Design and Technology (Elective) Years 7-10 Draft Writing Brief

This response has been prepared after consultation with:

• officers from OTEN, Properties Directorate and the OHS&R Unit
• teachers and head teachers participating in district network meetings
• DET representatives from the BCC.

• A number of issues have been identified in this writing brief and are expanded upon throughout this response. The prime areas of concern are:
• Clarity and consistency in understandings of essential terminology
  
  A continuum of learning can only be built upon common and consistent use of language. Agreed definitions need to be used consistently K-12 and be evident in this syllabus in a glossary. For example, the term technology assumes a distinctly different meaning in the suite of Stage 5 draft writing briefs.
  
  Technology is about know-how. Only two definitions of technology have been previously used in NSW education. The definition in the current mandatory D&T syllabus is the UNESCO 1985 definition. The other definition occurs in the current Science and Technology K-6 syllabus.
  
  Technology is concerned with the purposeful and creative use of resources in an effort to meet perceived needs or goal... (Science and Technology K-6 syllabus, p 1)
  
  
• The K-6 definition is recommended as this provides a concise definition and enhances the continuum of learning and it is concise definition.
  
  Technologies can be defined as the purposeful and creative use of resources to meet needs in specific fields of human endeavour for example information and communications technologies (ICT).
  
  Design (verb) can be defined as the systematic process of planning and implementing of ideas to solve identified needs or opportunities. Design involves analysing needs, exploring and generating ideas, evaluating and making judgements about alternatives, and managing ideas to a workable solution.
  
  Design (noun) can be defined as the outcome of a systematic process of designing. Typically in technology education the outcome of designing is a product, system or environment or a part of a product, system or environment.
  
  A project can be defined as an activity to achieve a specified goal that results in a product or outcome. A project has a defined start and finish, addresses complex and competing requirements and issues, applies a range of tools, techniques and other resources and needs to be managed to successful completion. A project and a product are not synonymous..
  
  
• Lack of focus for the subject amongst other Stage 5 electives
  
  Little consideration has been given to the role of this syllabus now that it has been separated from the mandatory Technology syllabus document and its relationship to the six specialised technology subjects that are being revised. This syllabus can play an important role in demonstrating the relationships between different technologies and the links and convergences that result in innovation. This needs to be better articulated in all aspects of the writing brief.
  
  
• Description of levels of achievement
  
  The Board has recently decided to include Stage 4 and Stage 5 outcomes in this elective syllabus. As a result students at the completion of Year 10 will be reported against the same set of Stage 5 standards regardless of whether they had studied 100, 200, 300 or 400 hours. Which students will the standards be describing? How, for example, will students doing 400 hours be adequately recognised for the additional study and achievement. How will the curriculum be structured to ensure a continuum and progression of conceptual knowledge and practical skills over time when patterns of study will be so varied?
  
  
• Occupational health and safety
  
  The requirements of the OH&S Act 2000 and the OH&S Regulation 2001 impact on the delivery of all syllabuses in schools.
  
  This syllabus will need to ensure that students learn about the OH&S act and regulation, its purpose and its impact across a broad range of Design and Technology activities. Students should also learn to implement risk management strategies in work.
  
  The syllabus will need to consider the capacity of the full range of students to successfully complete prescribed tasks. The syllabus needs to be flexible enough to allow teachers to use professional judgement based on risk assessment to implement learning tasks that cater for the needs and abilities of individual students whilst still achieving syllabus outcomes.
  
  The Board needs to consult with educational systems and relevant Government agencies and authorities in an ongoing manner in the syllabus development process in order to ensure this occurs.
  
  

The rationale fails to explain the place or purpose of the subject in the curriculum (page 9). The rationale needs to include a paragraph explaining that the subject allows students interested in design, enterprise and innovation to build on broad design and technology understandings developed in Science and Technology K-6 and Technology (mandatory) 7-8 through a focused study of this specific field of technology education.
The nature of the rationale lacks an appropriate emphasis on assisting students to be proactive in critiquing, shaping and creating designs and technologies which will improve the quality of life. The importance of appropriate technology, design which is socially, ethically and environmentally responsible, needs to be strengthened.
The second paragraph suggests that design and technology education is only important for industry and professionals working in design-related careers. This view does not address the growing recognition of the importance of design thinking in all aspects of work and life.
Future thinking is an essential component of design and evaluation of the predictions of futurists is worthwhile however the emphasis should be on students thinking and designing for preferred futures.
The convergence of technologies are an increasingly important aspect of innovation and students need to be encouraged to link and relate ideas and  technologies that were previously seen as discrete.

The outcome of students' project work in this subject is described inconsistently as a:

• Product (too specific because the outcome may also be system or an environment)
• Project (inappropriate use of the word, see page 1 definition for project).

This needs to be addressed and the preferred terminology for this subject is product, system or an environment

The schematic presents Design and Technology as a Stage 5 elective whereas the syllabus title is Years 7-10.  Reference is made to Years 7-10, (ie Stage 4 - years 7 & 8, and Stage 5 - years 9 & 10) throughout the draft writing brief.  The understanding varies at critical points in the document about when Design and Technology can be offered over Stages 4 and 5 including 'Pathways diagram' (p11)'Objectives for Stage 5' (p15), 'Outcomes for Stage 5' (p16) 'Sample of Proposed Stage 5 Content' (p19). Any confusion resulting from the change in references needs to by removed by explicitly and consistently stating the Years and Stages at which the subject is to be offered.
To more clearly situate the subject within the K-12 continuum the diagram could identify all Stage 5 subjects in the Technology area, as is done in the Technology (mandatory Draft Writing Brief p12) highlighting Design and Technology as one of the electives.

The cross-curriculum content referred to in this section needs to be explicitly written into and be evident in the learn to/learn about sections of the syllabus content.
Greater emphasis needs to be given to the importance of and relationship between design, innovation and enterprise in this syllabus under Work and Employment heading

The relationship of this syllabus to the Stage 4 Technology mandatory course and the other Stage 5 elective technology subjects needs to be explained in this section. Whilst other elective technology subjects focus on a specific field of technological endeavour, this subject allows students interested in design, enterprise and innovation to explore design ideas and solutions across a range of technological fields of endeavour and identify links and relationships between technologies

The aim lacks inspiration and is mechanistic in its approach. It could be replaced by:

• Design and Technology develops students' capacity to design, innovate and be enterprising by exploring needs, evaluating existing and emerging
• technologies, and generating, testing and managing ideas to achieve successful and appropriate solutions.

The Objectives are overly theoretical, with little emphasis on students being engaged in designing and making. The objectives are focused on learning about design, innovation, technologies and enterprise rather than becoming enterprising, innovative, critical and effective designers. As a result the outcomes are also theoretical with only 2 of 12 outcomes requiring hands-on designing activities.

The writing of clear, achievable and assessable outcomes is essential as the outcomes are increasingly driving teaching and assessing practice. The objectives and outcomes need to be significantly revised.

Organisation
The fields of design specified in this syllabus are unnecessary in a broad-based design course. Stage 5 has 6 other technology subjects which each focus on a specific field of technological endeavour. The content of this course does not need to concentrate on students designing in discrete fields of design but should help students to see the relationships and convergences between technological fields. Schools are best placed to select the contexts for design, based on the needs of students and the local situation. The design fields could serve as possible examples.

The content should concentrate on what students need to learn about and do in order to be innovative, enterprising and critical in their design work.

The sample content is structured against the outcomes and objectives. This approach has been successful in Stage 6 Design and Technology. In this example the content is too theoretical because of the overly theoretical and unfocused objectives and outcomes.

The density and generality of the text obscures the very important purpose. Given the value of teachers identifying knowledge and skills developed along the learning continuum, and in order to assist teachers to develop and consolidate learning experiences of students this section of the document needs to be reconceptualised.

Student work samples and course performance descriptors are integral to establishing levels of achievement of syllabus outcomes and enabling teachers to confidently and competently assess students in a standards framework.  This material should be packaged with the new syllabus and provided as soon as possible to assist teacher implementation.