Resistant Materials
(Design & Technology Faculty)
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Topic outline
KS3 - Years 7, 8 & 9
Why Study Design and Technology: Resistant Materials?
A video recorder that’s easy to programme or a desk that’s just right for the home computer…. good design makes things easier and more enjoyable to use. Resistant Materials lessons give pupils the opportunity to investigate how well familiar products and objects work, and who they’re really aimed at. By answering questions such as ‘Is this the right tool for the job?’ they learn how to solve problems skilfully, creatively and with imagination.
The course will help you understand about the design and manufacture of many common household items, making you more able to appreciate what has gone on before a product reaches the customer. It will help you to be creative in your approach and you will use computers to help with your design ideas and in manufacturing your product. You will learn about a range of materials, tools and equipment.
Aims:- Look at products to see how they work, how they are used, whether they meet their users needs, whether they use materials efficiently, and what environmental impacts the products might have
- Practise practical skills and tasks, such as moulding and forming
- Design and create their own products. Before starting a project, pupils think carefully about what they have been asked to do, and how to meet the needs of the end user. Pupils learn to plan their projects responsibly, making their own decisions about how best to use time, money and resources, using computers at various stages in their work, and working in teams when the project is suitable.
- Students are learning to design and make working products. Although these are one-off, they also learn about mass production techniques.
You will learn:
- How to write a Design Brief
- How to use the Internet to research
- How to write a Specification
- How to evaluate other peoples work
- How to generate ideas to solve your Design Brief
- How to write a Production Plan enabling you to manufacture your product
- How to select materials and work with tools and equipment
- How to evaluate your own work and suggest improvements
You will:
- Develop ICT skills by learning how to use a computer to design and cost your product
- Develop your awareness of consumer requirements of a product
- Analyse products and the process used to manufacture them
- Work practically using Wood, Metal, Plastic and ‘Smart’ Materials
- Learn how to work on your own and as part of a team
- Produce a working prototype
- Produce a portfolio of ideas
Examples of Project Work -
- Storage in the home
- Hand held games to be played whilst travelling
- Lots of students find a problem through their own or their family’s experience. The most successful projects come from real life problems experience by people you know.
Assessment:
Practical Assessment:- A written portfolio of your developing designs ideas.
- A working prototype model.
Test:
- End of module test. The test lasts One hour and asks questions on the materials, tools and equipment used
GCSE D&T Resistant Materials
Click the logo or link below if you would like to view the full course specification from the Exam Board website.
Exam Board Qualification Specification 
GCSE D&T Resistant Materials J306 This GCSE is an innovative and imaginative qualification reflecting the contemporary use of materials and information technology.
It will help you understand and appreciate the design of products and how they’re made. It will encourage you to recognise the contribution you can make to the environment through careful consideration and selection of sustainable resources. What’s more, you’ll gain skills that will be useful in a wide range of jobs, in further study of Design and Technology and in life. This course includes looking at sustainable design, innovations in design and how future designs will impact on the world in which we live. You’ll learn about using about using resistant materials- principally wood, metal, plastic, smart and modern materials and associated pre-manufactured components. You’ll analyse products and the processes used to make them, and work practically with the relevant tools and equipment.
The course will help you improve your research and investigation skills, sketching, making and modelling. You’ll learn about sustainable design, considering products, the environment, society and the economy.
Assessment
The course contains both written external assessed exams and internal assessed written controlled assessments. For each unit you will receive a grade from A* to G and then an overall grade for the whole course, which will be from A* to G.Unit 1: Introduction to Design & Making
- Developing research and investigation skills
- Developing drawing skills
- Modelling
- Evaluation process
Internally assessed Controlled assessment 20 hours 30% of final grade.
Unit 2: Sustainable Design
- Consideration of products
- Consideration of the environment
- Consideration of society and equipment
Externally assessed Written exam 1 hour 20% of final grade.
Unit 3: Making Quality Products
- Designing for a need
- Working with tools and equipment
- Evaluating the product
Internally assessed Controlled assessment 20 hours 30% of final grade
Unit 4: Technical Aspects of Designing & Making
- Working with tools and materials
- Selecting processes
- Designing for success.
Externally assessed Written exam 1 Hour 15 minutes 20% of final grade.
