project and you will gain competence in the codes of practice for your working area and the specific skills required according to your subject specialism which will be either Digital Technology, Food Technology, Hard Materials, Textiles or Design and Visual Communication. The assessment for the project is recorded in a visual diary and will be supported by evidence of your work in progress ( usually photographs ) and through teacher observation. For high achievement you will be demonstrating effective use of time, as little wastage of materials as possible and a completent, safe approach to the skills that you demonstrate. This standard will be marked at the end of term one.

Terms Two and Three 

In terms two and three you will undertake your major project. This will require the development of an original design brief and the identification of suitable stakeholders who will advise and support your progress and whose opinions you will record as the project develops. You will focus within your subject specialism and will have autonomy in terms of what you design. It is important that you identify a need for design which is genuine and that you support the justification of your ideas with background research into successful designers who have solved similar problems to the one you are looking at. There is an expectation that you will consider broader concerns around the responsibility of the designer and the impact of design with regard to societal needs such as choice of materials, energy awareness, recycleability and carbon footprints caused by manufacture. Another aspect of study at level three is that you will be able to move to different areas within the department to work and you will also be able to involve other teachers from the department if you need to develop expertise for example to develop a multi materials project ie chair design which has a soft materials aspect within the design. The major project will finish at the end of trem three.

Externals

There are a number of external standards available. The most likely one based on subject choice is included in the table however there is flexibility here according to the path you choose to follow. The teacher makes the decision regarding external entry. This can involve discussion with the student where necessary. The externals generally require a good grasp of literacy and skills of critical analysis for such things as report writing and valid justifications for decisions made and options chosen.

Note:There is no extra time given for external standards therefore if you are entered for them there is an expectation that a significant amount of the work will be completed outside the classroom.

Scholarship

Scholarship involves a deeper level of study against a different set of assessment criteria however it is your Term 2/3 major project portfolio of work that is also assessed for this standard. Generally again you will require good literacy skills and you will have to be able to demonstrate for example advanced ideation and sophisticated approaches to problem solving. Once the scholarship group has been decided on you will be supported with extra sessions where this will be the focus and you will receive instruction and one to one support with your progress. Ther are some very good exemplars available for you to access but the extra workload and depth of thinking required is significant and we must feel that you will be able to cope with this extra demand.

Frequently asked questions:
If you want to choose a group of standards which make up one specialist area ie all the standards from Design and Visual Communication or Textiles for example that is acceptable.

Can I take more than one Technology subject. Not in 2014 as you will have the opportunity to work across the department within the specialist area that you choose.

Although there are no prerequisites for study it is important to understand that there is a change of focus at level three. You are required to demonstrate independent application of design knowledge and skills. Therefore the student who has not either studied at level one with success or level two should do some prior research looking at online exemplars and talking to specialist teachers to ensure that they are going to be able to cope with the demands of the chosen course of study.