Professional Support

The consultation phase has now concluded for the Draft Syllabus Writing Brief.  Read the response prepared by the Technology Unit of the Professional Support and Curriculum Directorate, following consultation with public school technology teachers, the Department's Board Curriculum Committee representatives and other Directorates.

For the past ten years many technology teachers have been polarised in a debate about the value of either designing or making for students. Its time to move on and recognise that both are instrinically valuable learning processes for students. The more important debate for technology teachers needs to be focused on what we want students to know and do, that is, student learning outcomes.

The common ground for technology teachers has typically been a valuing of practical, purposeful, hands-on, project-based approaches to learning. Designing and making supports both these approaches.

Designing (verb) can be defined as the systematic process of planning and implementing 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 is future-oriented and involves students being proactive about how thing can be done differently. Designing does not involve a predetermined solution.
Design is an effective learning process for developing in students their capacity to be creative, innovative and critical thinkers and effective communicators.
Aspects of making occur wihin a design process, for example drawing, making models or prototypes.

Making (verb) or producing can be defined as the systematic process of planning and implementing a predetermined solution. Making involves exploring and evaluating available resources including materials and equipment, practising technicques, and managing resources to a completed product or system.
Making is an effective learning process for developing in students their capacity to learn and improve specific techniques and manage products to completion.
Aspects of design occur within a making process, for example when judgements need to be made between different resources.

In Design and Technology students are required to design and make in a continuous process in each design project. In other subjects and within topics in these subjects there are variations in the relative importance of either designing and or making.
Don't fall for the simple debate about whether designing or making is most valuable. Ask yourself.

• What does the syllabus specify?
• What do I want my students to gain from this learning?
• What do I want my students to know and do?

Use these questions to make a professional judgement about which learning experiences will best meet your students' needs.
This article is from Curriculum Support for teaching in TAS 7-12  Vol. 7 No 2, 2002