With over 30 years leading D&T departments and 20 years moderation and examining experience, the author is the winner of the 2021 Design and Technology Excellence in D&T award for 'Innovation and Creativity'.
He has extensive experience as a curriculum consultant, resource producer, trainer and presenter, and as a commercial designer, visualiser and illustrator. He is also a prolific writer on the subject of D&T whose Subject Genius D&T blog was shortlisted in the 2016 TES awards.
With over 30 years leading D&T departments and 20 years moderation and examining experience, the author is the winner of the 2021 Design and Technology Excellence in D&T award for 'Innovation and Creativity'.
He has extensive experience as a curriculum consultant, resource producer, trainer and presenter, and as a commercial designer, visualiser and illustrator. He is also a prolific writer on the subject of D&T whose Subject Genius D&T blog was shortlisted in the 2016 TES awards.
UPDATE: April 2021 additional pages added to support the use of the Braille Box to teach about branding, IP, patents, crowdfunding, ecological footprint and more. Specification updated to match the new theory presentations that will soon be available.
This is my own take on what I believe a level 9 folder could look like for the new AQA GCSE in Design and Technology and was produced when no examplar material was avalable from examination boards. It is appropriate for the ‘children’s learning and play’ sample context and covers exploring a context, iterative design, prototyping and client led brief along with investigations, analysis and evaluations. Supplied as both self-running Powerpoint Show and printable PDF file, there are 40 slides in the folder as per the AQA suggested limit, each with a commentary and a summary at the end of each A0 as well as extra slides at the end to support the process. In total there are now 68 slides here but the extra slides are for the benefit of the teacher, or to explain and justify the marks awarded.**
There is evidence in the folder of SketchUp, Solidworks, Photoshop and the use of CNC equipment and 3D printing. It is not endorsed by any examination board but can inspire you in your approach to teaching the new NEA in your school to a very high standard.
I worked as an examiner and moderator for the AQA for 20 years with 27 years D&T teaching and leadership experience where many students achieved 100% for their coursework. This is based on that experience and a culmination of assessing thousands of folders coupled with industry design experience. Additionally, I have consulted for DATA, TES, V&A, Routledge, PGOnline, Doddle and the BBC.
Recent additions (July 2018) include 16 extra slides to show a summary of modelling, drawing, CAD etc. and further development of the product beyond the GCSE prototype into AS/A Level territory with the outcome being a completely 3D printed prototype. August 2018 update simply adds some extra info.
This workbook support the theory presentations for 3.2 Specialist technical principles with the focus on paper and board.
Without the theory presentations, the content and questions may not seem as relevant, but they are structured in a way that follows the syllabus.
The resource is in PowerPoint format so can be edited to suit, but a PDF version is also supplied.
This workbook support the theory presentations for 3.2 Specialist technical principles with the focus on polymers.
Without the theory presentations, the content and questions may not seem as relevant, but they are structured in a way that follows the syllabus.
The resource is in PowerPoint format so can be edited to suit, but a PDF version is also supplied.
This workbook support the theory presentations for 3.2 Specialist technical principles with the focus on metals and alloys.
Without the theory presentations, the content and questions may not seem as relevant, but they are structured in a way that follows the syllabus.
The resource is in PowerPoint format so can be edited to suit, but a PDF version is also supplied.
This PDF is intended as a guide for students to help them through their NEA in the new GCSE Design and Technology. It is a 32-page printable booklet which can be used digitally or is ideal for an A5 size pamplet (using just 8 sheet of A4). It has no worksheets or questions but describes each section of the NEA with illustrations taken from the accompanying exemplar folder which is available separately or as part of a bundle at a reduced price. Because this is a generic guide linked to a sample context, it does not constitute a writing frame so can be given to students to support them in their GCSE NEA.
It is designed to support the AQA syllabus but can be used for other examination boards.
This PDF is intended as a guide for Advanced Level students to help them through their NEA tasks in AQA Product Design but much of the guide could be used for other specialisms. While similar in format to the GCSE guide available here, it does have A Level specific material and addresses all the Assessment Objectives for AS and A Level. It is ideal for giving to students in a digital format or as a printed phamplet style booklet to provide an easy to use and understand overview of the NEA.
An exemplar folder produced to accompany the new AQA GCSE to illustrate how students can approach the NEA. This is NOT endorsed by the AQA but is produced by an experienced designer, teacher, moderator and consultant to reflect expectations for a Level 9 NEA project. It is supported by a new GCSE student guide, a checklist (which should not be used as a writing frame) and a tracker and grade prediction spreadsheet which uses grade boundaries derived from the boundaries on the old spec. There will be no official boundaries for some time so this will help you to give some prediction in the meantime. This now includes a comprehensive assessment spreadsheet that generates comment banks to minimise requests for remarks. Updated August 2018 with a new exemplar folder, student guide and a tracker with 26 name slots.
Update: Mark scheme added for the past paper and other questions in the lessons.
A set of 15 lessons in editable Powerpoint Show format which cover the teaching of metals and alloys. Each lesson includes a lesson outcome, introduction, summary of the unit and revision tips as well as links to maths and science and a suggested practical activity.
Questions and past paper questions are matched to those in the AQA DT tracker (recently updated) so you can deliver theory as well as assessing knowledge and tracking progress.
You only need to cover ONE material group in depth so use this resource with the GCSE theory bundle available separately which covers all of the compulsory learning units.
All lessons can be opened from Powerpoint for editing to suit your teaching needs.
Update: Mark scheme added for the past paper and other questions in the lessons.
A set of 15 lessons in editable Powerpoint Show format which cover the teaching of Papers and boards. Each lesson includes a lesson outcome, introduction, summary of the unit and revision tips as well as links to maths and science and a suggested practical activity.
Questions and past paper questions are matched to those in the AQA DT tracker (recently updated) so you can deliver theory as well as assessing knowledge and tracking progress.
You only need to cover ONE material group in depth so use this resource with the GCSE theory bundle available separately which covers all of the compulsory learning units. Because of the source of paper products, some of this unit is also covered in 3.2: timbers and woods.
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This Powerpoint show is a self-running presentation to support the GCSE NEA in Design and Technology. It will be included with the exemplar folder resource but it is available here as a stand-alone resource for those who simply want material to help support their teaching of the NEA in the classroom.
There are 105 slides, most of which are illustrated with images from my own work and projects. Most of these are taken from the theory presentations.
They can be opened from within Powerpoint and edited to suit your teaching.
Update February 2022: A mark scheme has been added to help with assessment of the theory questions
A set of 22 lessons in editable Powerpoint Show format divided into units which match the specification. Each lesson in the unit includes a lesson outcome, introduction, summary of the lesson and revision tips as well as links to maths and science. Questions and past paper questions are matched to those in the AQA DT tracker (recently updated) so you can deliver theory as well as assessing knowledge and tracking progress.
This workbook supports the compulsory theory for the AQA GCSE in D&T (8552). The workbook is designed to match the theory presentations. Without these, the contents and questions in the workbooks may not seem as relevant, but they do address the syllabus criteria.
The workbook is in PowerPoint format so you can edit it to suit your needs but a PDF version is also included.
The resource includes:
3.3: Designing and making principles
Update (February 2022): Mark scheme has now been added for the past paper questions.
A set of 13 lessons in editable Powerpoint Show format which looks at the designing and making element of the syllabus. Each lesson includes a lesson outcomes, introduction, summary of the unit and revision tips as well as links to maths and science. Questions and past paper questions are matched to those in the AQA DT tracker (recently updated) so you can deliver theory as well as assessing knowledge and tracking progress.
A high resolution image providing a simple guide to 20th Century Design History. Certain sections are deliberately blank so that they can be used for students to investigate and add their own details. A completed version will be added shortly at no extra charge.
Updated 2024 with more details but still space to add more of your own choice.
This is a collection of all the current AQA GCSE Design and Technology resources. It provides everything you need to teach, assess and track the theory content but with the 3.2 specialist material focus on metals and alloys, as well as extensive support for the NEA.
It represents a saving of over 30% if buying all the resources separately.
Updated (November 2020): A 105 slide presentation has been added to the bundle. This Powerpoint Show presentation is self running but can be edited in Powerpoint. It provides support and visual feedback on the various stages of the NEA and will be a valuable classroom resource.
This bundle includes all you need to inspire students and to help them aspire to achieving the highest possible marks in the D&T GCSE NEA. Also suitable for AS and A Level. It has tracking, checklists, student guides, an exemplar folder and even a 3D printable outcome to support it.
This is a collection of all the current AQA GCSE Design and Technology resources. It provides everything you need to teach, assess and track the theory content but with the 3.2 specialist material focus on paper and boards, as well as extensive support for the NEA.
It represents a saving of over 30% if buying all the resource separately.
This is a collection of all the current AQA GCSE Design and Technology resources. It provides everything you need to teach, assess and track the theory content but with the 3.2 specialist material focus on polymers, as well as extensive support for the NEA.
It represents a saving of over 30% if buying all the resources separately.
This is a collection of all the current AQA GCSE Design and Technology resources. It provides everything you need to teach, assess and track the theory content but with the 3.2 specialist material focus on textiles, as well as extensive support for the NEA.
It represents a saving of over 30% if buying all the resources separately.
This is a set of lesson presentations in Powerpoint Show format which will run without having Office installed. However, they can be opened in Powerpoint and edited as necessary. Each lesson is approximately 20 slides with the following content:
Lesson outcomes
Introduction
Main content
Summary of unit
Revision notes
Past paper question.
It is recommended to use and/or edit these presentation slides to support your own style of teaching rather than relying on them to provide all the relevant information to your students.
All past papers in the slides match those in the AQA A Level tracker available and provide you with everything you need to deliver and assess theory learning for AQA A Level Design and Technology. It is recommended that they are used with this tracker to assess student progress in theory. The content of this section is based on the Hodder AQA approved A Level book.
A document with the official answers from the relevant AQA mark scheme is also included.