What's it all about?

What is Design Technology all about?

Dear all,

Design Technology evolved from a number of traditional engineering and craft subjects in the early 1980s  - and has been evolving ever since! As a relative newcomer to the school curriuclum (Maths admittedly has been around a little longer) parents and students are sometimes unsure about what the subject entails.

The traditional 'O' levels in Metalwork, Woodwork and Technical Drawing morphed into  GCSE Craft, Design and Technology, a subject that required students to have a sound grasp of a range of practical workshop and technical drawing skills. In the early 1990s, in a bid to raise the profile of engineering skills in schools, the subject adopted a more technical slant, embracing systems and control, electronics, pneumatics, mechanisms and structures and was called "Technology." The subject continued to evolve and develop, embracing other areas such as Food Technology (formerly Home Economics) and Textiles. Things have settled down in the last ten to fifteen years and the various specialisms of Design Technology have found their own niche with schools delivering a range of options at GCSE and A level depending on their individual circumstances.

It is probably more useful to think of DT as an umbrella term that hosts a number of individual subject specialist strands:

DESIGN TECHNOLGY GCSEs:

 

 

Product Design / Resistant Materials / Graphic Products / Sysems and Control / Textile Technology / Food Technology / Electronics.

 

 

Just to make life more complicated, there is often significant overlap between subjects such as Product Design, Resistant Materials and Textiles Technology as developments in modern manufacturing processes, modern materials and smart materials are applicable to numerous DT subject areas. In the last five years the DT curriculum has also embraced important current social issues such as inclusive design and sustainability. The great thing about teaching at Westminster is that there is always an oppotunity to go off on a tangent whilst teaching how to cut in a straight line and discuss what's happening in the DRC and the rise of the "Grey Pound."

 

 

At Westminster School, all 5th Form pupils complete projects in Electronics and Product Design. At the end of the 5th Form, as part of their practical options, they may choose GCSE Product Design or GCSE Electronics - or both!


So - what is "Product Design?"





 

 

It ain't O level woodwork!!

 

Product design involves the design, development and  prototyping of ideas into fully functioning products. At Westminster, I try to encourage innovative, creative design underpinned by an thorough understanding of a wide range of practical skills, processes and materials. As a teacher of DT, my ultimate aim is to help your son manufacture well made, beautiful products  - that work!  Along the way, I will also get very excited about why form doesn't necessarily follow function, what made Alec Issigonis' Mini design truly groundbreaking, (and cheap in terms of garage bills,) why it's OK to sketch an idea on the back on a bus ticket and why somebody's post modernist architectutal meat is another's poison.

 

Product Design is a huge subject and has many links to other curriculum areas. In addition to learning about manufacturing processes and materials, pupils consider the importance of sustainability and the impact of design activity; the evolution and history of design; the power of advertising and marketing; inclusive design and the use of ICT in production. 
 In the true spirit of a Westminster education, lesson content can often go "off piste" in terms of National Curriculum content and we may consider such issues as the social impact of materials extraction; how Maslow's hierarchy of needs influences consumer habits and the how the develoment of modern polymers has facilitated economies of scale. Time permitting, we touch on such issues as the socio-economic background to the Industrial Revolution and how designers such as Josiah Wedgewood and William Morris responded to a public unnerved by urbanisation; the rise of youth culture, the "swinging sixties" and the work of enfants terrible such as Jamie Reid and Philippe Starck.

What can my son gain from studying Product Design?

Product Design is perhaps unique in that it allows pupils to develop a number of transferable skills that are highly sought after by employers in today's global economy. They are:

 

• time management and organisational skills - crucial to success at GCSE
• the ability to assess risk
• the ability to work collaboratively - both online and offline.
• independence
• resilience
• initiative

It is also a subject in which a hearty dollop of common sense and gumption come in handy! Invaluable life skills but as yet, there are no GCSEs in common sense....

Increasingly, digital technology is playing a significant role in teaching and learning, particularly at post-18 level. Blogs, the Westminster School You Tube channel, QR codes, host sites such as Evernote and a variety of technology enhanced strategies are used on a day to day basis in DT. For example, Upper Shell use a class blog and a Facebook group to which I also subscribe to work collaboratively between lessons and draw each others' attention to interesting things happening in the world of design and technology. QR codes are being used to enhance individuals' learning and to help the younger boys who find it hard to find their DT feet at the beginning of practical projects. These digital skills are becoming increasingly important in the modern workplace.

For more information on Technology Enhanced Learning in today's curriculum, please see my blog "First was the mouse.."