A Nuffield design hexagon task focusing on product design (using resistant materials). Aiming to extend understanding of how to evaluate a design by thinking how it affects people and whether it performs as expected.

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A set of design guides for Key Stage Four focusing on product design providing a straightforward way for students to become familiar with the sorts of questions they should ask when designing for a particular focus area.

The design guides can act as a stimulus for students who are having difficulty in...

Produced by The Centre for Industry Education Collaboration (CIEC), this set of activities allows students to investigate the properties of polymers in relation to the design requirements for a sleeping bag.

Students carry out an investigation of the design and manufacture of sleeping bags as a product...

From The Centre for Industry Education Collaboration (CIEC), these materials consist of three parts relating to the choice of materials and production processes involved in the manufacture of plastic bottles for carbonated drinks. The three sections are:

From The Centre for Industry Education Collaboration (CIEC), these activities deal with the different stages of market research, product design, selection of materials and manufacturing processes in the sports shoe industry.

Through a range of activities and practical investigations, students gain a greater...

This is one of a set of resources developed to support the teaching of the primary national curriculum. They are designed to support the delivery of key topics within science and design and technology. This resource focusses on analysing existing products.

Product analysis allows designers to understand how...

This resource from Practical Action includes a presentation and worksheets which give Key Stage Three and Four students opportunities to understand more about the impact of existing and new products on people and the environment. The presentation is packed with useful activities to reinforce students' learning. The...

Designers must consider how people will interact with their products and systems. The use of ergonomics and anthropometric data allows them to make sure their products are comfortable and efficient to use.

This resource focusses on how ergonomics and anthropometric data can be used to design a product.

Produced by Practical Action, these materials help students to consider the impacts of a product through its whole life cycle. A presentation describes the concept of lifecycle analysis (LCA) and gives some examples. Students are then challenged to consider the life cycle of familiar products, from raw materials,...

This classroom presentation supports the teaching of planned obsolescence and a product lifecycle. Using the example of a mobile phone, students explore the volume of phone sales over time and discuss how manufacturers can plan a product's lifespan, looking at product growth, maturity of sales and decline over time...

Produced by Practical Action, this short activity introduces the various factors that influence the choice of consumers. Students consider different products and the reasons behind why they would or would not purchase them. The activity is a perfect introduction to sustainability and aims to help students think...

These diagnostic questions and response activities (contained in the zip file) support students in being able to:

• Identify what vibrates to make sound

• Describe the effect of larger vibrations on a sound

• Describe the effect of faster or slower vibrations on a...

One of the trial units from the Nuffield Primary Solutions in Design and Technology. In this unit, children explore when and why hats are worn: as parts of uniforms or for protection, for example.

Children also begin...

Produced by the Nuffield Foundation, the activities in this booklet use paper carrier bags as a context in which to explore designing, making and evaluating. There are a series of small tasks that encourage children to consider:

[b]The form of products[/b]
Paper carrier bags are usually mass produced...

One of the trial units from the Nuffield Primary Solutions in Design and Technology. In this unit, teachers can examine what children already know about a particular sort of product, some of the values they have with regard to the product and set the scene for them to find out more.