Design & Technology Introduction

EDEXCEL Graphic Products. Syllabus No. 2GR01
 
Design and technology is about inventing practical solutions to problems through imaginative thinking. Learners use a range of tools, materials, skills and techniques to explore, design and make products and systems that meet human needs. Working in stimulating contexts they engage in a continuous course of personal development, learning to use today's technologies so they can participate in developing tomorrow's. (Qualifications and Curriculum Authority)
 
What is the value of Design & Technology?
In Design and Technology pupils combine practical and technological skills with creative thinking to design and make products and systems that meet human needs. They learn to use current technologies and consider the impact of future technological developments. They learn to think creatively and intervene to improve the quality of life, solving problems as individuals and members of a team.
 
Working in stimulating contexts that provide a range of opportunities and draw on the local ethos, community and wider world, pupils identify needs and opportunities. They respond with ideas, products and systems, challenging expectations where appropriate. They combine practical and intellectual skills with an understanding of aesthetic, technical, cultural, health, social, emotional, economic, industrial and environmental issues. As they do so, they evaluate present and past design and technology, and its uses and effects. Through design and technology pupils develop confidence in using practical skills and become discriminating users of products. They apply their creative thinking and learn to innovate.
 
Design & Technology at this level, is an important subject for all students, not only for those who want to specialize in courses in further and higher education.
 
One feature of Design & Technology is that it makes practical use of knowledge and skills acquired from other subjects. It has links with Mathematics and Science based subjects as well as Economics, Geography and Art & Design. Other subjects have also contributed to the understanding of Design & Technology, which in turn has influenced the way we live our lives.
 
Another important feature is that it integrates and uses the experiences of students in the development of design briefs whereby student’s interests and the knowledge from other subjects are combined in order to formulate Design problems. Particular attention is given to the study of the man-made world and the natural environment. It is also essential for students to consider how Technology has affected the development of society, and in particular, our lives. Students must be able to appreciate the balance between the advantages and the disadvantages of developments in Technology to society.
 
A member of Society
Design & Technology should be seen as a challenge to all students. It requires initiative, determination, an enquiring mind, being able to manage time and resources and making decisions that demonstrate responsibility for any actions taken. It will also give students the opportunity to work and co-operate with professionals. This will help students to become informed consumers, understanding the balance of issues involved in compromise and in search for quality at an affordable price. This will result in students developing their own set of values and to understand those that operate within society.
 
Preparing for ones working life
The way one lives today may not be the way one lives tomorrow. We are now living in a constantly changing society where the patterns of work are changing rapidly. This emphasizes the need for students to be adaptable in the knowledge and the skills they acquire.
Design & Technology often involves students in approaching design problems that tackle the development, manufacture and the sale of a product in a business-type environment. This is done by them establishing a market opportunity, meeting the needs of a particular target group, manufacturing the product, considering the distribution and sales, deciding on an appropriate price for the market and then evaluating how successful the product has been.
In this way students learn to adapt to unpredictable situations as they progress through a design problem.
 
The key Skills and Concepts of studying Design & Technology
There are a number of key concepts that underpin the study of design and technology. Pupils need to understand these concepts in order to deepen and broaden their knowledge, skills and understanding.
 
Problem solving
This is the holistic activity that is at the heart of all design and technology courses and is in evidence at every stage of the design process. Students who identify a need, analyse the problem, collect research, develop a specification, generate a range of alternative solutions, develop a chosen solution, produce a production plan and evaluate the outcome of their designing will generate appropriate evidence for this key skill.
 
Designing and making
Understanding that designing and making has aesthetic, environmental, technical, economic, ethical and social dimensions and impacts on the world. Applying knowledge of materials and production processes to design products and produce practical solutions that are relevant and fit for purpose. Understanding that products and systems have an impact on quality of life. Exploring how products have been designed and made in the past, how they are currently designed and made, and how they may develop in the future.
 
Cultural understanding
Understanding how products evolve according to users’ and designers’ needs, beliefs, ethics and values and how they are influenced by local customs and traditions and available materials. Exploring how products contribute to lifestyle and consumer choices.
 
Creativity
Making links between principles of good design, existing solutions and technological knowledge to develop innovative products and processes. Reinterpreting and applying learning in new design contexts and communicating ideas in new or unexpected ways. Exploring and experimenting with ideas, materials, technologies and techniques.
 
Communication
It involves skills which underpin all design and technology work and activities such as brainstorming ideas and group discussion at the outset of a project, provide appropriate evidence in this area. When researching design problems, students will read extensively around a topic in order to collect relevant information that they will summarise. They may also use product analysis in their work and this will involve the use of images, providing further portfolio evidence.
 
Critical evaluation
Analysing existing products and solutions to provide information on designing and making of new products. Evaluating the needs of users and the context in which products are used to inform designing and making. Exploring the impact of ideas, design decisions and technological advances and how these provide opportunities for new design solutions. Environmental concerns which includes opportunities to explore issues relating to sustainability. Economical concerns which includes understanding the patenting process. Production processes which includes seeing possibilities, problems and challenges, and visualizing alternatives.