TIELEHEAD&CHLOEMENZIES

EST400ASSIGNMENT2
DESIGNCURRICULUM
TASK

ChloeMenzies(212071968)andTieleHead
(212207458)

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DesignBrief
Pleasefindourdesignbriefattachedasanappendixbelow(Appendix1).Anexplanationforhowtheteachermightleadthestudentsinadiscussionon
thedesignbriefinorderforthemtounderstandthecontentofitisdescribedinLesson1oftheunitplan.

Introduction
Technologyasaunitprovidesstudentswiththeopportunitytouseahandsonapproachtodesignandbuild.Norton,RitchieandGinnsdescribe
technologyasasubjectgivingtheteachersthechancetocapitaliseonstudentsinterestsandcreativity,aswellasachievescienceandtechnology
outcomes.(2007,p.209).Therefore,technologyisasubjectthatnotonlyachievesVictorianCurriculumstandards,butalsoallowsstudentstodelveinto
theircreativesideandcreatesomeenjoymentintheclassroom.CampbellandJanedidastudythatshowedthatbyundertakingatechnologytaskwith
anopenendeddesignbriefaswehaveprovided,studentsdemonstratetheabilitytochoosethefeaturesofthetaskforthemselves,toengageactively
inthetask,and[show]awillingnesstopersist(2012,p.4).Ourunitwillbeencompassingtechnologywhilstalsointegratingscienceandmathematics.
Theunitwillbefocusingonsimplemachinesandpulleysystems,andhowtheymakeourliveseasier.

Yearlevel:
Year4

Sessions:
3sessionsat50minutesandoneat1hourand40mins.(Thiswillbethethirdlesson)

Context
Thetechnologycontextinwhichwewillbefocusingonis
Investigatehowforcesandthepropertiesofmaterialsaffectthebehaviourofadesigned
solution
(VCDSTC024)
.ThecontextofthisunitalsocrossesoverwithtwosciencecurriculumstandardsSuggestwaystoplanandconduct
investigationstofindanswerstoquestionsincludingconsiderationoftheelementsoffairtests

(VCSIS066)
andSafelyuseappropriatematerials,tools,
equipmentandtechnologies

(VCSIS067)
.ThisunitalsointegratesonemathematicscurriculumstandardUsescaledinstrumentstomeasureand
comparelengths,masses,capacitiesandtemperatures

(VCMMG165)
.AllofthesecurriculumlinksaretakenfromLevel4ofVictorianCurriculum(VCAA
2016).Thecombinationoftheselinksencompassestheprocessofdesigningandbuildingasimplemachinewithapulleysystemthatwillallowthe
studentstoliftavarietyofobjectsofftheground.

AtaLevel4stageintheVictorianCurriculum,studentsinthisunitofworkwillengageinallareasofCreatingDesignedSolutionsundertheDesignand
Technologieslearningarea.Thiswillbeginasstudents
Critiqueneedsoropportunitiesfordesigningandexploreandtestavarietyofmaterials,
components,toolsandequipmentandthetechniquesneededtocreatedesignedsolutions
(VCDSCD028)
,andthen
Generate,develop,and
communicatedesignideasanddecisionsusingappropriatetechnicaltermsandgraphicalrepresentationtechniques
(VCDSCD029)
.Studentswill
undergothesetasksinthefirstlessonofthisunit,astheyexploreasolutiontotheirdesignbrief,createavarietyofannotatedsketches,andtestthe
availablematerialstofindthosemostsuitableforachievingtheirdesignconcept.DentonandWilliamsstatethatatthisstage,drawingsshouldbefast

TIELEHEAD&CHLOEMENZIES

andcontainonlyenoughdetailtoconveytheideabehindthem,enablingmoreexploration(1996,p.19).Studentswillthenspendthenexttwolessons
completingtheProducingstage,inwhichthey
Selectandusematerials,components,toolsandequipmentusingsafeworkpracticestoproduce
designedsolutions
(VCDSCD030)
.Duringthisstage,studentswillworkingroupsofthreetocreatetheirsimplemachinewithapulleysystemcapableof
liftingarangeofobjectsofftheground,toaheightofatleast50cm.Itsimportantduringthisstagethatteachersmakestudentsawareofthesafety
protocolforworkingintheclassroomenvironment,operatingequipment,andusingtoolsproperly.(Gunter2007,p.5).ThefinalstageofCreating
DesignedSolutionsataLevel4standardiswhenstudents
Evaluatedesignideas,processesandsolutionsbasedoncriteriaforsuccessdevelopedwith
guidanceandincludingcarefortheenvironmentandcommunities
(VCDSCD031)
.Duringtheirfinallesson,studentswillpresenttheircompletedsimple
machinestotheclassandwillhaveachancetoreflectontheirdesignprocessintheselfevaluationassessmentform.Inthistheycanevaluatewhether
theirfinalmachinemetthedesignbriefspecifications,anychallengestheyfacedandhowtheyovercamethem,andhowtheyworkedasateam.
Throughoutthiswholecreativeprocess,studentswillcontinuallybeengagedinthePlanningandManagingcomponentofCreatingDesignedSolutions,
inwhichthey
Planasequenceofproductionstepswhenmakingdesignedsolutions
(VCDSCD032)
.

AchievementStandardsLevel4
Technology
Studentsdescribehowthefeaturesoftechnologiescanbeusedtocreatedesignedsolutionsforeachoftheprescribedtechnologiescontextse.g.
Investigatehowforcesandthepropertiesofmaterialsaffectthebehaviourofadesignedsolution

Theyexplainneedsoropportunitiesandevaluateideasanddesignedsolutionsagainstidentifiedcriteriaforsuccess

Theydevelopandexpanddesignideasandcommunicatetheseusingmodelsanddrawingsincludingannotationsandsymbols

Studentsplanandsequencemajorstepsindesignandproduction.

Theyidentifyappropriatetechnologiesandtechniquesanddemonstratesafeworkpracticeswhencreatingdesignedsolutions.

Science

Theylinkthephysicalpropertiesofmaterialstotheiruse.
Studentsdescribehowtheyusescienceinvestigationstoidentifypatternsandrelationshipsandtorespondtoquestions
Theyuseformalandinformalscientificlanguagetocommunicatetheirobservations,methodsandfindings.

Maths
Studentsusescaledinstrumentstomeasurelength,angle,area,mass,capacityandtemperatureofshapesandobjects.

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UnitPlan

Lesson1

Lesson2

Lesson3(doublelesson)

Lesson4

Description
oftask

Teacherhasheavystackofbooks
ondesk.Classhasadiscussion
abouthowtheycouldmovethese
bookstoahighershelfwithout
havingtoliftthem.Istherea
simplemachinetheycoulduse?

StudentswatchYouTubeclip
Pulleyssimplemachines
and
createmindmapsintablegroups
ofdifferentmachinesthatinvolve
apulleysystem.Studentsshare
ideaswiththeclass.

TeacherdiscussesDesignBrief
withstudentsandguidesthem
withhowtheyregoingtousea
rangeofmaterialstocreatethe
pulleysystem.Teachershould
facilitatequestioningontheuseof
thedifferenttoolsprovidedand
howtheywillhelpinthe
constructionoftheobject.

Studentsgetingroupsof3and
begintoinvestigateavailable
materialsandchoosesuitable
onestomeetthedesignbrief
specifications.Theywillalso
createannotatedsketchesoftheir

Asawholeclass,students
shouldcreateamindmapon
thewhiteboardofanysafety
concernsthatmayarisewiththis
taske.g.scissors,hotgluegun.
Teachershouldaskstudentsto
suggestwaysthattheycanwork
safelyinthetechnologylab.

Studentswillfinalisetheir
investigatingoftheavailable
materialsandwillbeginto
createtheirproduct.

Intheirgroupsof3,studentswill
createasimplemachinewitha
pulleysystemthatitiscapable
ofliftinga200gmload,50cm
high.Theywillneedtocreate
somesortofbasketortrayto
carryarangeofobjectsthatwill
beliftedusingstring.

Studentsshouldtakepicturesof
theirdesignandbuilding
processontheiriPads.

Studentswillcontinuetowork
ontheirsimplemachinestoday
andshouldhavethemfinished
bytheendofclass.

Studentswillhavetousethe
availablescalestoweigh
variousobjectsandthenplace
themontheirmachineandsee
iftheycanbelifted50cm.
Studentsshouldrecordtheir
findings,andtakephotosof
theirpulleysysteminuse.

Studentsshouldcreateashort
PowerPointdisplayingthe
photosfromtheirdesignand
buildingprocess.

Inthisfinallesson,eachgroup
willhaveachancetopresent
theircompletedsimple
machinetotheclass.
Accompaniedwiththeir
PowerPoint,theyshould
discusstheirdesignand
buildingprocess,aproblem
theyfacedandhowthey
overcameit,anysafety
concerns,andwhethertheyre
finalproductmetthedesign
briefspecifications.

Duringtheirpresentations,
studentswillbemarkedby
twooftheirpeersonarubric,
whichwillcontributetotheir
overallmark(seeAppendix
3).Twostudentswillthenbe
chosentoprovidethegroup
onepositiveabouttheir
presentationandmachine,
andonepossible
improvement.

Afterthepresentationsare
finished,studentsshould
completeaselfevaluation
sheetintheirgroupsof3(see

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designideas.

Appendix2).

Vic
Curriculum
Links

Investigateforce
(VCDSTC024)
,
Suggestwaystoplanandconduct
investigationstofindanswersto
questions

(VCSIS066)
,
Critique
needsoropportunitiesfor
designingandexploreandtesta
varietyofmaterials
(VCDSCD028)
,
Generate,
develop,andcommunicatedesign
ideas

(VCDSCD029)

Investigateforce
(VCDSTC024)
,
Safelyuseappropriate
materials,tools,equipmentand
technologies

(VCSIS067)
,
Select
andusematerials,components,
toolsandequipmentusingsafe
workpracticestoproduce
designedsolutions
(VCDSCD030)

Investigateforce
(VCDSTC024)
,
(VCMMG165)
,
Safelyuseappropriate
materials,tools,equipmentand
technologies
(VCSIS067)
,
Selectandusematerials,
components,toolsand
equipmentusingsafework
practicestoproducedesigned
solutions
(VCDSCD030)

Evaluatedesignideas,
processesandsolutions
basedoncriteriaforsuccess
(VCDSCD031)

Technology
Process

Investigating&Planningand
Managing

Generating(Designing),
PlanningandManaging&
Producing

Producing&Planningand
Managing

Evaluating

Materials,
systems,
equipment

YouTubeclip
Pulleyssimple
machines
(
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=9T7tGosXM58
),
Interactive
whiteboard,Newspaper,
Cardboard,Popsiclesticks,
Straws,String,Bitsofmaterial,
Hotgluegun,Scissors,Bottles
caps,Emptycottonspools,
Bobbins,Stickytape,A3paper,
Textas

Newspaper
Cardboard,Popsiclesticks,
Straws,String,Bitsofmaterial,
Hotgluegun,Scissors,Bottles
caps,Emptycottonspools,
Bobbins,Stickytape,iPads,
Ruler,Scales

Newspaper
Cardboard,Popsiclesticks,
Straws,String,Bitsofmaterial,
Hotgluegun,Scissors,Bottles
caps,Emptycottonspools,
Bobbins,Stickytape,Scales,
iPads,PowerPoint,Ruler

PowerPoint,Interactive
whiteboard,Selfevaluation
sheet(Appendix2),Peer
assessmentrubric(Appendix
3)

Safety
aspects

Studentswillneedtoconsiderthe
safeuseofthescissorsand
especiallythehotgluegun,asit
runsatanextremelyhigh
temperature.

Studentswillneedtoconsider
thesafeuseofthescissorsand
especiallythehotgluegun,asit
runsatanextremelyhigh
temperature.

Studentswillneedtoconsider
thesafeuseofthescissors
andespeciallythehotglue
gun,asitrunsatanextremely
hightemperature.

Therearenosafety
considerationsinthisfinal
lesson,exceptforstudents
beingawareofanycords
protrudingfromtheinteractive
whiteboard.

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FormativeAssessment
Throughoutthistechnologyunitarangeofformativeassessmentstrategieswillbeusedtoinformteachingpracticeandtoprovidestudentswith
immediate,meaningfulfeedback.Learningintechnologyrequiresgeneratingmanyideasandproblemsolvingtomeetaparticularneed,andtherefore
cannotbetaughtbyrotesocallsforaformativeapproach(Black2008p.20).Inthisunitthatapproachwilltakeshapeintheformofopenended
discussions,richquestions,teacherobservations,feedbackondesignsandthebuildingprocess,andinthefinalassessmentpieceselfand
peerassessment.Blacksuggeststhatagoodquestionshouldencourageimaginativeandspeculativeresponsesandtherebyhelpdevelopstudents
competenceinaskingmeaningfulquestionsthemselves.(p.21).Inthefirstlessonofthisunitsuchmeaningfulquestionswillbeaskedofthestudents
regardingtheirunderstandingofsimplemachines,howeverthiswillbepresentedinsuchawayasthemneedingtosolveaproblemofhowtomovea
heavystackofbooks,toencouragehigherorderthinking.Similarrichquestionsandopenendeddiscussionswillcontinuethroughouttherestoftheunit
astheteacherinteractswithstudentsintheirgroups,alsoprovidingachancefortheteachertojotdownanyobservationsaboutstudentlearning.
Anotherimportantaspectofthisoneononetimeisthatitallowstheteachertoprovidefeedbacktothestudentsontheirdesignandbuildingprocess,
andtoreceivefeedbackfromthestudentsinturn.Blacksuggeststhateffectivelearningdemandsanalternationoffeedback,studenttoteacherandfrom
teachertostudent(p.20),andthattheteacherthenneedstousethisfeedbacktoaltertheirteachingpracticetobestmeettheirstudentslearningneeds.
Thisistheaimoftheformativeassessmentinthisunittoconstantlybeengagedinobservationandfeedbackwithstudentsandalteringteaching
practices,toensurethatstudentsaregainingallthattheycanfromthisunitofworkandthateachchild'slearningneedsarebeingmet.Thiswillensure
thatbythetimestudentsreachtheirfinalsummativetask,theyshouldallhopefullyhavethenecessaryunderstandingstoreachtheachievement
standardsforthisunitofwork.

SummativeAssessment
ThefinalassessmentpieceforthisunitinvolvesstudentscreatingaPowerPointpresentationcomprisingphotosfromthedesignandbuildingstagesof
theirsimplemachinecreation.StudentswillpresenttheirsimplemachineandPowerPointtotheirpeersandteacherintheirgroupsofthree,andwill
discusstheirdesignandbuildingprocess,aproblemtheyfacedandhowtheyovercameit,andwhethertheyrefinalproductmetthedesignbrief
specifications.Throughthispresentationwewouldexpectstudentstoexhibittheirunderstandingoftheachievementstandards,andinparticularthose
undertheLevel4technologystrand.Thiswouldincludestudentsbeingableto
describehowthefeaturesoftechnologiescanbeusedtocreatedesigned
solutionsforeachoftheprescribedtechnologiescontexts(VCAA2016),whichinthiscasewouldbetheEngineeringprinciplesandsystemscontext
wherestudentsInvestigatehowforcesandthepropertiesofmaterialsaffectthebehaviourofadesignedsolution(VCDSTC024).Studentsatthisstage
arealsoexpectedtoexplainneedsoropportunitiesandevaluateideasanddesignedsolutionsagainstidentifiedcriteriaforsuccess
(VCAA2016),and
wewouldexpectthistobeevidentthroughtheirdiscussionofwhetherornottheirfinalproductmettheneedsofthedesignbrief.Studentsshouldalso
identifyappropriatetechnologiesandtechniquesanddemonstratesafeworkpracticeswhencreatingdesignedsolutions(VCAA2016),whichtheywill
discussintheirpresentations,especiallyanysafetyaspects.Thefinalachievementstandardsthatstudentswouldbeexpectedtomeetatthisstage
wouldbetoplanandsequencemajorstepsindesignandproductionanddevelopandexpanddesignideasandcommunicatetheseusingmodelsand

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drawingsincludingannotationsandsymbols(VCAA2016),andthesewillbeevidentthroughthephotosprovidedoftheirdesignandbuildingprocesson
theirPowerPointslide.

AsPaulBlackstatesthatanysummativeassessmentconductedby,andinfullcontrolof,aschoolanditsteachers,canbeusedtoservebothformative
andsummativepurposes(2008,p.25),thisfinalsummativeassessmentincorporatesarangeofformativeassessmentstrategies,includingselfand
peerassessment.Duringtheirgrouppresentations,studentswillbeassessedbytheirpeersbasedonarubriccontainingarangeofcriteria,andthentwo
studentswillbechosentostateonepositiveaboutthegroup'spresentationandsimplemachine,andonepossibleimprovement.Blacksuggeststhat
peerassessmentisverybeneficial,aswithteacherguidancethatisfocusedonclarifyingthecriteriaforquality,studentscantherebydevelopawareness
ofsuccessesandproblemsinpiecesofworkandcanarticulatethisindiscussion(2008,p.24).Studentswillalsocompleteaselfevaluationsheetin
theirgroups,asdevelopingeffectiveselfassessmentisanessentialpartofmanagingonesownlearning(Black2008,p.24).Inthisselfevaluation
studentswillreflectontheirdesignprocess,whethertheyweresatisfiedwiththeirfinalproduct,andhowtheyworkedasateam.Finally,studentswillbe
markedbytheteacheragainstthesamerubricastheirpeers,andtheirfinalmarkwillbemadeupofboththeirpeerandteachermarks.(Appendix3and
4).

Integrationwithotherlearningareas
Thisunitwouldbeintegratedwithscienceandmathsasstatedabove.TheVCAAsciencecurriculumlinkSuggestwaystoplanandconduct
investigationstofindanswerstoquestionsincludingconsiderationoftheelementsoffairtests

(VCSIS066)
wouldsupportthelearningofthetechnology
taskasitrequiresthestudenttoplan,investigateandtesttheirproducttoensurethatitsolvesthegivenproblem.Anotherlinktothesciencecurriculumis
Safelyuseappropriatematerials,tools,equipmentandtechnologies(VCSIS067).Thisappliestobothscienceandtechnologysubjectssotheseskills
directlycomplimentandsupporteachother.Technologyandsciencearetwosubjectareasthatcanflowintoeachotherveryeasily.Norton,Ritchieand
Ginns(2001,p.305)discussestheovercrowdingofourcurriculumandhowweshouldbeutilisingtimebyachievingmultiplestrandsfrommultiple
subjects.Theyalsodiscusshowcombiningscienceandtechnologyhelpsstudentsgrapplewiththemultiplerelationshipsthatexistswithinknowledge
andskillsofthetwosubjectsandcapitaliseondifferentlearningstyles..Mathematicsalsocomesinduetothemeasurementthatneedstobeaccuratein
orderforthepulleysystemtobesuccessful.ThecurriculumlinkthatthisdirectlycorrelateswithisUsescaledinstrumentstomeasureandcompare
lengths,masses,capacitiesandtemperatures

(VCMMG165)
.Inthedesigningandproducing,thestudentswillneedtoensurethattheirlength
measurementsareaccurate,andtheyneedtoensurethattheirpulleysystemcanhandletheweightoftheobject,thereforesupportingthecurriculumlink
andassistinginbuildingtheskillsofmathematicsinthetechnologiesunit.

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References
Black,P2008,Formativeassessmentinthelearningandteachingofdesignandtechnology,
DesignandTechnologyEducation:AnInternationalJournal,

vol.13,no.3,pp.1926

Campbell,C,Jane,B2010,Motivatingchildrentolearn:theroleoftechnologyeducation,
InternationalJournalofTechnologyandDesignEducation,
vol.22,
no.1,pp.111.

Denton,H&Williams,J1996,EfficientandEffectiveDesign:Thepurposeofsketchinganddrawing,
TheTechnologyTeacher,
vol.55,no.1,pp.1520.

Gunter,R2007,CheckingSafetyinTechnologyEducation,
TheTechnologyTeacher,v
ol.66,no.6,pp.513.

Norton,S,Ritchie,S,Ginns,I2007,Designprojectsthatintegratescienceandtechnology,VMDawson&GJVenville(eds),
TheArtofTeachingPrimary
Science
,Allen&Unwin,pp.202215,retrieved11May2016,
<https://content.talisaspire.com/deakin/bundles/56a9203ae7ebb62418000010?userId=zwjr67ubRKyp8vVz%2FsWrwjuVclU%3D&key=0328734f79fb8ce0f
975bb70ac8c75cd9bcb3261f4ca4c8073b99a4052ea861b>.

Pulleyssimplemachines
,YouTube,Peace,1stMarch,retrieved6thMay2016,<
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9T7tGosXM58
>

VictorianCurriculumandAssessmentAuthority(VCAA)2016,
CurriculumOverview:DesignandTechnologies,
VictoriaStateGovernment,retrieved11May
2016,<http://victoriancurriculum.vcaa.vic.edu.au/technologies/designandtechnologies/curriculum/f10#level=34>

VictorianCurriculumandAssessmentAuthority(VCAA)2016,
CurriculumOverview:Mathematics,
VictoriaStateGovernment,retrieved11May2016,
<
http://victoriancurriculum.vcaa.vic.edu.au/mathematics/curriculum/f10#level=4
>

VictorianCurriculumandAssessmentAuthority2016(VCAA),
CurriculumOverview:Science,
VictoriaStateGovernment,retrieved11May2016,
<
http://victoriancurriculum.vcaa.vic.edu.au/science/curriculum/f10#level=34
>

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APPENDIXONE

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APPENDIXTWO

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APPENDIXTHREE

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APPENDIXFOUR

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