At Bishop Douglass School we are just moving to a two-year key stage 3 curriculum for the 2009/10 school year. We have redesigned the design and technology curriculum with a focus on the built environment, where possible, because it is an excellent source of design inspiration which is applicable to many different areas.
Students work togeather on the structure of their model © Martin Chandler
We work on a two week timetable of which two hours per week is devoted to the design and technology curriculum. This could be structured in two separate one-hour sessions split between the food and textiles area and the resistant materials area or the double lesson every week in one area for half a year.
Focusing on buildings and places
The built environment is a key focus in the department as we are running the Diploma in Construction and the Built Environment, so we are using the KS3 design work to introduce environmental design and to develop wider skills of group work and presentation.
The staff can see the benefits of learning through and about the built environment from our work with Open House through the Engaging Places network in 2008/09.
Our students were involved in the Junior Open House Programme. Through this programme students were able to visit a building with an architect, who then ran a workshop back at school where students worked on a design brief. Students looked into renewable energy, material technologies, water conservation and creating an environment to encourage wildlife.
In working through their designs they all learnt a great deal about the design process, discussing as a group, model making and presentation techniques. However the biggest benefit we found was the team work, students taking responsibility and confidently presenting their work to professionals.
Taking inspiration from the Junior Open House Programme this year we want to see design in a wider context rather than small product design. So the project work has been developed to include design history studies and group presentation work.
The benefits of the broad scope of environmental design allows greater opportunities for students to develop an interest in design and to see the significant impact of design work on the lives of people in everyday situations. We hope this will develop the whole student in the aspects of citizenship and considering the wider world around them.
Presentation given to the students about the building © Martin Chandler
Back to practical terms, the key stage 4 curriculum will start in year 9 with one year GCSE done in nine hours every two weeks. We run GCSE courses in resistant materials, graphics, textiles, food and child care; the BTEC in engineering, hospitality, and catering; and the Diploma in Construction and the Built Environment.
The projects have been organised in a range of time constraints from one week of making to five to six weeks of experimenting and design work.
In year 8, for example, students will be developing an architectural presentation package. This requires the students to investigate a building, find out about the architect and create a presentation for the rest of the class on PowerPoint.
Examples of some of the work outlined this year for KS3:
Structures
Principles of forces, building towers and bridge building evaluation and rebuild
Bus shelter design
Creativity and using De Bono hats to design from different points of view.
Open House visit
Analysis of a building with an architect, then creating a model of a design theme set from the visit. Architect works with the groups in school.
Architecture presentation
Research on www.greatbuildings.com to find a desirable building, then create a three slide presentation on the architect.
Theatre design linked to studied Shakespeare play
Modifying play to a new setting to make a design of sets and costumes modelled to scale and presented on a PowerPoint. Measuring existing stage and modelling to scale.
Martin Chandler, trained as an architect in the ’70s and has taught since 1982 in D&T in a range of schools and as a head of department since 1987. Appointed AST in 2001, where he worked with primary and secondary schools, teacher training and GTP programmes. Martin is also a pro/desktop trainer and is linked to schools on the London Challenge Programme in East London. He is currently at Bishop Douglass School in North London working on developing the C&BE Diploma and other vocational courses.
