UNIT OUTLINE
Subject: design and technology
Unit title: core: activity of
designers
Key Concepts/ Big Ideas
How has design affected the way we cook and the
formats of cooking itself?
What other ways of design can be brought into the
kitchen to help with cooking of making products?
Unit context within Scope and Sequence/Purpose
Understanding and appreciation of the impact of
past, current and emerging technologies on the
individual, society and environments
Knowledge and understanding of the work of
designers and the issues and trends that influence
their work
Knowledge and understanding of and skills in
innovation, creativity and enterprise
Literacy Focus Numeracy Focus
This unit also covers a lot of
literacy looking into past
and historical designs and
innovation.
Course: stage 5 Number of Weeks 5
Each week has 3 x 60min
lessons
The importance of this learning
This area of core content examines the activities of designers over time and across a range of
focus areas. The interrelationship of enterprising activity with innovation is explored to give
insights into trends and preferred futures. Problem-solving techniques that are used by
designers can be applied by students to their designed solutions. The impact of technologies is
investigated and evaluated as they impact on individuals, society and environments.
Syllabus Outcomes
5.2.1 evaluates and explains the impact of past, current and emerging technologies on the
individual, society and environments
5.3.1 analyses the work and responsibilities of designers and the factors affecting their work
5.3.2 evaluates designed solutions that consider preferred futures, the principles of
appropriate technology and ethical and responsible design
5.4.1 develops and evaluates innovative, enterprising and creative design ideas and solutions
ICT Focus Differentiation
This is ITC focused as it looks
into future innovation and
design in the cooking
industry.
Week/ Syllabus Syllabus content Teaching and Assessment Resources/activities:
Sequence Content Students learn Learning
Students learn to: Strategies
about:
Week 1 Trends in • recognise ICT building Assess the The class creates a mind map of different trends in cooking and how
technology and trends of designing design far they can think back into history for cooking.
design designed created by
• in history solutions in Group students in Students to look at the google doc below:
• across history and across Discussion the class https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bwYtF8Hz8Ei9J4Fd96XCqUJE-
contemporary contemporary For XfpFl4EQMKdLEeKVPI/edit?usp=sharing
cultures cultures Mind map formative
assessment After they have a look they use smart devices to seek other trends
• identify ICT and changes throughout history. All discoveries to be placed into
applications used This will google docs and the class will review the findings.
by designers and begin the
the impact on assessment https://www.facebook.com/wired/videos/10155546460126043/
their work into This video displays how technology is advancing the way cooking is
student done and shows how 3D printing can be involved in the kitchen.
picking
either a A class discussion on different usages from other aspects in design
modern or can be brought into the kitchen.
historical
dish and
making it
Week 2 Creativity and • identify ICT research Major Lesson 1:
problem- creativity and assessment Cover what SWOT means and how to assess design using it.
solving problem-solving Brainstorming given out to Look at a few designs and analysis all aspects whether good or bad.
techniques techniques used students Students will work in groups of 2-4 on allocated designs which at the
used by by designers in Deep order discussing end of the class will collaborate to make sure everyone understands
designers their work thinking that they
• needs and must Lesson 2:
opportunity research Students are given a lesson for inquiry based learning and
analysis (SWOT past dishes assessment research. This lesson is solely for research into different
 — strengths, and re- recipes and cultures as well as designs for recipes they find
weaknesses, create then interesting.
opportunities modernise This will allow the teacher to help guide students away from
and threats) it. Also a complicate recipes and/or designs but also assist in finding certain
• constraints 1500word recipes for students to create.
analysis report on
• collaboration the food, Lesson 3:
• research and origins and This lesson will be based on the design aspect of food where has it
exploration why they come from, how cultures have influence and where it looks like it is
chose it headed. Students will look through cook books and design magazines
must be to build a reference into different designs and how they work.
handed in
on cooking Student will then take this collection and analysis it using the SWOT
day. method taught earlier in the week. This will assist for the report.
Week 3 • types of • define and Mind map No Lesson one:
innovation describe assessment Innovation. This you tube clip shows the robots arms that replicate
innovation Group for this this the cooking and movements of a chef to cook dinner, it also is in
• examples of • identify a Discussion week. production for residential use very soon.
innovation variety of past, https://youtu.be/rNcPVvIs_tk
current and ICT research Formative
emerging assessment After seeing this clip students will be asked to make a mind map of
technologies and TAP (think all on the what innovation actually means to them. This will then be discussed
innovations possibilities) cooking and corrected by the teacher.
across a range of lesson.
focus areas Cooking Lesson 2:
lesson. This lesson is dedicated to a cooking lesson based on design giving
the students a recipe and allowing them free will as to how to plate
it. Scored on originality.
 Lesson 3:
Students will be asked to look into past innovations and the impact
they had into the food industry. A prime example would be the
industrial dish washing, cutlery polisher using sand or canning.

No that past innovation have been looked into past, the student
need to look into current and emerging technologies like the robot
arms and what they think will emerge from it. Will they have positive
or negative effects, could it survive in the busy industry and would it
______________ be used for industrial or residential use?
Week 4 • identify what Field trip Lesson 1:
changes would Students are asked to look into all the innovations and what kind of
need to occur to Class changes would need to occur for emerging technologies to finish off
achieve particular discussion a technology or idea. Also discussion on the field trip and what kind
visions of questions they should be looking at asking to get the most out of
• assess the Mind map the day.
impact of past,
current and brainstorming Lesson2:
emerging Sometime this week would like to organise a class trip to a local food
technologies and producing factory to look at how innovative it is and to find out how
innovation on it has improved and the kind of research that goes into improving the
society and company and product. Also to address the environmentally impact
environments the company has and what type of tools they use to minimise it.

Lesson3:
With the field trip in mind this lesson recalls everything students saw
using a mind map. The class will also brainstorm idea that the
company could use to improve its efficiency and better its product.
This will help with the assessment and also assist the student to think
outside the box and also helps those falling behind to catch up and
understand the content so far.
Week 5 • demonstrate Cooking Assessment This week 2 lessons will be practical cooking lesson. The first will
design ideas and lesson will be allow student to make their chosen recipe as it is. This will show that
solutions that are handed in it can be recreated and they understand it. The 2nd lesson the
innovative and High order and the students have to replicate the chosen dish but add a modern twist to
enterprising thinking cooking it. The difference and how they design the dish will be how the
part will teacher will judge based on flavour and difference from pictures
take place taken.
over 2
lessons. The last lesson will give students time to hand in the written part of
the assessment, go over the content to verify student have
understood it and give brief description of the next topic in the next
week.
Assessment Details Outcomes

Minor assessments:
Just formative assessment to make sure students are keeping up
and understanding the topic/subject content.
Major assessment:
Week 1 opens up the talk for the major assessment.
Week 2 the assessment will be handed out and spoken with the
recipes due by the start of week 4 and the cooking and report due
in week 5. Marking rubric will be supplied.
5.2.1 evaluates and explains the impact of past, current and emerging
technologies on the individual, society and environments
5.3.1 analyses the work and responsibilities of designers and the factors affecting
their work
5.3.2 evaluates designed solutions that consider preferred futures, the principles
of appropriate technology and ethical and responsible design
5.4.1 develops and evaluates innovative, enterprising and creative design ideas
and solutions

Evaluation of the Learning and Teaching

How well did the lessons go?
Can the group work be more effective?
Update all lessons to be more relevant
What other ICT’s can be brought into the lesson. Interactive timeline through google docs?
Did the assessments assist the students learning and was it to easy or difficult?
Can I change the teaching and learning strategies?
Justification/Reflection:

While design and technology can be linked to Problem Based Learning (PBL) and also Inquiry Based Learning (IBL), to start off with what is PBL

and what is involved, does it assist with teaching and learning and how can it be used in lessons and units plans. An article by Lederman (2009),

discusses that there are 4 different levels which are, level 1 exploration, level 2 direct learning, level 3 guided inquiry and level 4 open ended

inquiry. Using these levels as guidelines and helpers to help build and maintain the unit plan and lessons for each week. Using IBL students will

build up on the content knowledge and broaden their minds into looking outside the box and mixing up different ideas, Greenwald and

Quitadamo (2014) states that by using IBL in lessons students can build on past knowledge using current interests and maintain understanding

of topic knowledge, they also go on to say that in several studies have proven to link increase in student knowledge, attention in class and

grades to the use of IBL.

By glancing over the unit plan a lot of group work and collaboration can be seen used, this is due to my teaching style and how I feel I can

teach better and use IBL, also this is linked to how students have been seen to learn better from each other and assist in creativity with their

work. Using cooperative group tasks or the 4 C’s (communication, collaboration, critical thinking and creativity) method it has been proven to

build onto IBL and in a lot of cases shown increase in student grades. By linking strategies like cooperative learning and IBL have shown to

assist in student learning but also encourage creativity in school based assessments (Ahern-Rindell, 1998), this is also backed up by Freeman et
al. (2014), who has shown that students with active minds and by keeping the minds of students active and interest can improve grades and

topic knowledge understanding. It can be said that by linking student activity with linked teaching strategies in the right way can both help in

student learning and understanding.

While the use of IBL joined with cooperative strategies is apparent throughout the unit plan another tool was the use of the 5 E’s (engage,

explore, explain, elaborate and evaluate). Even though the use of the 5 E’s wasn’t apparent throughout the unit plan the ideas and guidelines

were followed to help build this unit plan, Lederman (2009) suggests that using the 5 E’s are a crucial part of education and learning in the 21 st

century and with these linked with IBL has shown huge improvement in school based learning and grades. By using mind maps and think pair

share strategies are used within these lessons, using these 2 strategies cover a few aspects of the 5 E’s including explore their minds, explain

the responses and elaborate on the finished mind maps to collaborate the whole class. By evaluating the content and linking the subject

content is a great way to use the 5 E’s efficiently.

With numeracy and literacy key elements in the school syllabus, in this unit plan numeracy would only be apparent in lesson plans while doing

the designs and recipe figures, literacy was highly used in research for assessments. By getting students to research independently for things

that interest them it also focusses on IBL and allows students the freedom to broaden their horizon. Some of the unit plan seems structured

and teacher based learning but that is to keep the content on the right path and allow student to learn from the syllabus, while studies have

shown creative subjects like science and D & T have grown due to it being less theory based and allow student creativity. Bradforth et al.

(2015) discusses that students in the 21st century are craving more creativity in classes and looking for outlets and lesson to embrace the

creative mind, thus allowing for an active mind and in turn has shown to increase student grades, this linked with IBL has shown an increase in

students wanting more science and D & T type of classes.

Research has been known to be boring to students, some types such as investigating research is starting to become popular in schools which

also helps students build topic knowledge and understand content in lessons, Danielson (2016) has suggested by using investigative research

and building it up with IBL it has shown to build student interest and understanding on content and an increase in class grades. With that in

mind is why investigative research is used in these unit plans and for the lessons.
To conclude using IBL, the 5 E’s, PBL, cooperative group learning, literacy and research are the ley concepts within this unit plan, while some

strategies are very apparent and others not so, the key concept and ideas are used and understood throughout. While some of the content is

straight to the point and lacking detail this is due to giving room for changes depending on the class and students, for example if a class is

gifted or lacking the unit can compensate for these students but the key ideas and structure are still there to follow the syllabus and complete

the unit outlines.

References:

Ahern-Rindell, A. J. (1998). Applying inquiry-based and cooperative group learning strategies to promote critical thinking. Journal of College Science
Teaching, 28(3), 203.
Bradforth, S. E., Miller, E. R., Dichtel, W. R., Leibovich, A. K., Feig, A. L., Martin, D., . . . Smith, T. L. (2015). Improve undergraduate science education: it is
time to use evidence-based teaching practices at all levels by providing incentives and effective evaluations. Nature, 523(7560), 282-285.
Danielson, K. (2016). Literacy Content and Core Practices: Teacher Educator Pedagogy as the Bridge Between Knowing and Doing.
Freeman, S., Eddy, S. L., McDonough, M., Smith, M. K., Okoroafor, N., Jordt, H., & Wenderoth, M. P. (2014). Active learning increases student performance
in science, engineering, and mathematics. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 111(23), 8410-8415.
Greenwald, R. R., & Quitadamo, I. J. (2014). A mind of their own: Using inquiry-based teaching to build critical thinking skills and intellectual engagement in
an undergraduate neuroanatomy course. Journal of Undergraduate Neuroscience Education, 12(2), A100.
Lederman, J. S. (2009). Levels of inquiry and the 5 E’s learning cycle model. National Geographic Science.