In Design and Technology (D&T), through a range of creative practical activities, children should be taught the knowledge, understanding, and skills needed to engage in a process of designing and making. They should work in a range of relevant contexts and follow an iterative design process when designing and making products. This means they should link their thoughts and actions, modifying ideas to improve the product throughout the making process.
D&T is taught through three types of activities:
Investigative and Evaluative activities (IEAs)
Children should explore a range of familiar products and think about how they look, work and who uses them. They should also evaluate their own products against their design criteria.
Focused Tasks (FTs)
To develop a range of techniques, practical skills, processes and knowledge.
Design, Make and Evaluate Assignments (DMEAs)
Children should be encouraged to make their own design decisions and create designs for an identified user and purpose.
If students are teaching a DMEA, the following questions will help you identify to what extent the key essentials/ principles for D&T are being achieved in a design and make activity:
- Have the needs of user(s) been identified and met (or has it been designed with no-one in mind)?
- Does it have a clear purpose (or is it purposeless)?
- Have design decisions been made (or has it been made to a prescribed formula)?
- Would it work/function (or is it purely aesthetic/ornamental)?
- Is the product innovative (or does it not offer anything new/original/ better)?
- Is it an authentic product (or is it a model/gimmick)?
Other aspects to consider:
- Has health, safety and/or hygiene been specifically considered and addressed?
- Have risks been assessed following the school’s H&S policy?
- Have the activities, tools and resources been considered carefully to address age of children/inclusion?
- Are they easily and safely accessed?
- Has the student used a range of questions which encourage development of higher order thinking?
- If appropriate/ relevant, has a global/world view and/or sustainability been considered, for example in the products evaluated or in the context selected?