On completion of this unit the student should be able to 

 

☐ investigate and define a design problem, and 
☐ discuss how the design process leads to product design development.

 

To achieve this outcome the student will draw on key knowledge and key skills outlined in Area of Study 1.

 

 

☐  the relationship between designer and end-user/s and their respective roles

☐  stages and steps of the initial stages of the product design process

☐  product design factors that influence the designer

☐  use of appropriate market research methods to explore product design factors identified for an end-user/s

☐  methods used by a designer to create a design brief, including collecting, recording and developing relevant

☐  information about the design problem and the specific requirements of the end-user/s, and reference to product design factors

☐  the purpose and structure of evaluation criteria

☐  relationships between the design brief, evaluation criteria, research and product design development activities.

 

 

☐  describe the stages and explain the goals of each step of the product design process

☐  develop a design brief and identify aspects that require research

☐  outline research to explore and develop creative design ideas to meet the requirements of the design brief

☐  develop evaluation criteria based on the design brief.

In my resource, I have created a slideshow as an overview and introduction for students with information about the Product Design & Technology subject, the units, in particular units 3 and 4, and the assessment. Many students may be coming to the subject for the first time since completing art in year 8 and therefore will need an overall introduction to what PDT is, and what is expected of them. The slideshow will be presented in the first lesson, with opportunities for elaboration and questions, and made available for students to refer to during the unit.

In Product Design & Technology, Unit 3, AOS 1, students study the initial stages of the design process (steps 1-4), how to design a brief, product design factors and parameters, end user profiles, research, and evaluation criteria. In outcome 1, the students need to evidence their learning of the key skills and knowledge and I have created a learning activity for students to complete which will act as their assessment task for the School Assessed Coursework for unit 1. This document is worth 25 marks, and is part of the SAC for Unit 3 which makes up 12% of the student’s final grade. The learning activity will be completed over multiple lessons during the area of study 1 (approximately 2.5 weeks). The idea of this learning task is for students to read the information supplied and complete the sections as an inquiry process. Some students may have more knowledge about product design and technology than others and the task will be completed in class, in collaboration with a group, as well as at home, as there is a lot of reading and research for the students to do to fulfill the task. Class time will be focused on making sure that the students have completed each section with a firm understanding of the key skills and knowledge and the role of the teacher will be to facilitate and guide students with areas where they might have concerns or confusion. Throughout the unit there will be revision games and quizzes to test the students on the key knowledge and skills. My rationale in this class is to foster an atmosphere of questioning, collaboration and ‘wide awakeness’ (Williams, 2017) for students to become self-sufficient in their exploration of content and set a standard for their subsequent units of study. As Grocott (2020) says, “to drive a culture of learning and innovation in the discipline”. 

I have compiled a Padlet page with resources for both teachers and students, including Quizlet activities, websites with resources to cover the requirements for the key skills and knowledge for outcome 1, as well as further resources for unit 3 and 4 to assist students to understand the big picture of what they study in the final units. Most resources are designed for teachers to follow, however there are useful pages for students aswell, such as the ‘help for students’ tab with links to forums and free notes to download for the subject, and links to tutorials for learning 3D design programs.

In my learning task I have referred numerous times to a Nelson text book, which was utilised extensively in my placement school and, as I found through my research, at many other schools offering the PDT subject as well. Although I have sourced references from many websites and organisations, I think that this textbook is a foundational form of knowledge about the VCE content for the students, and would be invaluable for students who may need more challenging tasks, or who have missed lessons and need some reference material to catch up with other students, as well as refer to when studying for the exam.