The Technological Practice Strand Explanatory Papers Updated May 2010
Outcome Development and Evaluation
Senior Primary/Intermediate (Years 5-8)
Learning experiences
The following learning experiences have been provided to support teachers as they develop their understandings of the Outcome Development and Evaluation component of the Technological Practice strand. There is no expectation that these would form the basis of any specific unit of work in technology. The learning experiences have been summarised from classrooms across New Zealand and provide examples of student achievement across a range of levels. This stance reflects the majority of classrooms, within which it is expected that students will demonstrate a range of levels of achievement.
After being involved in a soap-making unit, the students in this class began to ask questions about why soap is not recommended for use on hair and why shampoos are so expensive compared to soap. They also wondered why conditioners are necessary. This sparked the idea for a unit based around making hair care gifts.
The students carried out extensive investigations of hair and the chemistry of hair care products before making a hair gift pack for a selected recipient. Each gift pack included a hair wrap and a unique button for fastening it. For details of this unit please see Ministry of Education’s Applications Series 2005 – Lips, Lipids and Locks and Techlink case study Hair's your Gift.
Students achieving at level 2 could:
-
develop logo designs for a gift pack and for use on the button and labels;
-
evaluate logo designs and product ideas as suitable or not for recipient, and select those appropriate for further development;
-
develop a gift pack containing products in keeping with the recipients needs; and
-
evaluate the gift pack in terms of how it addressed the attributes identified for their recipient.
Students achieving at level 3 could:
- develop logo designs for a gift pack that reflected the selected recipient’s interests and/or personality;
- test their logo designs with peers to determine their suitability for use on the button and labels;
explore and test different recipes for shampoo and wax to determine a product range suitable to meet recipient needs; - evaluate logo designs and product ideas to determine suitability for recipient and select those appropriate for further development;
- undertake testing of shampoo (acidity and tensile strength) and hair wax (drop and rub), and use results to modify products as based on the identified needs of the recipient;
- develop a gift pack containing products that addressed the attributes identified for their recipient; and
- evaluate the gift pack against key attributes identified in the brief to determine how well it would serve as a gift for the recipient.
Students achieving at level 4 could:
- develop logo designs for a gift pack that took into account the resources available (material and manufacturing process of the button, size and material of labels);
- communicate design ideas to recipient to gain feedback;
- explore and test different recipes for shampoo and wax and research ingredients;
- compile a summary of feedback from the recipient on suitability, in terms of hair type and personal preferences concerning fragrance and ingredients;
- evaluate logo designs and product ideas in terms of their ability to meet the attributes identified from recipient feedback and the constraints identified from research into resources available;
- undertake testing of shampoo (acidity and tensile strength) and hair wax (drop and rub), and use results to modify products based on ensuring key attributes were prioritised to best meet recipient needs;
- develop prototype samples of products for recipient testing, using their feedback to refine the products;
- develop a gift pack containing products that incorporated all key attributes identified; and
- gather recipient feedback to provide evidence of how well the final gift pack addressed the key attributes for use in an evaluation of the gift pack’s fitness for purpose.
