The technology component of the SESE curriculum, as outlined in the science skills section, is entitled Designing and making. Designing and making will involve children in making small-scale objects such as toys or larger things such as lighthouses or trucks. Children should be provided with opportunities to design and make objects that function or work, such as a teddy bear's lunchbox, a pop-up-card, a battery-driven vehicle or a boat powered by a rubber band. The children can then be challenged to think about why their products work and how they can be improved.
Designing and making activities need not always be about practical problemsolving. Children should begin to perceive ordinary objects as examples of technology. Tea-pots, pencil sharpeners, sweeping brushes and chairs are examples of objects that are made to fulfil a need. Common objects can be explored for their design and for their artistic and technological features. Teachers can use their knowledge and skills to help children do this by asking questions such as:
Why is this object used?
Why has it been made in this way?
Are these objects always made from the same materials?
Can other materials be used to make these objects?
Have these objects always been made in this way?
If not, why not? If yes, why?
Opportunities should be provided for children to focus on how familiar, everyday objects are made. Sometimes the children might take things apart, such as a bicycle pump or a torch. They should reflect on how well things work and judge them according to their ease of use, reliability, safety, appearance and texture. Children should reflect on the need to improve, change or develop things already in existence.
Technology and society
It is important that children come to appreciate that technology is part of their everyday experience. Pupils should become aware of the applications of science and technology in familiar contexts; at home, at school, in the community and in the work-place. They should also recognise the contribution that science and technology make to improving the quality of life. The designing and making section of the curriculum aims to provide children with an understanding of the technological process as well as the development of the skills and attitudes required to undertake practical tasks.
Craft-handling skills
An important aspect of designing and making will be to provide the children with craft-handling skills -- the skills of making, such as cutting and joining. The tools that children use to design and make may include rulers, staplers, scissors or needles. Some activities in fifth and sixth classes may require the use of tools such as hammers, screwdrivers and saws. Opportunities to practise and acquire accuracy in skills such as measuring, marking, cutting or shaping will help the children to produce their models and artefacts.
Materials
In designing and making activities children will use a range of materials. These will include construction sets, paper, cardboard, straws, clay, cans, fabric, plastic and wood. Children should examine the properties and characteristics of different materials through observing, comparing and sorting. They can then select the most appropriate materials and tools for the task.
Safety
A safe working environment and safe ways of working should be encouraged at all levels. During designing and making activities children will work with a wide variety of materials and tools. Tools such as craft knives, glue guns or hacksaws must only be used by children who are under the direct supervision of the teacher or a specially designated adult. The teacher should demonstrate the safe use of tools before allowing their use in designing and making tasks. Tools need to be stored in a secure area and children should only have access to tools when supervised. The cultivation of a safe working environment should be considered by the teacher and the school when planning and organising learning in science and technology.
Integration
Designing and making will help children to gain a greater understanding of topics in the geography curriculum such as industries, manufacturing processes and people at work. Opportunities to visit sites such as factories, quarries or workshops to examine the things made in these areas will provide children with direct experience of the design and manufacturing processes. It will also help them to understand that in the world of work certain materials are changed into products by physical or chemical processes.
Exemplars
The exemplars that follow show how a number of designing and making lessons can be presented. The exemplars are based on the strands of the curriculum and may be adapted for use at different class levels.
An important aspect of designing and making tasks is that children are provided with open-ended activities. Pupils should be encouraged to design and make their own models and artefacts. Open-ended tasks will generate a wide range of outcomes. However, in infant and junior classes children may be presented with more focused activities. These will tend to produce a range of similar outcomes. Open and closed technology tasks should provide the children with the scope to generate their own designs and the freedom to devise their own solutions to problems.
EXEMPLAR 44 - Designing and making a crayon holder
EXEMPLAR 45 - Designing and making a land yacht
EXEMPLAR 46 - Designing and making a pulley system