Design and Technology

DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY

‘Design is thinking made visual’ Saul Bass

Design & Technology helps to prepare pupils to participate in tomorrow’s rapidly changing technologies. Design and Technology is an inspiring, rigorous & practical subject. It encourages children to learn to think and intervene creatively to solve problems both as individuals and as members of a team. We encourage children to use their creativity and imagination, to design and make products within a variety of contexts, considering their own and others’ needs, wants and values. We aim to, wherever possible, link work to other disciplines such as mathematics, science, computing and art. The children are also given opportunities to reflect upon and evaluate past and present design technology, its uses and its effectiveness and are encouraged to become innovators and risk-takers; to critique, evaluate and test their ideas & understand the principles of nutrition/learn to cook.

Throughout the school we teach Design and Technology (D&T) so that our children become problem solvers who can work creatively on a shared project. High-quality D&T lessons give children the knowledge they need and inspire them to think independently, innovatively and develop creative, procedural and technical understanding. High-quality D&T education makes an essential contribution to the creativity, culture, wealth and wellbeing of the nation. It is our intention that pupils become more expert as they progress through the curriculum, accumulating and connecting declarative and procedural computing knowledge...

Declarative knowledge- this is the subject knowledge and explicit vocabulary used to learn about the content. It consists of facts, rules and principles and the relationships between them. It can be described as ‘knowing that.’
Procedural knowledge– this is knowledge of methods or processes that can be performed. “It can be described as knowing how". It is through procedural knowledge that children gradually become more expert by thinking like designers.
Throughout the school we teach Design and Technology (D&T) so that our children become problem solvers who can work creatively on a shared project. High-quality D&T lessons give children the knowledge they need and inspire them to think independently, innovatively and develop creative, procedural and technical understanding. High-quality D&T education makes an essential contribution to the creativity, culture, wealth and wellbeing of the nation.
It is our intention that pupils become more expert as they progress through the curriculum, accumulating and connecting declarative and procedural computing knowledge.

Through a variety of creative and practical activities, we teach the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to engage in an iterative process of designing and making. When designing and making, the children are taught to:

Design

use research and develop design criteria to inform the design of innovative, functional, appealing products that are fit for purpose, aimed at particular individuals or groups

Make

select from and use a wider range of tools and equipment to perform practical tasks (for example, cutting, shaping, joining and finishing) accurately
select from and use a wider range of materials and components, including construction materials, textiles and in gradients, according to their functional properties and aesthetic qualities

Evaluate

investigate and analyse a range of existing products
evaluate their ideas and products against their own design criteria and consider the views of others to improve their work
apply their understanding of how to strengthen, stiffen and reinforce more complex structures
understand and use mechanical systems in their products understand and use electrical systems in their products
apply their understanding of computing to program, monitor and control their products key skills and key knowledge for D&T have been mapped across the school to ensure progression between year groups. Design and technology lessons are also taught as a block so that children’s learning is focused throughout each unit of work.

Wherever possible learning in design and technology is linked to overall topics to enable children to add new learning to increasingly complex schemata that demonstrate the inter-relatedness of curriculum content.

To ensure our curriculum is taught to develop cumulatively sufficient knowledge by the end of each Key Stage we follow the stages outlined below:

1.) Declarative knowledge for each subject is mapped from EYFS to Year 6 to ensure our children learn cumulatively sufficient knowledge by the end of each Key Stage.

2.) Procedural knowledge as is mapped from EYFS to Year 6 to enable children to apply their knowledge as skills.

3.) Explicit teaching of vocabulary is central to children’s ability to connect new knowledge with prior learning. Teaching identifies Tier 2 words, high frequency words used across content e.g. evaluate, and Tier 3 words, specific to subject domains e.g. lever

4.) Spaced retrieval practice, through questioning, quizzes and peer-explanations, further consolidates the transfer of information from working memory to long-term memory. Quizzing etc are primarily learning strategies to improve retrieval practice – the bringing of information to mind.

The Design and Technology Association scheme of work forms the core of our D&T curriculum. This scheme has enabled a strategic sequence of study that builds content and concepts over time, with vocabulary comprehensively structured and thoughtfully sequenced across year groups with progression in knowledge.

Children design products with a purpose in mind and an intended user. New content is linked to prior learning. Children develop their ideas through analysis of existing products using discussion, drawings, plans, CAD and models.

They plan the sequence of making and use their knowledge of materials, tools, marking out, scoring, cutting, shaping, and joining in increasingly complex and accurate ways. Children are taught finishing techniques and expected to apply these in increasingly more successful ways.

Food technology is taught across the school with children developing an understanding of where food comes from, the importance of a varied and healthy diet and how to prepare this.

Our Design & Technology curriculum ensures that children leave Claypole:

with the knowledge, understanding and skills in order to design and make high-quality prototypes and products for a wide range of users
able to demonstrate creative, technical and practical expertise needed to perform everyday tasks confidently and to participate successfully in an increasingly technological world.
able to critique, evaluate and test their ideas and products and the work of others.
able to understand and apply the principles of nutrition and learn how to cook.