Consumer and financial literacy: Design and Technologies

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Design and Technologies

The Australian Curriculum: Technologies has a significant role in developing consumer and financial literacy in young people. The Design and Technologies subject supports the development of the dimensions of consumer and financial literacy as shown in the diagram below.

Approximate proportion of the dimensions addressed in Design and Technologies

By learning to identify opportunities for designing solutions, participating in the investigation of technologies, generating design ideas and processes, and working collaboratively to make designed solutions in Design and Technologies, students acquire the enterprise skills of design thinking, creativity and innovation. They also learn to become responsible consumers by evaluating the success of design ideas, processes and solutions based on a range of criteria including sustainability. Most design projects require budgeting and consideration of the trade-offs necessary when selecting resources. 

Becoming responsible and ethical consumers is underpinned by an understanding students acquire about the use and development of designed solutions, and the impact of the solutions on people’s lives. Designing involves social, ethical and sustainability considerations as well as the identification of preferred futures. The evaluation of resources, processes and designed solutions requires students to identify and manage consumer risks to individuals, families and the broader community and environment.

The making of designed solutions opens up possibilities for students to apply their skills to real-world contexts through which consumer and financial literacy can be developed. Students consider their innovative designed solutions for their marketing and commercialisation potential.

Moneysmart for teachers provides a number of interdisciplinary units and interactive activities that include aspects of the Design and Technologies subject. Access a list of relevant resources that link to the Australian Curriculum: Design and Technologies using the right-hand menu.

   

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By the end of Year 8:

Technologies and society

Investigate the ways in which products, services and environments evolve locally, regionally and globally and how competing factors including social, ethical and sustainability considerations are prioritised in the development of technologies and designed solutions for preferred futures (ACTDEK029)

Technologies contexts

By the end of Year 8 students will have had the opportunity to create designed solutions addressing the four technologies contexts below.

Engineering principles and systems

Analyse how motion, force and energy are used to manipulate and control electromechanical systems when designing simple, engineered solutions (ACTDEK031)

Food and fibre production

Analyse how food and fibre are produced when designing managed environments and how these can become more sustainable (ACTDEK032)

Food specialisations

Analyse how characteristics and properties of food determine preparation techniques and presentation when designing solutions for healthy eating (ACTDEK033)

Materials and technologies specialisation

Analyse ways to produce designed solutions through selecting and combining characteristics and properties of materials, systems, components, tools and equipment (ACTDEK034)

Producing and implementing

Select and justify choices of materials, components, tools, equipment and techniques to effectively and safely make designed solutions (ACTDEP037)

Generating and designing

Generate, develop, test and communicate design ideas, plans and processes for various audiences using appropriate technical terms and technologies including graphical representation techniques (ACTDEP036)

Evaluating

Independently develop criteria for success to evaluate design ideas, processes and solutions and their sustainability (ACTDEP038)

Collaborating and managing

Use project management processes when working individually and collaboratively to coordinate production of designed solutions (ACTDEP039)