KS3 Product Design
Through a variety of creative and practical activities, pupils should be taught the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to engage in an iterative process of designing and making. They should work in a range of domestic and local contexts [for example, the home, health, leisure and culture], and industrial contexts [for example, engineering, manufacturing, construction, food, energy, agriculture (including horticulture) and fashion].
Aims
The national curriculum for design and technology aims to ensure that all pupils:
- Develop the creative, technical and practical expertise needed to perform everyday tasks confidently and to participate successfully in an increasingly technological world.
- Build and apply a repertoire of knowledge, understanding and skills in order to design and make high-quality prototypes and products for a wide range of users.
- Critique, evaluate and test their ideas and products and the work of others.
Student Objectives
In KS3 Product Design pupils will be taught to:
- Develop specifications to inform the design of innovative, functional, appealing products that respond to needs in a variety of situations
- Select from and use a wider, more complex range of materials, components and ingredients, taking into account their properties
- Test, evaluate and refine their ideas and products against a specification, taking into account the views of intended users and other interested groups
Course Content
Year 7
Pupils will design and make a hand held puzzle inspired by 60’s design movements. The pupils will utilise CAD/CAM and vacuum forming techniques to produce their final design
Year 8
Pupils will design and make a pendant inspired by the Art Nouveau movement. The pupils will utilise techniques such as pewter casting and CAD/CAM mould making to produce an appropriate design solution .
Year 9
Pupils will design and make an individually themed clock inspired by a design movement of their choice. The pupils will utilise hand techniques, CAD drawing and small scale prototyping to produce an appropriate solution to the design proble.
Assessment
The students will be leveled at the end of each unit of work. This will be completed in line with the school policy. Feedback and targets will be given to the students verbally and via the marking stamp as outlined in the school marking policy.
What it leads to in KS4
The Design Technology department offer three courses at KS4:-
- GCSE Food Technology
- GCSE Resistant Materials
- GCSE Product design
Pupils will be expected to utilise the skills and knowledge they have built up in KS3 and then develop them further to solve a range of design problems using increasingly sophisticated tools, processes and technologies to produce relevant, accurate and appropriate outcomes.
