Albany Senior High School/Coursebook/2HAR

What is this course about?
Level 2 Materials Technology is a year long practical based course which will appeal to students who enjoy being creative within a hands on environment. It will extend individual competence and capabilities and offers the possibility of producing exciting innovative designs. Students who have a sense of social responsibility will appreciate the focus on sustainable outcomes and the ability to contribute by solving problems through design for individuals. Also within the various communities to which we all belong.

What will I learn?
The main focus of the early learning will be on the student as a designer within a societal context. Students will learn to operate as part of a community which includes clients, stakeholders, suppliers and consumers in order to find design opportunities. Part of this process will be on the importance of planning and how it can be successfully implemented to make informed design choices. Students will conduct an in depth study of how particular technologies operate. They will investigate specific materials and their properties and how they affect design choices. The students will design and produce an artefact that combines all the knowledge gained in this process, to a high quality outcome

What sorts of things will I do?
Students will further develop skills and knowledge required to work safely with hand, power and machine tools. They will learn to critically analyse materials and construction methods as part of their product development process. Students will also gain an understanding of how a particular piece of technology works, what has led to the design of this technology and how this might effect their own practice. They will learn the different types of planning tools that are commonly used in product design and use the most appropriate tool in their own design process. Students will use the knowledge and skills developed in this course to design and produce a high quality artefact that is based upon the requirements of a client.

Frequently asked questions:
Are there any prerequisites for this course?

There are no set prerequisites for Product Design courses at Albany Senior High School. However some prior experience within a technological context is advisable. Students will be expected to work within a workshop environment, where familiarity with most tools and equipment available is expected. It is within the nature of the subject area that, self management and personal study skills are important. Although students build their abilities using familiar methods of design and production, study will be at ever deeper more sophisticated levels.

There is an expectation that over this time students will move towards greater levels of independence where they are demonstrating enthusiasm, self motivation and perseverance in order to solve authentic design problems within their specialist Technological area. It is therefore advisable that you always speak to the specialist Technology teacher working in your area of interest before making final decisions on course choice.