Draft
Australian Curriculum:
Technologies F-10
Consultation
February 2013
Learning areas
The Melbourne Declaration
identifies
Technologies
as one of the essential eight
learning areas
Australian Curriculum development phases
Phase 1
Phase 2
English
Geography
Mathematics
Languages
Science
The Arts
History
Phase 3
Health and
Physical
Education
Economics
and Business
Civics and
Citizenship
Australian Curriculum development
Technologies consultation timeline
10 May 2013
20 February 2013
Draft Australian
Curriculum:
Technologies F-10
available for
consultation
February-April
NSW Department
of Education and
Communities
consultation on
draft curriculum.
- Focus groups
- Video
conferences
- Online survey
ACARA
consultation
closes
December
2013
Curriculum
publication
date for the
Australian
Curriculum:
Technologies
Australian curriculum
NSW syllabus development
Implementation
Implementation
• NSW has made no commitment to implementation of the Australian
Curriculum for Phase 2 and Phase 3 subjects.
• The Board of Studies will follow its regular cycle of curriculum
evaluation and review which will identify priorities for curriculum
renewal. When a current syllabus or learning area is identified for
renewal the Board will take the opportunity to incorporate Australian
curriculum content.
NSW BOS Memorandum To Principals July 2012
• In all cases, all schools are required to implement current approved
NSW Syllabuses until otherwise advised by the Board.
Organisation of the Australian
Curriculum
The Australian Curriculum: Technologies:
• is being developed by ACARA for Foundation -Year 10 (K-Yr10)
• is described in band levels not Stages
• has achievement standards
• has content descriptions not outcomes
• has content elaborations
General capabilities
Critical and creative
thinking
Ethical
understanding
Information and
communication
technology (ICT)
capability
Literacy
Intercultural
understanding
Personal and social
capability
Numeracy
Cross-curriculum priorities
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
histories and cultures
Asia and Australia’s engagement with Asia
Sustainability
Rationale and aims: Technologies
Rationale
• describes the
nature of the
learning area
• provides an outline
of learning
Aims
• identify the major
learning that
students will be
able to
demonstrate
Organisation: Technologies
The Draft Australian Curriculum: Technologies is
organised into the following bands of learning:
• Foundation to Year 2
• Years 3 and 4
• Years 5 and 6
• Years 7 and 8
• Years 9 and 10
Organisation: Technologies
The Draft Australian Curriculum: Technologies
comprises 2 subjects that all students will study
Foundation-8:
• Design and Technologies
• Digital Technologies
Organisation: Technologies
The Draft Australian Curriculum: Technologies will offer
2 optional (elective) subjects in
Years 9 and 10:
• Design and Technologies
• Digital Technologies
• States may offer additional technologies
specialisations that do not duplicate these subjects.
Rationale and aims: Technologies
Technologies
Rationale and
Aims
Design and
Technologies
Digital
Technologies
Rationale and
aims
Rationale and
Aims
• Separate Rationale and Aims for each subject
• Complement and extend Technologies Rationale and Aims
• More specific, describing knowledge, understanding and skills
unique to Design and Technologies and Digital Technologies
Content Structure: Technologies
Australian Curriculum: Technologies:
• 2 distinct subjects
• 2 related strands
Design and Technologies
Digital Technologies
Knowledge and understanding:
Knowledge and understanding:
•
•
•
•
•
Technologies and society
Technologies contexts
Representation of data
Digital systems
Interactions and impact
Processes and production skills:
Processes and production skills:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Critiquing, exploring and
investigating
Generating, developing and
evaluating ideas
Planning, producing and
evaluating solutions
Using data
Using digital systems
Defining and solving problems
Creating and communicating
Content Structure: Technologies
The common strand structure provides opportunities to:
• highlight similarities across the two subjects
• facilitate integrated teaching from F-8
Key ideas: Technologies
Key Ideas:
• Systems thinking and the overarching idea:
Creating preferred futures
• Project management
Common to both subjects.
Both strengthened from previous draft versions.
Band level descriptions
• Provided at the beginning of each band for each subject.
• Describe the expected learning students will experience
within the band.
• Indicate progression of learning (knowledge,
understanding and skills) from one band to the next.
• Reflect the distinctive practices of each subject along
with aspects of learning that are common to both
Technologies subjects.
Content descriptions
The Draft Australian Curriculum: Technologies is
structured around content descriptions for each band.
Content descriptions
• specify what teachers are expected to teach
(mandatory)
• are sequenced to develop concepts across bands
Elaborations
• examples that illustrate content descriptions
(non-mandatory).
Achievement standards
• Achievement standards are provided at the end of each band
of learning.
• Achievement standards describe the quality of learning
(depth of conceptual understanding and sophistication of
their skills) indicating students are ready to commence the
next band.
• Achievement standards reflect the distinctive practices of
each subject along with aspects of learning that are common
to all Technologies subjects.
Design and Technologies
Organisation: Content structure
Two related strands:
• Design and Technologies knowledge and understanding
— the use, development and impact of technologies and
design ideas across a range of technologies contexts
• Design and Technologies processes and production skills
— the skills required to design, produce and evaluate
designed solutions
Organisation: Content structure
Technologies contexts
There are 4 Technologies prescribed contexts F – 8 :
• Materials and technologies specialisations. For example:
• materials, including composites, metal, plastics, wood, smart materials,
textiles
• an area of specialisation (for example, architecture, electronics,
graphics technologies, fashion)
• Food and fibre production (includes Food technologies F–4)
• Engineering principles and systems
• Food technologies (combines with Food & fibre production F–4).
Implementing the curriculum
• All design projects include all three processes and production skills.
• At least one product, one service and one environment design
project in each band.
• F – 4, at least three design projects based on the three prescribed
technologies contexts covered in each band.
• 5 – 10, at least four design projects based on the four prescribed
technologies contexts in each band
• multiple technologies contexts can be addressed in a single unit.
Scope and sequence F-10
Content descriptions and elaborations K – 6
An example of a Content description (mandatory) and its Elaborations (nonmandatory) from Years 5 and 6
Content description
6.3 Examine the opportunities and consequences including sustainability of
using information systems to meet community and national needs and
suggest new applications of these systems
Elaborations
•
•
investigating the purposes of different types of information systems, for example
information systems such as banking, retail transactions, social benefits and air
monitoring can be classified as meeting economic, environmental and social needs
examining the benefits and consequences of using information systems for specific
purposes, for example the risks and benefits of apps to diagnose health issues or
locate lost mobile phones
Content descriptions and elaborations 7 – 10
An example of a Content description (mandatory) and its Elaborations (nonmandatory) from Year 7 and 8.
Content description
8.7 Critique, explore and investigate needs or opportunities for designing
and a range of materials, components, tools and techniques to
collaboratively develop and produce creative and sustainable designed
solutions in response to design briefs
Elaborations
•
•
using traditional and contemporary technologies when developing designs, and
discovering the advantages and disadvantages of each approach
exploring emerging materials and technologies and their potential impact on design
decisions, for example smart materials
Digital Technologies
Organisation: Content structure
Two related strands:
• Digital Technologies knowledge and understanding —
information systems: data, processes, digital systems, people,
and their interactions
• Digital Technologies processes and production skills —
defining and solving problems through using digital systems,
critical and creative thinking and applying computational
thinking
Organisation: Content structure
Key concepts
• Abstraction underpins all content, particularly Representation of
data; Using data and, Defining and solving problems
• Data collection (properties, sources and collection of data), data
representation (symbolism and separation) and data interpretation
(patterns and contexts)
• Specification (descriptions and techniques), algorithms (following
and describing) and implementation (translating and programming)
• Digital systems (hardware, software and networks)
• Interactions (people and digital systems, data and processes) and
impact (impacts and empowerment).
Scope and sequence F-10
Digital Technologies and ICT
• Clear relationship between the Digital Technologies
curriculum and the ICT general capability.
• The capability assists students to become effective users of
ICT.
• The Digital Technologies curriculum assists students to
become confident developers of digital solutions.
Key questions for evaluating the draft F-10 Technologies
curriculum
Is the separation into
2 subjects
appropriate F-8?
Do the two related
strands allow for
integration of the 2
subjects?
Is the language and
content of Digital
Technologies
accessible to primary
and non-specialist
teachers?
Does the
Technologies
curriculum
adequately cater for
student diversity?
Do the content
descriptions provide
sufficient scope and
direction?
Are the prescribed
contexts appropriate
in Design and
Technologies?
What to do next…
Download a printable version of the Draft Australian
Curriculum: Technologies
Complete the NSW Department of Education and
Communities online consultation survey:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/2012technologies
Additional feedback can be provided to the Board of Studies
and ACARA
Online consultation surveys
Dept of Education
and Communities
TAS/Technology
Dept of Education and
Communities Science
and Technology K-6
http://www.curriculumsup
port.education.nsw.gov.a
u/secondary/technology/i
ndex.htm
http://www.curriculumsupport.edu
cation.nsw.gov.au/primary/scitech
/index.htm
NSW Board of
Studies
http://www.boardofstudies.
nsw.edu.au/australiancurriculum//
ACARA Australian
Curriculum
consultation
http://consultation.australiancurr
iculum.edu.au/
Department of Education and Communities
consultation
Technology Years 7-12
http://www.curriculumsupport.education.nsw.gov.au/secondary/technology/index.htm
Science and Technology K-6
http://www.curriculumsupport.education.nsw.gov.au/primary/scitech/index.htm
Your feedback is important
Your feedback is important
Please send any further written feedback to:
• Sandra McKee sandra.mckee4@det.nsw.edu.au
Years 7-12 TAS Advisor
• Tanya Coli
tanyacoli@det.nsw.edu.au
K-6 Science and Technology Advisor