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Illustrations of practice

Playground re-design – Year 9

Cherrybrook Technology High School is a 7-12 co-educational government school located in Cherrybrook, New South Wales on the Traditional Lands of the Dharug Peoples. 

  • School sector: Government
  • School type: Co-educational
  • Year range: 7–12
  • Total enrolments: 2012
  • Location: Metropolitan

In its STEM Connections project, Cherrybrook Technology High School chose to address the degradation of its top playground. Students were given a design brief that asked them to identify issues affecting the top playground and design a potential solution for the targeted area. Students were members of a Technology elective class. These were the only timetabled lessons for the STEM project. Comprehensive staff planning meant that all teachers involved participated fully. Science and Mathematics teachers took the Technology class whenever learning-area-specific teaching was needed.

 

The project ran for a semester (about 34 hours). It culminated in an evening event at which students presented to members of the school community, including parents and local businesses. Students worked in groups of two to three for all aspects of the project.

 

Summary of task

 

This task is the culmination of an extended unit of work that aimed to make connections for students between STEM disciplines in a project that targeted an identified need in the school. Students collaborated in small groups to investigate the effect of overpopulation on the school’s top playground. They were asked to design a potential solution to address the identified problems, using their knowledge of the design process and mathematical, technological and scientific tools.

  • Project folio
  • Scientific report
  • 3D walkthrough

Portfolio summary 

In this portfolio, students show that they can design questions for investigation using appropriate inquiry skills. They systematically record and tabulate data, analyse trends in collected data and summarise findings of a survey. Students draw conclusions from their results and discuss potential consequences of them.

 

Students use effective project planning techniques for a designed solution. They outline a research plan, design criteria and success criteria. Students explain the need for a designed solution, using photographic evidence and survey results. They demonstrate research into a range of options and provide a number of preliminary sketches before deciding on the solution. They are able to justify their designed solution. Students prepare an implementation plan. They make effective use of technologies.

 

Students use scale and scale factor to calculate area. They plan, budget and cost an event and use efficient strategies to calculate profit and loss. They cost the design choice and justify the cost.

 

Design project: The top playground  
Design project: the top playground – Cherrybrook | The Australian Curriculum (Version 8.4)

Focus learning areas/subjects: Technologies, Science and Mathematics

 

Focus general capabilities and cross-curriculum priorities: Sustainability

 

Learn more about planning for STEM using the  STEM Connections resource