Design and Technology
Design and Technology: Intent, Implementation and Impact
Intent:
At Dashwood Banbury Academy we want our Design and Technology curriculum to spark curiosity into how things work in the world around them.
We want to give them opportunities to think creatively, problem solve as well as make products even better. We want pupils to have a ‘hands on’ approach where tasks are linked to other areas of the curriculum. It is of great importance that the pupils understand our ever changing technological world and we strive to give them real life problems to solve so they have the skills to be able to think differently, design, make and evaluate effectively.
We have developed three whole school Design and Technology threads to make sure all pupils:
- Express creativity and imagination
- Design and make real and purposeful products
- Understand the impact of design and technology on their lives; how it has changed over time and will change to meet the demands of the future
Implementation:
We have a design and technology curriculum that has a clear progression of knowledge and skills. Each year, pupils recap skills taught in previous year groups as well as new ones in order to meet the requirements of new challenges. Design and Technology is taught throughout the year in all year groups.
- Each Design and Technology led unit has a clear driving question and clear outcome. A few examples of these are: How can we, as architects, build a house for the Wolf that can withstand all weather? Outcome: Design and make a building Why were castles important to Britain? Outcome: Design and make a castle. How can we educate people that the Stone Age had a positive impact on how we live today? Outcome: Design and make a tool
- Design and Technology skills are integrated into units of learning so that the pupils understand the link between concepts they are learning about and also ensures that our outcomes are authentic. For example in year 5 the driving question is: How might we create a system to move the Uro totora reeds from the island to the boat? In this unit the pupils learn about South America, specifically Lake Titicaca where they look at the impact of tourism on the lake. To further their understanding they then go on design and make a pulley system, using the knowledge gained from their science lessons, to move the totora reeds from the islands to the boat.
- Each year group has at least two Design and Technology outcomes over the year. This allows the pupils to recap and build on skills regularly as well as learn new ones.
- During the Christmas, Easter and summer holidays all of the pupils have the opportunity to be creative through well planned homework projects. These are always very popular- examples are below. An example of this can be found on this link: Year 3 Stone Age Homework Project and Year 5 Vikings Homework Project
Intended Impact:
- For children to enjoy all aspects of the design and technology
- For all pupils to have the opportunity to make choices about how they make their end product and to be able to develop evaluation skills to know how they can improve next time.
- Information will be gathered via pupil and staff voice as well as through evidence of children’s learning.
- Progress will be assessed through design and technology outcomes and a formative assessment will be given 3 times throughout the school year in our data collection points.