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Technology Education Key Learning Area
Teacher’s Experience Sharing
Subject: Design and Applied Technology
Background
Information about the School
� The School is a co-educational secondary school at Tsuen Wan with English as the
medium of instruction. The School is one of the elite schools in the Tsuen Wan
district.
� There were two teachers in the D&T panel. Only the subject panel head was involved
in teaching DAT at S4 and S5 levels.
� The academic performance of the school is good in general. However, students who
chose to study DAT were mainly come from the bottom end in the classes. Regarding
the elective part, the school was offering the Design Implementation and Material
Processing Module (M3) and Visualisation and Computer-aided Design (CAD) Modelling
Module (M5) for students.
� At S1 and S2 levels, Design and Technology (D&T) was offered with three periods per
10-day cycle for one term each year. The total lesson time was around 14 hours per
year for S1 and S2. At S3 level, one more period was provided which made up around
19 hours per year. In general, the total lesson time for junior secondary D&T was
about 47 hours.
� At S4 and S5 levels, five students were taking DAT at each level. DAT was offered with
nine periods per 10-day cycle. The total lesson time at S4/5 was about 168 hours.[it
seems that the total lesson time for S4-6 will be less than 270 hours?]
Lead Reflection:
How can school/teacher plan to take care of the needs of students who are the
minority group (say less than 10 students) and wish to study a particular subject or
elective module?
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Considerations and Implementation
Curriculum Planning for DAT
The School followed the teaching sequences suggested in the Design and Applied
Technology Curriculum and Assessment Guide (S4-6). In order to build up a solid
foundation in the study, the teacher decided to teach the compulsory part at S4, and then
planned to teach the two optional modules at S5 and S6 levels respectively. As sketching
and visualization skills are the basic communication tools for design which requires more
time to practise, the teacher taught Visualisation and Computer-aided Design (CAD)
Modelling (M5) at S5, right after the completion of the compulsory part which gave a
coherence in teaching as well as continuing the practice. The teaching sequence of DAT in
the School was as follows:
Level Topics Coursework
S4 Compulsory Part
Strand 1: Design and Innovation
Strand 2: Technology Principles
Strand 3: Value and Impact
Design Project
� Chair design with model making and presentation
� Hair dryer design
Case Study
� Mobile phone
Theme-based Learning
� Octopus card
� Track guided vehicle
S5 Elective Part
Module 5: Visualisation and
Computer-aided Design (CAD)
Modelling
Case Study
� Michigan’s Gateway bridge
Theme-based Learning
� Action Torch
� Interactive game for a theme park
Practise
� 3D modelling, sketches, drawings
SBA
� Identification & analysis of problem
� Research, investigation and data collection
� Idea sketches & development sketches
S6 Elective Part
Module 3: Design
Implementation and Material
Processing Module
Design Project
� Display system
Case Study
� Earphone
SBA
� Design Portfolio
� Final Product/solution
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Teacher was fully aware that coursework was an integral part of learning and teaching in DAT,
in which students learned through doing. Through coursework, knowledge and
understanding of technology can be promoted in a practical manner. Therefore teacher
tried to integrate the learning elements with coursework in his teaching, including design
project, case study, theme-based learning tasks, skills practise, quizzes, and exercises. He
used a variety of learning activities in different nature to engage students and reinforce their
learning outcomes. The case study of Michigan’s gateway bridge was a good example to
consolidate what students have learn in Strand 1 to 3, especially on the technological
principles, values, and impact to the society.
In addition, teacher has adopted various pedagogical approaches, including direct
instruction, examining existing products, demonstrations, questioning, discussion, group
work, and using learning kits to suit students with different learning styles.
Lead Reflection:
How can you engage students in technological activities which enhance their
creativity and critical thinking? In order to reveal what students know and don’t
know, and their strengths and weaknesses, have you made use of students’
performance in the coursework as a tool for formative assessment?
Interface arrangement
The teacher considered that curriculum planning should start at junior secondary level
where he had opportunities to know students’ prior knowledge and their interests so that
appropriate elective options were offered for students to further their study in specific areas
of DAT.
In order to provide the essential skills and concepts required for DAT, the learning and
teaching activities at S2 to S3 levels emphasised on the development of generic skills, such
as, critical thinking skills, communication skills, and problem-solving skills through more
open-ended discussion and product analysis. Moreover, students were given the
opportunities to build up their design implementation skills, such as application of tools and
materials, at the junior secondary level through hands-on project activities.
The School aimed to provide a curriculum with the following focuses:
� Design and communication was emphasized at all levels especially at S1.
� Thinking skills were adopted at all levels.
� It aimed to develop students’ creativity, communication skill and critical thinking.
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� It emphasized on learning to solve problems involving technology.
� It aimed to teach generic skills which were useful in the wider world of work.
� It provided the basic competence needed for and an understanding and
appreciation of technological activities in general.
(*Information extracted from the D&T panel meeting minutes)
Lead Reflection:
Are your students ready for the DAT curriculum? What are the essential skills and
concepts students need to have before they take the DAT class?
Teacher has introduced different learning tasks to develop students’ essential generic skills
such as, information processing, critical thinking, creativity and communication skills at the
junior secondary level. Design project was one of the effective learning activities to blend
all these generic skills into one meaningful task. The Panel Head and his partner have
introduced various design projects like photo stand and mechanical toy in S1 to S3.
In order to better illustrate various concepts and applications in the DAT curriculum, teacher
made use of a SimMan (See Appendix 1) learning platform in teaching at S3 level. The
learning platform, composing of multimedia resources was developed by the EDB which
provided students with essential knowledge and applications of manufacturing machines
and processes. Moreover, in order to strengthen students’ design and production skills,
various tools including laser cutter, SolidWork software, Control and iZebot software were
also introduced in S3.
Teacher also made use of the material in the booklet “Case study for Technological Subjects
(S1-3)” to enable S3 students to put their learning into an authentic context. The booklet
provided resource materials to strengthen the learning about technology and design.
Lead Reflection:
In order to help your students prepare for the DAT curriculum, can you think of any
other relevant strategies and tactics that can be implemented at the junior
secondary level?
Curriculum Adaption
In light of students’ prior knowledge and experience, teacher has adjusted the level and
scope of his teaching in order to promote effective learning. In general, the teacher was
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using the resources materials developed by EDB as the blueprint of the course materials.
Adaptations were made according to previous knowledge and experience of his students.
For examples, robotic control were removed as his students already had similar knowledge
and experience in S2. Minor adjustments on language were made to suit his students.
Lead Reflection:
� Learning activities should be planned with reference to students’ prior
knowledge and experience. When designing practical tasks, teachers should
flexibly adjust the level of difficulties and ensure the tasks to be manageable by
students.
� In what way can your school build on students’ strengths when planning the
curriculum? What are the targets/ focuses of your programme in accordance
with the abilities, interests, and aptitudes of your students?
Support Measures and Planning Strategies
The academic standard of the School as well as the self-learning ability of students are high.
The teacher used SimMan as a self-learning platform at S4-6. Students could explore the
concepts and operations involved in Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM) for industrial
production through the SimMan and learned to solve production problems at their own
pace.
In timetabling, school has arranged one double-period to be held as the last two lesson in
one school day. Students were allowed to continue their project work with the facility and
equipment in the DAT room after school. School provided additional time and
opportunities for students in using the school facililty in their learning.
Lead Reflection:
A variety of teaching resource materials can be employed as tools of learning. For
example, computers and CAD/CAM tools can help students produce high-quality
products, accurately, and repeatedly. What are the possible ways that your school
can adopt to expand the availability of learning and teaching resources?
Case study, design project (see Appendix 2) and theme-based learning are the major
learning activities in the DAT class. As students explored through the design contexts, they
were provided with the opportunity to bring in their own experience and develop their
attributes of innovation.
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Teacher used case studies to conduct investigation tasks, which provided opportunities for
students to carry out research in technology by reading, product analysis, interviews,
observation, and discussion. Design projects were also used to engage students in various
problem-solving activities in which‘hands-on’ practical activities were the essential
elements.
Lead Reflection:
Learning and teaching in DAT is structured around enquiry into a range of
technological and design contexts. Have you provided opportunity for your
students to appreciate the changing, complex, and controversial nature of design
contexts? How can strategies like product analysis and discussion, help students
gain new perspective to problem solving as well as develop new design ideas?
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Assessment Planning for DAT
Assessment Policy and Guiding Principles
Teacher fully understood that assessment was an essential part of learning and teaching. It
provided useful information for teacher and his students to enhance teaching and improve
learning. Assessment helped students recognise progress. Assessment policy included:
� Alignment with learning objectives, clear assessment criteria and arrangement were
well defined.
� Cater for full range of students abilities
� Tracking progress over time
� Varieties of means to assess students performance over time
Level Type of assignments and
assessment
Frequency/
cycle
Time/
cycle
Test/
term Project
S1
Material Exploration, Research,
Product Analysis, Sketch/Design,
Evaluation
Once per 3 cycles 30 min.
Memo Clip and
Photo Stand for
Golden Jubilee
Cerebration
Worksheet Once per 2 cycles
S2
Material Exploration, Research,
Product Analysis, Sketch/Design,
Evaluation
Once per 7 cycles 30 min.
Identification Tag,
Mechanical Toy
Worksheet Once per 3 cycles
S3
Research, Sketch/Design, Working
Drawings, Evaluation Once per 7 cycles
30 min.
Attraction Devices
for Golden Jubilee
Cerebration Worksheet Once per 2 cycles
S4
Multiple Choice, Long Questions Once per a cycles 90 min.
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Chair Design and
Open
Competition Theme based learning Once per 3 cycles 60 min.
Design, including Design Dairy Once per 1 cycles 90 min.
S5
Multiple Choice, Long Questions Once per a cycles 90 min.
1
SBA Project
Theme based learning Once per 3 cycles 60 min.
Design, including Design Dairy Once per 1 cycles 90 min.
(*Information extracted from the D&T panel meeting minutes)
Teacher arranged and gave daily assignments, coursework and tests on a regular basis. The
weighting on each item was planned and students were informed of the details in the
beginning of the year. In order to cater for different learning modes, teacher also
employed a wide variety of assessment tasks such as, quizzes, practical tasks, design projects,
case studies, and presentations. Students were able to reflect in the assessment process,
while teacher could keep track of individual student’s learning progress effectively. (see
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Appendix 3)
Homework is also another integral part of students’ learning and assessment. Teacher has
a clear homework policy in his DAT class. Other than design project and case study,
teacher made use of the materials in the Learning Resources Material provided by EDB1 to
prepare exerciese for student on a regular basis, at least once per cycle.
Timely and encouraging feedbacks were provided to his students through these continuous
assessment tasks.
Lead Reflection:
How does feedback on performance provided to students in your school help them
improve? How would you improve your school’s assessment policy and practices in
order to better assist students’ learning in NSS DAT?
Integrating Learning with Assessment
In School, theme-based learning was used to integrate learning elements with formative
assessment. The theme provided students with a purpose for learning - a meaningful
context - and thus engages them in the activities. Students were required to complete
different “Design Papers” under the selected theme each year.
Teacher also made use of all the quizzes and exercises in the Resources Material as a mean
to evaluate students’ progress as well as understanding of concepts and knowledge.
Lead Reflection:
During the course of study, do your students find enjoyment and able to develop a
sense of ownership and commitment in their learning?
Through a number of strategies, teacher was able to align public assessment with the school
curriculum and to promote assessment for learning in his school. All the test papers,
examination papers, and design projects have the same assessment criteria and were
conducted similar to the arrangement in the HKDSE examination. The marking scheme of
each examination paper in school has incorporated standards-referenced reporting (SRR)
elements. Feedbacks on students’ performance based on the SRR format were also
1 The Learning Resource Materials provided by EDB for DAT is available in EDB’s website,
http://www.edb.gov.hk/index.aspx?nodeID=3516&langno=1
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provided in order to familiar students with the SRR requirements. (See Appendix 4 & 5)
Continuous assessment through coursework and SBA were in place in S5 and S6 respectively.
Lead Reflection:
How is internal assessment in your school linked to the public examination? How
would you make use of the level descriptors to help students stretch their full
potential in learning? What measures would you employ to avoid overloading
students with unnecessary assessment tasks?
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Catering for Learner Diversity
Due to the small class size and similar ability of students, the learner diversity in the DAT
class in school was not a great problem. However variations on abilities in writing,
sketching, and analytic thinking skills were still identified.
Teacher understood that DAT curriculum was not structured in a linear form and was not
necessary taught in a sequential order. In this regard, he made use of the flexibility to
structure appropriate, achievable, but challenging activities to cater for students’ different
abilities.
In School, teacher provided students with authentic ‘hands-on’ learning experiences to
reinforce the importance of both manipulative and problem-solving skills so that students
with a practical orientation to learning could find their own way to perform well. He also
encouraged group work in design projects so that students with different personal
characteristics, such as ‘thinkers’ and ‘doers’, could learn to support each other in
completing the tasks through collaboration.
Lead Reflection:
Are there SEN students in your school? What strategies does your school employ to
stretch the potential of students with SEN and engage them in learning?
To cater for individual learning diversity, especially on academic performance, the School has
set up Student Support Team and Academic Development Team to offer assistance such as
after-school tutorials, individual study groups.
Lead Reflection:
Should there be a higher-level achievement objective, such as critical thinking,
added? Does the teaching schedule allow for an appropriate level of independent
learning so that individual students can learn at their own pace?
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Epilog
Students in this school have good academic performance in general. The allocation of
lesson time in D&T at S1-3 was comparative low, with a total of 47 hours. However,
teacher has developed a well structured curriculum in S1-3 with a focus on the development
of generic skills for design and making; which has successfully provided a solid foundation
for his students to explore the technological concepts and knowledge at the senior
secondary level.
The learning activities arranged by the teacher were closely integrated with formative and
summative assessment. Through daily exercises and practises, students were able to
reinforce the concepts and knowledge acquired; while the design projects, tests and
examinations provided students with constructive feedback for them to improve
accordingly.
With appropriate support measures, students could learn successfully according to their
interest and ability. The teacher has made use of e-learning and theme-based learning to
cater for the needs of students and encouraged them to expand their potential as well.
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Appendix 1 – Use of SimMan in School
Aims and Objectives
“SimMan” is a web-based learning platform aims to provide a simulated learning environment on
Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM) for S3-6 students studying technological subjects. The
website is developed and hosted by the Hong Kong Productivity Council:
1. To explore the concept and operations in using CIM for industrial production;
2. To understanding the functions and relationship of individual manufacturing elements in a CIM
process;
3. To use CIM as a tool to solve industrial production problems in real life situations; and
4. To use CIM as a tool to optimize cost and efficiency of a production process.
Resources and Features
1. Introduction to CIM
• What is CIM?
• Authentic examples in CIM
(videos)
• Demonstration in using SimMan
2. Understanding the Basics of CIM
• Common CIM Machines (Name,
uses, drawings/photos, required
parameters)
• Common CIM Process
3. Project Learning (Individual)
• Select suitable pre-defined
materials, process and machines
• Arrange schedule and workflow
• Evaluate efficiency and cost with simulation tools: 3D animation, Gantt charts, costing
reports
• Reassign process and rearrange schedule to optimize efficiency
4. Quiz
5. Project Learning (Group/Enterprise)
• Define roles and resources of the enterprise
• Collaboration between members of the team
• Select suitable pre-defined materials, process and machines
• Arrange schedule and workflow
• Evaluate efficiency and cost with simulation tools 3D animation, Gantt charts, costing
reports
• Redesign process and schedule to optimize the overall production efficiency
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Appendix 2 – Design Project Folder (coursework sample)
Design Brief
A. Task:
To design and make a chair for your home
B. Design Criteria:
The chair should fulfil the following criteria:
1. User-device
i. Should be used by people not less than 70kg but more than 120kg
ii. Should be well fit on the user’s human dimensions
2. Situation- the device
i. Should have certain features of banana
ii. Should be used in the sitting room of 10 square metres
iii. The style, shape, form, colour of the chair should match with the surroundings of the
sitting room
3. Process- the device
i. Should be stable
4. Ergonomics and human dimensions- the chair
i. Should allow people to rest on the seat comfortably
ii. Should be wider than the shoulder to receive the user
iii. Should provide a support for the back ensuring the user would not fell tire easily
iv. The angle between the seat and the ground should not be smaller than 5 degrees
ensuring the user would not slip off the chair
C. Final design outcome:
1) Finalized design brief
2) Research and analysis (14 chair research and 15 features study of banana)
3) Chair design thumb nail ( 12 thumb nails)
4) Development sketches (6 A4 size drawing)
5) Drawing of final design
6) Explanation through visual presentation
7) Mock up
Project Schedule
Week 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Design brief X
Research and Analysis X X
Idea sketch X
Design development X X
Test model X
Final design presentation X X
Final design mock up/prototype X
Final presentation X
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Relevant analysis and
comments on design features
were made, which could
provide valuable hints for
students to develop their own
solution.
Possible ideas on
functionality and
variations of form were
generated with
reference to the needs
and requirements of
user.
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Final solution with
annotated sketches was
used to explain the
features, functionality
construction and materials
of their design.
Transformation of
ideas – from a
natural form to
functionality
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Appendix 3 - Assessment Policy and Teaching Strategies adopted in the school
Assessment Policy and Teaching Strategies
1. Test and Examinations
Written examination and uniform test will be provided for senior secondary student. The
setters and markers are summarized as follows:
Half-yearly Exam Yearly Exam
Paper Setter Marker Time Paper Setter Marker Time
S4 I LST LST
1.5 hrs I
LST LST 2 hours
S5 2 hours
S5 II 1 hours
2. Coursework/Exam grade & assessment mode.
Junior Students
Coursework grade Material Exploration, Worksheet 100%
Exam grade Coursework grade 50%
Design Projects 50%
Secondary 4
Coursework grade
Exercises and Design Dairy 40%
Theme base learning and
Enhancement Workshops 60%
Exam Marks Examination (Paper I) 60%
Design Project 40%
Secondary 5
Coursework grade
Exercises and Design Dairy 40%
Theme base learning and
Enhancement Workshops 60%
Exam Marks Examination (Paper I/ and Paper II) 60%
Design Project/SBA 40%
3. Teaching strategies
a. The medium of instruction is English. For safety reasons, supplementary explanation in
Chinese may also be provided for students to understand the safety precautions and
manipulating skills of certain hand tools/machinery.
b. Project guidelines should be prepared for all projects so as to help student designing.
c. Design factors should be discussed with students so they can understand the project in
depth.
d. PowerPoint, samples of artifact and background information should be provided for
students in order to students’ ideas.
e. In order to enhance students’ life-long learning skills, teacher should encourage students
to gather information in various ways.
f. After finishing the projects. Students should evaluate the artifacts. All students should at
least present their ideas/artifacts/evaluations to the class once.
g. Group projects, Open Competition, Theme Base Learning are implemented in S4 to
develop students’ generic skill.