Suggested Learning and Assessment Examples for Levels 5 and 6

These learning and assessment examples are suggestions which teachers could develop further into units of work.

EXAMPLE 1: THE SCHOOL PRODUCTION
Contexts: School; Personal; Community

Main Areas: Materials; Electronics and Control; Information and Communication; Structures and Mechanisms

The school production provides a focus for a wide range of technological activities, which relate well to other learning areas such as language and the arts, and which can involve many students in purposeful, integrated learning.

Technological Knowledge and Understanding

Students attend a performance of a play or musical, observing and discussing the components of a production, such as sets, lighting, publicity, front-of-house, bookings, music and other sound effects, choreography of dance or haka, costuming, special effects, make-up and props.
They meet a producer, stage manager, set designer, or sound/lighting technician to hear about the factors that make for a successful production.

Technological Capability

Students meet the producer of the school's production as soon as the decision to stage one has been made.
They discuss the components and factors for success that they have observed, and read the script to identify the needs for this particular production.
The class brainstorms the tasks that need to be undertaken and develops a critical path.
Groups form to undertake specific tasks, such as set construction.
The producer, teacher, and class check the critical path and the ideas that are emerging, and refine briefs for each group, allocating a budget if appropriate.
Each group plans, prepares sketches, designs, models, tests, and completes their part of the system, on time and within budget.

Technology and Society

Students research other productions of their play or musical, or examples of similar productions, to compare with their own.
They identify technologies used at other times, such as thunder-sheets, trapdoors.
They interview friends and family members about productions that they enjoyed, and identify the impacts of the different components on audience appreciation.

Assessment

Teachers and the producer could assess each group's achievement in relation to the task and the innovative use of technology and the critical path. For example:

students could keep group log-books, sequences of photographs, or videos recording progress, assembling and annotating their drafts, sketches, and decisions. They could report on the contributions of different components to the production as a whole.

EXAMPLE 2: COMPUTERS
Contexts: Personal; School; Business; Industrial

Main Area: Information and Communication

Technological Knowledge and Understanding

Students use a computer system, including the manuals, to identify and describe the relationship between the internal hardware components, the operating system, and the applications software.
They investigate how computers use binary numbers to switch electrical devices, such as controlling a model using a computer interface.
They evaluate the functions and purposes of a range of software to determine suitability for specific tasks.
They identify the tasks undertaken by people using computers in a school, an office, or a small business, and record how the people and computer systems work together.
They review computer magazines or newspapers to evaluate the quality of information provided about innovations.
They investigate the modifications made to different versions of hardware and software.

Technological Capability

Students investigate, and discuss with users, some applications of computer technology in their school which need improvement, such as the school bell system, attendance checks, career information retrieval, Maori language software, design of the school newspaper, a team logo.
They explore ideas to meet these requirements and decide on viable options for development.
Groups write, test, refine, and debug a program, or adapt an existing program, to meet their selected need.
The class shares progress and outcomes, and selects certain programs to work on to complete projects that meet specifications.
They publish manuals for new users of the programs.

Technology and Society

Students use the information systems available to them in libraries to obtain information about technological innovations in personal computing.
They discuss these innovations with specific groups to assess their usefulness in their own environment, and note attitudes and preferences that are expressed.
Students debate how computers might be best employed in the school of the future.

Assessment

The teacher could focus on knowledge and capability in selecting objectives for assessment, evaluating how well the students used or adapted specific programs for their needs. For example:

the students could record their own development in gaining understanding of new computer applications.

EXAMPLE 3: ERGONOMIC FURNITURE AND FITTINGS
Contexts: Home; School; Business

Main Areas: Materials; Structures and Mechanisms

Technological Knowledge and Understanding

The teacher introduces the concept of ergonomics in terms of workplace safety, personal comfort, productivity, and meeting individual requirements.
Students analyse the objects in the classroom &; chairs, desks, writing instruments, scissors, door and window handles &; and undertake a similar exercise at home.
The teacher arranges a visit to a workplace &; office, factory, retailer &; and the students observe and depict the flow of work in terms of the interaction of people with furniture, fittings, and equipment.
The teacher arranges a visit from an occupational safety officer or a physiotherapist to discuss ergonomics.
Students collect and analyse promotional material about office furniture and other products described as ergonomic or similarly beneficial to workers.

Technological Capability

Students collect, collate, and analyse data from a range of people to identify advantages and disadvantages of different designs in furniture or objects and establish opportunities for improvement, for example, for people with specific disabilities.
Groups debate possible solutions and select one for development.
They design and make a prototype, drawing, or model, possibly using computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided modelling (CAM).
They evaluate their proposed solution with the identified user-group and modify it in the light of responses.
They complete their projects, and present their solution with appropriate instructions for use.

Technology and Society

Students collect photographs of homes and workplaces in other times or places, or visit an archive or museum.
They identify changes in the design of appliances, domestic furniture, and factory layout over time, and consider reasons for these changes.
They evaluate the different objects and compare lifestyles in terms of personal health and well-being with and without their use.

Assessment

Teachers could focus on objectives of understanding and identifying needs, or place emphasis on evaluation of the solutions in relation to user response. For example:

students could record what they have learned about different individual preferences and needs that should be met in the design of everyday objects;
they demonstrate their understanding of ergonomics by showing how it has been incorporated in their design.

Example 4: Harvesting and Storing Food
Contexts: Home; Industrial

Main Areas: Food; Production and Process; Mechanisms

Technological Knowledge and Understanding

Students identify the range of foods that they have eaten in the past twenty-four hours, and describe where the foods came from, whether home, local, or bulk supplies, fresh, processed, or preserved, and methods used in the preservation, including technologies such as freeze-drying, UHT. They present their observations graphically.
The teacher arranges visits to two facilities, or visits by people working in facilities such as a food processing plant, a produce market, a market garden, a home garden, a food research institute.
Students observe, depict and compare the systems that are used and the principles that apply in different cropping, harvesting, and storage settings.
They record the work that different technologists do in the facilities they have observed or learned about.
They compare promotional material for foods, noting the qualities that are emphasised in these promotions in relation to storage and preservation.

Technological Capability

Some students survey a specific group, such as yachties or mountaineers, to determine needs and preferences in relation to the storage of food.
Other students discuss the systems used in a food processing or research facility.
They explore ways of modifying existing processes or developing a new piece of technology, or modifying a system, to meet a particular need, and select projects to work on.
All students take part in a class activity related to food storage or preservation, to establish common understandings of safety, hygiene, nutrition, and production processes.
Groups work on their own projects, planning, resourcing, and producing a model, design, system, or object to meet the identified needs of a specific group.

Technology and Society

Students refer to household guides or cookery books from previous generations to collect and evaluate methods of food storage and preservation in other times.
They research, with the help of iwi, traditional methods of food-gathering, preservation, and storage in Maori society.
They research the relationship between the systems for gathering and storing food, and the customs, beliefs, and values of different societies and cultures.

Assessment

Teachers could focus on students' knowledge and understanding of the principles of food storage and preservation techniques in developing their own solutions. For example:

students could assess how well their food storage and preservation solutions meet the identified needs in the light of feedback from users.

Example 5: Hydroponics
Contexts: Business; Environmental; Home

Main Areas: Biotechnology; Control

Technological Knowledge and Understanding

Students identify the nutrients that are used in hydroponics, and the components and relationships within a hydroponics system.
They discuss the work of establishing and maintaining a system with a nursery gardener, user, or technician.
They examine the information materials that are supplied for the systems they have observed, and advertisements from gardening magazines and suppliers of hydroponics equipment.

Technological Capability

Students identify and compare situations where hydroponics are used, communicating with people through electronic networks, and collate information about the patterns of use and opportunities for product development.
The class shares data, considering the diversity of applications, and each group selects one opportunity to follow up.
The group identifies the growth conditions and rates of a variety of plants and designs a compact hydroponics system; or a control mechanism to suit specific plants and conditions.
The groups explain their progress and findings to each other, test their solution with a possible customer, and evaluate the costs and acceptability of their solution.

Technology and Society

Students gather information and assess trends about social changes affecting the role of home gardening in people's lives.
They observe a commercial facility where vegetables are grown under premium conditions, and identify the economic and environmental implications of these developments.

Assessment

Asessment could focus on the Knowledge and Capability strands, in relation to meeting agreed criteria in designing and producing a system, or on the impact on society of producing and marketing new products for specialised markets. For example:

students assess their work by testing their solution over time, assessing its efficiency, and illustrating their understanding of the control features they have incorporated.

Example 6: Plant Propagation
Contexts: Home; Business

Main Areas: Biotechnology; Production and Process

Technological Knowledge and Understanding

The teacher arranges for students to visit a nursery, garden centre, local authority botanical garden, or to have a demonstration from a skilled gardener.
Students observe, investigate, and depict the various methods for producing large numbers of rooted plants for home gardeners or street planting, such as grafting, media aeration, cold frames, hydroponics.
They record the work that technologists do to produce plants in quantity, including propagation to produce and stabilise hybrids.

Technological Capability

Students conduct a survey about changing plant preferences in the local community, interviewing nursery workers and other suppliers as well as consumers.
They collate and analyse data to predict market trends, and develop options for particular plants to market.
Groups plan a system to produce large numbers of their selected plant, and set out a critical path. If time permits, they could set the propagation in train as a continuing project.
Groups produce a marketing plan, identifying their market niche and outlets by consulting people in the community, if possible.
They design suitable packaging to present their plants to the consumer or retailer.
They produce information materials about their plants for point-of-sale promotion to their selected market.

(Note: this project can be carried through in full if students have the opportunity to begin it in one year, continue maintenance of the stock, and follow up the activities through subsequent school years. As a partial project, it offers worthwhile technological experiences.)

Technology and Society

Students use archived resources, such as gardening magazines, and draw on recollections of parents or older people, to research and compare current preferences in selection of plants for home gardens with, say, practices fifty years ago.
They identify differences in choice of vegetable crops, trees, shrubs, flowers, and garden colours, and consider reasons for the variations.

Assessment

The teacher should focus on all three strands, especially if the project is a continuing one, and relate capability to knowledge and understanding and society. For example:

students keep a record of their marketing plans and evaluate them over the duration of the project;
they demonstrate their understanding of the principles involved in the production of modified plants.

Example 7: Game for a Specific Group of Children
Contexts: Community; Home; School

Main Areas: Materials; Information and Communication; Process; Structures and Mechanisms

Technological Knowledge and Understanding

Students visit an early childhood centre, long-stay ward in a children's hospital, or facility for special needs children.
They observe and record the behaviour of a small number of children using different games, developmental equipment, or play materials.
The teacher arranges a discussion with an early childhood health and education specialist (possibly an experienced parent or caregiver) to explore aspects of play in terms of children's development of mobility, skills, and responses.
Students describe a range of games and equipment that are designed for children.
They investigate and depict how these products are designed, produced, and marketed, and clarify the principles that underlie some of the products.

Technological Capability

From their observations and investigations, students identify needs and opportunities in relation to specific aspects of child development that they have noted.
They brainstorm ideas for modification, adaptation, or innovation that could be developed using, for example, recycled materials, and select viable options.
In groups, they plan, produce, test, and modify a prototype solution.
They prepare a plan for a production run, considering economic use of resources and costing the final product, and specifying quality standards.
They prepare a marketing plan, investigating methods of promotion and distribution.
They evaluate their plans and proceed to a completed project (a small production run, if time is limited).

Technology and Society

Students research ideas about child development in terms of the developmental and supporting games, equipment, and materials that have been used in different periods for children with special needs.
They investigate the factors that influenced technological changes in this context and examine reasons for different views.
They explore the possibilities for future innovation inherent in one or more of the new technologies.

Assessment

One focus of this topic could be on assessing how well the product meets the criteria identified in the needs, and how well those needs reflect the knowledge gained in investigations. For example:

students could keep a journal recording the development of their ideas and the production of the prototype;
they could identify the factors that ensure consistent quality in a production run, and assess how well they achieved this with their own products;
they could identify the ways in which toys have been modified and adapted for particular age-groups.

Example 8: Environments for People
Contexts: Business; School; Home; Community

Main Areas: Structures and Mechanisms; Electronics and Control; Materials; Information and Communication

Technological Knowledge and Understanding

Students brainstorm and depict the technological features of their own environments &; home, shopping mall, park, streetscape, school grounds, classroom &; in terms of how they support or enhance the quality of life. Features that could be noted include exterior and interior design, layout, choices and effects of colours, textiles, surface finishes, access, security, seating, and so on.
Small groups each observe and analyse a range of clearly defined environments, such as a doctor's waiting-room; a public office (perhaps a bank's customer area); a visitors' centre; a housing development; a kitchen; a motorway junction.
They collate information on the factors that need to be taken into account in planning an environment and consider their importance in relation to the environments they analysed.
They analyse and evaluate promotional material about some of these environments.

Technological Capability

From their knowledge and analysis, students identify environments which invite modification to meet user needs, test their ideas with other consumers, and select viable options.
In groups, and possibly working with mentors or the appropriate authorities, they plan and produce designs and specifications, providing annotated drawings or computer models of proposed solutions.
They test specific products, such as a paint finish, flooring and paving materials, a security system, to ensure that they meet the requirements.
They finalise the plans, prepare costings and a critical path, and bring at least one component of the proposed new environment to completion, with an information item setting out the rationale and context for that component.

Technology and Society

Students research the implications of introducing technological changes to environments, such as changing streetscapes, introduction of different colours and materials, open-plan designs, synthetic fabrics.
They identify factors that lead to resistance or acceptance of change.
They clarify issues in a current debate about, for instance, a mall development in a main street, a hypermarket absorbing individual shops, a street planting proposal, a traffic-calming system, and identify the perceptions and other factors that influence participants in the debate.

Assessment

One focus could be on the knowledge and understanding that students demonstrate in their needs analysis, and the extent to which this carries through into their designs and plans. For example:

students could assess the design specifications in relation to identified needs;
they could evaluate their ability to take an informed role in a debate on a change to their environment;
they could illustrate principles, such as aesthetics, modification, and reliability.

Example 9: Group Special Purpose Clothing
Contexts: Home; School

Main Areas: Materials; Production and Process

Technological Knowledge and Understanding

Students investigate the features that distinguish a variety of clothing used for special occasions, such as clothing for a cultural group, an orchestra, a dance group, a sports team, a workplace (supermarket; bank).
They visit a clothing factory to investigate and depict a production line system.
They investigate the principles of designing for a group.
They test the performance properties of a range of fabrics, including locally produced textiles and recycled materials.
They examine and evaluate standard patterns for clarity of instructions, explanation of sizing adjustments, and fabric recommendations.

Technological Capability

Students interview members of groups to identify the factors that are important to them in their choice of clothing for a group occasion.
They consider options and develop outline proposals for their potential consumers to evaluate, providing design sketches, fabric swatches, and key information on care, durability, and other features identified in the needs analysis.
They modify ideas in the light of consumer responses and develop the designs and specifications for a production run.
They cost their solution and establish a critical path.
They use CAD to develop patterns and cutting plans.
Students undertake several roles in the production run, gaining experience in more than one part of the operation.
They package and deliver the group clothing on time, within budget, and to agreed quality standards.

(Note: this topic could lead to the production of a complete outfit, or for one distinguishing component such as a waistcoat, or cover-all.)

Technology and Society

Students investigate and compile a report about the factors that influence reactions to a group appearance and the concept of corporate identity.
They compile an illustrated scrapbook or display, showing the ways in which fibre or fabric choice, garment style, and quality of finish can create visual impressions, and identify the messages that are conveyed.

Assessment

The completed clothing could be modelled to an invited audience, who assess its effectiveness, suitability for purpose, and quality. For example:

the teacher assesses the level of skills and quality control demonstrated by each student in their contributions to the task;
students evaluate, through group discussion, what they have learned both about production line processes and the impact of group clothing;
they could report on the ways in which they have accounted for different influences on their designs.

Example 10: Building Design and Modification
Contexts: Home; School; Industrial; Community

Main Areas: Structures and Mechanisms; Electronics and Control; Materials

Technological Knowledge and Understanding

Students visit a construction site to identify and depict the components and principles of a construction system and observe the work of different users of technology on site.
They identify, and learn correct terms for, core features of any construction such as loadings, foundation, bracing, scaffolding.
The teacher arranges for a visit from a builder, architect, or engineer to help students read examples of plans, if possible comparing a routine house plan on a flat site with a structure for a special purpose or on a difficult site.
Students investigate and describe the special features of a construction in their local area, such as the installation of base isolators, replication of stonework in a restoration project, or incorporation of "smart" technology in a new office building.

Technological Capability

The teacher arranges with appropriate authorities for students to work through a needs analysis related to a specific proposal, such as the construction of a music room, an addition to the library.
Students analyse the range of tasks related to the needs, and are allocated responsibilities.
Students work on their tasks, such as producing the set of working drawings, calculating and specifying load-bearing requirements, preparing a prototype section of bracing, designing entry and security controls (swipe-cards, video surveillance).
Students could integrate the tasks and produce a scale model of the completed project, incorporating their different elements.
They evaluate their plans and progress and support each other in modifying and integrating plans and ideas.
They present plans and models to the authorities or at a public meeting and explain reasons for their decisions.

Technology and Society

Students research building and construction methods used in New Zealand, relating the choice of materials, techniques, and features of design to the technologies available at different times, local environmental conditions, and changes to building styles.
They prepare annotated sketches of the building they might expect to construct in fifty years' time.

Assessment

One focus could be on assessing how well students handle materials and equipment, how well their designs meet identified needs, and the quality of their outcomes. For example:

students could prepare a portfolio, recording their understandings and the processes they used in their tasks, and accounting for how they incorporated specific features in response to particular requirements;
expert assessors could assist in adjudicating at the public presentation of models and solutions.

Example 11: Renewable and Non-renewable Energy
Contexts: Home; Environmental; Recreational

Main Areas: Structures and Mechanisms; Biotechnology; Information and Communication

Technological Knowledge and Understanding

Students gather, collate, and analyse information about energy sources that contribute to the power for their homes, school, and to local business or industry.
They visit the power company to observe and record:
- the real-time generation and usage information system;
- issues for the company about sources of supply and forecast needs;
- the work undertaken by different technologists within the company.
They analyse the strategic planning documents and annual plans from this and other organisations, in terms of energy resources and conservation measures, including promotional campaigns.

Technological Capability

Students survey, in groups, a range of power users in different settings to gauge their concerns about stability of supply, costs and benefits of different energy sources, and preferences for future power generation.
They collate and analyse the information, using computer data management software to present trends graphically.
They develop ideas for feasibility studies about energy sources, generation technologies, and conservation strategies.
Each group selects one aspect and produces a feasibility plan for their optionwind farms, wave generation, individual methane generators, solid-fuel energy, decentralised transmission, incentives for economy of use.
They present their studies in the form of seminars, supported by visual and written material, and evaluate each other's proposals.

Technology and Society

Students research a specific issue relating to energy, such as nuclear power, the impact of wind farms, sustainable energy houses, household heating systems.
They prepare a report on the values, beliefs, ethics, and knowledge that influence people's decisions and choices in energy use.
They draw some inferences about factors that may affect technological innovations in the energy sector in the near future.

Assessment

A focus for this topic could be on the knowledge and understanding that students demonstrate in their feasibility studies and in their seminar presentations. For example:

students could describe the features of an energy system in terms of its components, process, function, and use;
they could report on the ways values and beliefs influence decisions about energy systems.

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Technology in the New Zealand Curriculum

Suggested Learning and Assessment Examples for Levels 5 and 6