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Design and Technologies
The technologies contexts content descriptions in Design and Technologies provide a framework within which students can gain knowledge and understanding about technologies and design across a range of technologies contexts. These content descriptions focus on the characteristics and properties of technologies and how they can be used to create innovative designed solutions.
The technologies contexts provide a progression of learning from Foundation to Year 8 and optionally to Years 9–10 or lead to more specialised Technologies subjects in Years 9 and 10. They also reflect national priorities including workforce needs, food security and sustainable food and fibre production and health and wellbeing priorities.
Food and fibre production is one of the prescribed technologies contexts. Students will progressively develop knowledge and understanding about the managed systems that produce food and fibre through creating designed solutions. (Food and fibre production includes food specialisations from Foundation to Year 6.) The knowledge and understanding strand and processes and production strand are integrated to enhance learning.
Year 3
Knowledge and understanding
Content descriptions with elaborations:
Recognise the role of people in design and technologies occupations and explore factors, including sustainability that impact on the design of products, services and environments to meet community needs (ACTDEK010)
- considering the impact of environments on users, for example a school vegetable garden, a protected outdoor play area
- critiquing designed products, services and environments to establish the factors that influence the design and use of common technologies, for example the characteristics that contribute to energy-efficient cooking such as wok cooking; the suitability and sustainable use of particular timbers
Investigate food and fibre production and food technologies used in modern and traditional societies (ACTDEK012)
- exploring tools, equipment and procedures to improve plant and animal production, for example when growing vegetables in the school garden and producing plant and animal environments such as a greenhouse, animal housing, safe bird shelters
- identifying the areas in Australia and Asia where major food or fibre plants and animals are grown or bred, for example the wheat and sheep belts, areas where sugar cane or rice are grown, northern Australia’s beef industry, plantation and native forest areas
- describing ideal conditions for successful plant and animal production including how climate and soils affect production and availability of foods, for example Aboriginal seasons and food availability
Processes and production skills
Content descriptions with elaborations:
Critique needs or opportunities for designing and explore and test a variety of materials, components, tools and equipment and the techniques needed to produce designed solutions (ACTDEP014)
- examining the structure and production of everyday products, services and environments to enhance their own design ideas
Generate, develop, and communicate design ideas and decisions using appropriate technical terms and graphical representation techniques (ACTDEP015)
- generating a range of design ideas for intended products, services, environments
Select and use materials, components, tools, equipment and techniques and use safe work practices to make designed solutions (ACTDEP016)
- using tools and equipment accurately when measuring, marking and cutting; and explaining the importance of accuracy when designing and making, for example creating a template, measuring ingredients in a recipe, sowing seeds
- selecting and using materials, components, tools, equipment and processes with consideration of the environmental impact at each stage of the production process
Evaluate design ideas, processes and solutions based on criteria for success developed with guidance and including care for the environment (ACTDEP017)
- reflecting on designed solutions to critique and assess suitability, sustainability and enterprise opportunities and determine how well they meet success criteria
Plan a sequence of production steps when making designed solutions individually and collaboratively (ACTDEP018)
- managing time and resource allocation throughout production, for example materials, tools, equipment and people
Year 4
Knowledge and understanding
Content descriptions with elaborations:
Recognise the role of people in design and technologies occupations and explore factors, including sustainability that impact on the design of products, services and environments to meet community needs (ACTDEK010)
- considering the impact of environments on users, for example a school vegetable garden, a protected outdoor play area
- critiquing designed products, services and environments to establish the factors that influence the design and use of common technologies, for example the characteristics that contribute to energy-efficient cooking such as wok cooking; the suitability and sustainable use of particular timbers
Investigate food and fibre production and food technologies used in modern and traditional societies (ACTDEK012)
- exploring tools, equipment and procedures to improve plant and animal production, for example when growing vegetables in the school garden and producing plant and animal environments such as a greenhouse, animal housing, safe bird shelters
- identifying the areas in Australia and Asia where major food or fibre plants and animals are grown or bred, for example the wheat and sheep belts, areas where sugar cane or rice are grown, northern Australia’s beef industry, plantation and native forest areas
- describing ideal conditions for successful plant and animal production including how climate and soils affect production and availability of foods, for example Aboriginal seasons and food availability
Processes and production skills
Content descriptions with elaborations:
Critique needs or opportunities for designing and explore and test a variety of materials, components, tools and equipment and the techniques needed to produce designed solutions (ACTDEP014)
- examining the structure and production of everyday products, services and environments to enhance their own design ideas
Generate, develop, and communicate design ideas and decisions using appropriate technical terms and graphical representation techniques (ACTDEP015)
- generating a range of design ideas for intended products, services, environments
Select and use materials, components, tools, equipment and techniques and use safe work practices to make designed solutions (ACTDEP016)
- using tools and equipment accurately when measuring, marking and cutting; and explaining the importance of accuracy when designing and making, for example creating a template, measuring ingredients in a recipe, sowing seeds
- selecting and using materials, components, tools, equipment and processes with consideration of the environmental impact at each stage of the production process
Evaluate design ideas, processes and solutions based on criteria for success developed with guidance and including care for the environment (ACTDEP017)
- reflecting on designed solutions to critique and assess suitability, sustainability and enterprise opportunities and determine how well they meet success criteria
Plan a sequence of production steps when making designed solutions individually and collaboratively (ACTDEP018)
- managing time and resource allocation throughout production, for example materials, tools, equipment and people