Introduction to GCSE Design and Technology

1. Introduction to GCSE Design and Technology t.flynn

2. Introduction • This is a guide to explain your GCSE coursework. • You will learn about each section of the coursework project. • You will be able to see examples of work, and will find out where to get extra information.

3. What’s in the Guide? • A general introduction to your Major project. • A guide to each section of the project. • Examples of work. • Links to useful websites and resources.

4. Overview • Your GCSE Coursework (sometimes called the Major Project) is a detailed and wide ranging piece of work, consisting of research, design, making, and evaluation. You must design and make high quality products. • Coursework is worth 60% of your final mark. • Because of the size and complexity of the work, it is divided into sections called Objectives. • Each objective is worth a different amount.

5. Vocabulary • Glossary of terms • Coursework: A design folder and Practical work. Worth 60% of your total marks. • Objective: One of the sections of coursework. • Marks: Coursework is marked out of 105. Each objective is worth a different number of marks, ranging from 4 to 52! • Target Market: The person or group of people for whom you are designing.

6. Objective One • “Identify a need and write a Design Brief” (4 Marks) • You must find an everyday problem where you think you could design a solution, for example, storage in the living room, toys for babies, snack foods, bags for sports equipment, packaging for perfumes etc. • You research the problem and write about your findings. • You decide what type of people you are designing for, the people who need the product. This is sometimes called the User or Target Market • You write a statement saying what you intend to do in order to solve the Design problem.

7. Objective 1 Examples • Food • Textiles • Resistant Materials • Graphic Products

8. Objective Two • “Research which leads to a Specification.” (12 Marks) • You have to find out important information to help you with your designing: e.g.: sizes, materials, what people want to pay etc. • You must analyse products which are similar to the one you wish to design. This helps you to get better ideas, and to see how other designers have solved problems. • You must do a survey to find out what consumers/target market/users want you to design. This will help you to make the project more realistic. • Finally, you have to sum up your research and write a Specification, which is a list of all the things your product must do e.g. must be stable, must hold p.e. kit, must appeal to babies etc.

9. Objective 2 Examples • Food • Textiles • Resistant Materials • Graphic Products

10. Objective Three • “Generation of Design Ideas.” (12 Marks) • In this section you have to produce a wide range of design ideas which solve the problem you have identified. • You have to write Evaluative comments about each idea. This means writing about the good and bad points of the design and saying what you could improve. • You must label your ideas to make them easy to understand. • You need to use a variety of techniques to show your design skills, for example, 3D sketching, colour, texture, and Computer Aided Design ( Like ProDesktop or Speedstep)

11. Objective 3 examples • Food • Textiles • Resistant Materials • Graphic Products

12. Objective Four • “Developing your design.” (12 Marks) • In this section you have to find out all you need to know in order to make your product. • You must make models and test your ideas, or model selected important features of your design. Try out new techniques of making, and show evidence of these in your folder. • Include information about Materials, joining, tools/equipment, Health and Safety, time needed, and how you can make more than one product (Batch Production). • You need to produce full and detailed information about your product, so that someone else would be able to make it using your instructions. • This means you need to show detailed drawings, measurements, ingredients, components, and methods of construction/making.

13. Objective 4 examples • Food • Textiles • Resistant Materials • Graphic Products

14. Objective Five • “Planning and Realisation (Making)” (52 Marks) • In this section, you have to produce plans showing how you will make your product, and then you have to make your final product. • You must produce written instructions, flowcharts, GANTT charts, and sequence drawings (step-by-step) to show each stage of the making process. • You should include estimates of the time needed for each step of the work. • You should show/name the tools and equipment you will use. • Your product must be complete, must be of high quality, and must solve the original design problem. It must function as intended!

15. Objective 5 examples • Food • Textiles • Resistant Materials • Graphic Products

16. Objective Six • “Testing and Evaluation” (8 Marks) • In the final section you must test your product to ensure that it works as intended. Does it solve the original design problem you identified? How can you prove that it does? • Show evidence of testing, e.g photos of the product being used/worn. • Try conducting some tests based on British standards tests for strength, durability, resistance to water etc. • Write about the results of your tests, and don’t forget to include diagrams to help explain your tests.

17. Objective Six (Continued) • “Evaluation against specification.” • Look at your original design Specification and judge how well your product meets each point: for example, if your product was meant to hold ten DVDs, how many can it hold? If your product was meant to be modern in style, how well do you think you have met this aim? • For this part of the work, you can use a short survey to gather the opinions of other people/Users. • Finally, having completed this project, suggest modifications or improvements you could make to your product. Include drawings to show your ideas.

18. Presentation of work • There are marks available for presentation. • You must use a variety of Graphic techniques and drawing types to present your ideas, for example: Isometric drawing, freehand, Orthographic, exploded drawings etc. • You must also include work produced using ICT, e.g: ProDesktop work, Speedstep, and Word/Publisher work. You will probably have produced graphs and charts as part of your research, and should include these. • You must make sure your folder work is in the correct order, and is all complete and tidy. Don’t spend time doing fancy borders, just make it presentable!

19. Summary • You now know about your GCSE coursework project and about how it is split into different sections or Objectives. • You should now be able to tackle each Objective with confidence, using this guide to help to check your progress. • Remember, if you need guidance or explanation, ask your teacher!

20. Where to Get More Information • Ask your teacher! • Ask other students, perhaps they’re doing similar projects. • Look in a textbook. • Go to the school library or Public Library. • Write to/telephone companies for advice and help. • Use the Internet.

21. Useful websites www.ocr.org.uk www.bbc.co.uk www.dtonline.org.uk www.baddesigns.com www.howstuffworks.com www.flying-pig.co.uk www.technologystudent.com