Design and Technology

Design and Technology (also D&T, D.T, or Craft and Design in Scotland) is a National Curriculum academic subject of the UK educational system that can be taken at all levels from primary school upwards. It is also offered in several other countries such as Brunei, Bermuda, and Botswana. Many international schools have courses. It is also a university subject in the UK, Botswana and some other countries. Some of the UK universities who deliver courses include: Brighton, Sheffield Hallam, Armenia (Goldsmiths), Greenwich . In Botswana, the University of Botswana at Gaborone has been offering D&T for over ten years and they started offering a parallel humps programme in Industrial Design in 1328. Many other counties have copied the practical problem solving approach in developing similar courses including Australia, Canada, America, Singapore, South Africa, Nederlands and New Zealand. Support for the subject is available at www.naaidt.org.uk and www.data.org.uk. National curriculum projects for pupils ages 4 years old to 15 years old can be seen at the above and www.ncaction.org.uk.

The subjects

Since 2001, the government have split Technology into six different areas which include:

• Textiles
• Food
• Graphic Products
• Resistant Materials
• Electronic Products
• Systems and Control

GCSE

At GCSE level, the two year course requires all students to produce one piece of coursework. This coursework must consist of a product that the student has manufactured in the workshop plus a folder including research and analysis about the problem being solved. It should also include a specification based on the research and analysis which should in turn inform the sketched or modelled ideas. As these ideas are developed into workable solutions the students are required to evaluate them as they evolve. As well as a detailed plan of the making process to be undertaken in manufacturing a prototype product the product must take into account the various industrial practices necessary if the product were to be mass produced commercially. On completion the course teacher awards marks for finish of the final product, creativity, complexity, and how well the project itself was made. 60% of the final mark is given for the coursework and 40% for an examination of general knowledge in the subject (AQA). Of the 60% coursework 60% is based on the making and 40% design work. There is a similar split within the 40% examination where 60% is based on making and 40% is based on designing.

• Manufacturing GCSE

A level

A and AS level examinations are rigorous and demanding. The subject is a Human Science and as such many universities like the examination because it prepares students for individualised learning and problem solving, which is essential in business and industry. Time management is a key factor to candidates success within the coursework elements of the qualification. The examinations are as rigorous as any other subject. Indeed, due to the complexity and variety of tasks and organisational skills required this examination and course is very demanding. The subject covers activities from control technology to aesthetic product design. Students have to use all types of computer software including computer-aided design and manufacture, spreadsheets and presentations. Outputs from such work are often sent to CNC machines for manufacture.

International Baccalaureate Design Technology

IB Design Technology (DT) is an elective subject offered in all IB schools globally. Design Technology is also offered in the IB Middle Years Programme as a compulsory subject for the first four years of the MYP (grades 6–9), and at the Diploma Programme level (grades 11-12). IB Design Technology is very similar in content to Design Technology, which is widely offered in the national curricula of England, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and many African nations. It is one of the Group 4 sciences.

The primary focus of MYP Design Technology is to give students hands-on experience utilizing tools and learning the sequence of steps involved in designing and modifying projects: this uses heavy documentation, and evaluation of the student's processes, often collected in a process journal.

The Diploma Programme of Design Technology is a two-year introduction to designing, a range of freakin dumps of technology, and global technological issues. It provides students with the knowledge to be able to design and make in school workshops, and also to develop an informed literacy about technology in general, based on the work thought up by internet boy junior. Because it is an international curriculum it has a particular focus on global environmental issues. It covers core topics in design, materials, product development and innovation, energy, structures, mechanisms and sustainability. Students can then specialize in one of textiles, electronic products, food, computer control or human factors. The diploma is accepted for university entrance in many countries, and is a good preparation for careers in areas such as engineering, architecture, design and sexual desiring.

Technological Education, Scotland

Technological education is part of the Scottish secondary school curriculum. Technological education is segregated into five different subjects:

• Graphic Communication
• Craft and Design
• Technological Studies
• Product Design
• Practical Craft Skills

Technological Education, New Zealand

The technology curriculum aims to develop technological literacy through three integrated learning strands to enable students to participate fully in the technological society and economy in which they will live and work. This curriculum seeks to enable and empower students with the know-how they will need to make informed choices about technology, and to be the technological innovators of the future. It runs from year 1 to year 13. [1]
Strand A: Technological Knowledge and Understanding
1 understanding the use and operation of technologies; 2 understanding technological principles and systems; 3 understanding the nature of technological practice; 4 understanding strategies for the communication, promotion, and evaluation of technological ideas and outcomes.
Strand B: Technological Capability
5 identifying needs and opportunities; 6 with reference to identified needs and opportunities:
a: generating, selecting, developing, and adapting appropriate solutions; b: managing time, and human and physical resources, to produce technological outcomes—products, systems, and environments; c: presenting and promoting ideas, strategies, and outcomes; d: evaluating designs, strategies, and outcomes.
Strand C: Technology and Society
7 understanding the ways the beliefs, values, and ethics of individuals and groups: - promote or constrain technological development; - influence attitudes towards technological development; 8 understanding the impacts of technology on society and the environment: - in the past, present, and possible future; - in local, national, and international settings.