Design and Technologies (Version 8.4)

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Rationale

This rationale complements and extends the rationale for the Technologies learning area.
In an increasingly technological and complex world, it is important to develop knowledge and confidence to critically analyse and creatively respond to design challenges.

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Aims

In addition to the overarching aims for the Australian Curriculum: Technologies, Design and Technologies more specifically aims to develop the knowledge, understanding and skills to ensure that, individually and collaboratively, students:

develop confidence as critical users of technologies and designers and producers of designed solutions

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Structure

The Australian Curriculum: Design and Technologies (F–10) comprises two related strands:

Design and Technologies knowledge and understanding – the use, development and impact of technologies and design ideas across a range of technologies contexts

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PDF documents

Resources and support materials for the Australian Curriculum: Technologies are available as PDF documents.
Design and Technologies: Sequence of content 
Technologies: Sequence of achievement

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Foundation to Year 2

Foundation to Year 2 Band Description

Learning in Design and Technologies builds on concepts, skills and processes developed in the Early Years Learning Framework, revisiting, strengthening and extending these as needed.

By the end of Year 2 students will have had the opportunity to create designed solutions at least once in each of the following technologies contexts: Engineering principles and systems; Food and fibre production and Food specialisations; and Materials and technologies specialisations. Students should have opportunities to experience designing and producing products, services and environments. This may occur through integrated learning.

In Foundation to Year 2 students explore and investigate technologies − materials, systems, components, tools and equipment − including their purpose and how they meet personal and social needs within local settings. Students develop an understanding of how society and environmental sustainability factors influence design and technologies decisions. Students evaluate designed solutions using questions such as ‘How does it work?’, ‘What purpose does it meet?’, ‘Who will use it?’, ‘What do I like about it?’ or ‘How can it be improved?’ They begin to consider the impact of their decisions and of technologies on others and the environment including in relation to preferred futures. They reflect on their participation in a design process. This involves students developing new perspectives, and engaging in different forms of evaluating and critiquing products, services and environments based on personal preferences.

Using a range of technologies including a variety of graphical representation techniques to communicate, students draw, model and explain design ideas; label drawings; draw objects as two-dimensional images from different views; draw products and simple environments and verbalise design ideas.

They plan (with teacher support) simple steps and follow directions to complete their own or group design ideas or projects, and manage their own role within team projects. Students are aware of others around them and the need to work safely and collaboratively when making designed solutions


Foundation to Year 2 Content Descriptions

Identify how people design and produce familiar products, services and environments and consider sustainability to meet personal and local community needs (ACTDEK001 - Scootle )
  • Sustainability
Critical and Creative Thinking

Generating ideas, possibilities and actions
  • Consider alternatives

Inquiring – identifying, exploring and organising information and ideas
  • Organise and process information
  • Identify and clarify information and ideas

Literacy

Comprehending texts through listening, reading and viewing
  • Navigate, read and view learning area texts
  • Interpret and analyse learning area texts
  • Comprehend texts

Visual Knowledge
  • Understand how visual elements create meaning

Word Knowledge
  • Understand learning area vocabulary

Composing texts through speaking, writing and creating
  • Compose spoken, written, visual and multimodal learning area texts
  • Compose texts

Personal and Social Capability

Social awareness
  • Contribute to civil society

Ethical Understanding

Understanding ethical concepts and issues
  • Explore ethical concepts in context

Explore how technologies use forces to create movement in products (ACTDEK002 - Scootle )
Critical and Creative Thinking

Inquiring – identifying, exploring and organising information and ideas
  • Identify and clarify information and ideas
  • Organise and process information

Generating ideas, possibilities and actions
  • Consider alternatives

Explore how plants and animals are grown for food, clothing and shelter and how food is selected and prepared for healthy eating (ACTDEK003 - Scootle )
Critical and Creative Thinking

Inquiring – identifying, exploring and organising information and ideas
  • Organise and process information
  • Identify and clarify information and ideas

Explore the characteristics and properties of materials and components that are used to produce designed solutions (ACTDEK004 - Scootle )
Critical and Creative Thinking

Inquiring – identifying, exploring and organising information and ideas
  • Organise and process information
  • Identify and clarify information and ideas

Explore needs or opportunities for designing, and the technologies needed to realise designed solutions (ACTDEP005 - Scootle )
Literacy

Text knowledge
  • Use knowledge of text structures

Comprehending texts through listening, reading and viewing
  • Navigate, read and view learning area texts
  • Interpret and analyse learning area texts
  • Comprehend texts

Composing texts through speaking, writing and creating
  • Compose texts
  • Compose spoken, written, visual and multimodal learning area texts

Word Knowledge
  • Understand learning area vocabulary

Visual Knowledge
  • Understand how visual elements create meaning

Critical and Creative Thinking

Inquiring – identifying, exploring and organising information and ideas
  • Identify and clarify information and ideas
  • Organise and process information

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Capability

Investigating with ICT
  • Define and plan information searches
  • Locate, generate and access data and information
  • Select and evaluate data and information

Creating with ICT
  • Generate solutions to challenges and learning area tasks
  • Generate ideas, plans and processes

Generate, develop and record design ideas through describing, drawing and modelling (ACTDEP006 - Scootle )
Literacy

Comprehending texts through listening, reading and viewing
  • Navigate, read and view learning area texts
  • Comprehend texts
  • Interpret and analyse learning area texts

Composing texts through speaking, writing and creating
  • Compose spoken, written, visual and multimodal learning area texts
  • Compose texts
  • Use language to interact with others

Visual Knowledge
  • Understand how visual elements create meaning

Text knowledge
  • Use knowledge of text structures

Word Knowledge
  • Understand learning area vocabulary

Numeracy

Using spatial reasoning
  • Interpret maps and diagrams
  • Visualise 2D shapes and 3D objects

Critical and Creative Thinking

Reflecting on thinking and processes
  • Transfer knowledge into new contexts

Generating ideas, possibilities and actions
  • Imagine possibilities and connect ideas
  • Seek solutions and put ideas into action

Inquiring – identifying, exploring and organising information and ideas
  • Organise and process information
  • Identify and clarify information and ideas

Use materials, components, tools, equipment and techniques to safely make designed solutions (ACTDEP007 - Scootle )
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Capability

Creating with ICT
  • Generate solutions to challenges and learning area tasks

Use personal preferences to evaluate the success of design ideas, processes and solutions including their care for environment (ACTDEP008 - Scootle )
  • Sustainability
Critical and Creative Thinking

Analysing, synthesising and evaluating reasoning and procedures
  • Evaluate procedures and outcomes

Inquiring – identifying, exploring and organising information and ideas
  • Organise and process information
  • Identify and clarify information and ideas

Generating ideas, possibilities and actions
  • Seek solutions and put ideas into action

Literacy

Word Knowledge
  • Understand learning area vocabulary

Composing texts through speaking, writing and creating
  • Compose texts
  • Compose spoken, written, visual and multimodal learning area texts

Visual Knowledge
  • Understand how visual elements create meaning

Comprehending texts through listening, reading and viewing
  • Comprehend texts
  • Interpret and analyse learning area texts
  • Navigate, read and view learning area texts

Text knowledge
  • Use knowledge of text structures

Ethical Understanding

Reasoning in decision making and actions
  • Consider consequences
  • Reason and make ethical decisions

Understanding ethical concepts and issues
  • Explore ethical concepts in context

Personal and Social Capability

Social awareness
  • Contribute to civil society

Self-awareness
  • Recognise personal qualities and achievements
  • Develop reflective practice

Sequence steps for making designed solutions and working collaboratively (ACTDEP009 - Scootle )
Critical and Creative Thinking

Reflecting on thinking and processes
  • Reflect on processes

Inquiring – identifying, exploring and organising information and ideas
  • Identify and clarify information and ideas
  • Organise and process information

Generating ideas, possibilities and actions
  • Seek solutions and put ideas into action

Literacy

Comprehending texts through listening, reading and viewing
  • Navigate, read and view learning area texts
  • Interpret and analyse learning area texts
  • Comprehend texts

Text knowledge
  • Use knowledge of text structures

Composing texts through speaking, writing and creating
  • Compose texts
  • Compose spoken, written, visual and multimodal learning area texts

Visual Knowledge
  • Understand how visual elements create meaning

Word Knowledge
  • Understand learning area vocabulary

Personal and Social Capability

Social management
  • Work collaboratively

Numeracy

Recognising and using patterns and relationships
  • Recognise and use patterns and relationships


Foundation to Year 2 Achievement Standards

By the end of Year 2, students describe the purpose of familiar products, services and environments and how they meet a range of present needs. They list the features of technologies that influence design decisions and identify how digital systems are used.

Students identify needs, opportunities or problems and describe them. They collect, sort and display familiar data from a range of sources and recognise patterns in data. Students record design ideas using techniques including labelled drawings, lists and sequenced instructions. They design solutions to simple problems using a sequence of steps and decisions. With guidance, students produce designed solutions for each of the prescribed technologies contexts. Students evaluate their ideas, information and solutions on the basis of personal preferences and provided criteria including care for the environment. They safely create solutions and communicate ideas and information face-to-face and online.

By the end of Year 2, students describe the purpose of familiar products, services and environments and how they meet the needs of users and affect others and environments. They identify the features and uses of technologies for each of the prescribed technologies contexts.

With guidance, students create designed solutions for each of the prescribed technologies contexts. They describe given needs or opportunities. Students create and evaluate their ideas and designed solutions based on personal preferences. They communicate design ideas for their designed products, services and environments using modelling and simple drawings. Following sequenced steps, students demonstrate safe use of tools and equipment when producing designed solutions.


Foundation to Year 2 Work Sample Portfolios