Indicators of progression: Brief development
The indicators that follow describe the knowledge, skills, and understandings that students should be demonstrating in the Brief development component of the technology curriculum.
Indicators are provided for each level of the curriculum and are accompanied by guidance for teachers.
- See Indicators of progression for more information about the indicators and how they can be used.
- To learn more about the Brief development component, see the key ideas and related resources provided at Brief development.
Level one
Achievement objective
Students will:
Describe the outcome they are developing and identify the attributes it should have, taking account of the need or opportunity and the resources available.
Teacher guidance
To support students to undertake brief development at level one teachers could:
- provide the need or opportunity and develop the conceptual statement in negotiation with the students
- provide a range of attributes for discussion
- guide students to identify the attributes an appropriate outcome should have.
Indicators
Students can:
- communicate the outcome to be produced
- identify attributes for an outcome.
Strategies for engaging students
Indicator
Communicate the outcome to be produced
Teaching strategy and explanation
Literacy development – use describing words to explain existing products.
- Have students describe existing products using terminology such as light, heavy, shiny, red, plastic, paper, and so on.
Literacy development – use describing words to explain intended outcome (that is, what students indent to produce.
- Encourage students to describe their product(s) using terminology such as light, heavy, shiny, red, plastic, paper, and so on.
Describe who will use their outcome, where it will be used, what it needs to do.
- Use a template with stems for students to complete. Examples follow.
- Outcomes will be used by ...
- Outcomes will be made from ...
- Outcomes will be used to ...
Indicator
Identify attributes for an outcome
Teaching strategy and explanation
Describe products from drawings.
- From a picture of a known product, students are asked to describe its attributes for example, what it is made from, the colour, the shape, what is it used for.
Explain technological products.
- Have students explain the attributes and uses for a range of known technological products. For example, pencils are made from wood and lead and are use for writing and drawing.
Use products students have used, seen and/or made before.
- Through discussion or during story-writing time, students make a list of products they have used, seen or made before. Students describe these products.
- The list and descriptions could be written or drawn.
- Another option is a class brainstorm where the teacher records the list. These can be in a written format (by teacher).
- Be sure that you provide a range of products.
Talk about a range of technological products in terms of their attributes.
- Students are asked to talk about the products in terms of what they do, what are used for, what they are made from, where they are used, and so on.
Level two
Achievement objective
Students will:
explain the outcome they are developing and describe the attributes it should have, taking account of the need or opportunity and the resources available.
Teacher guidance
To support students to undertake brief development at level two teachers could:
- provide the need or opportunity and develop the conceptual statement in negotiation with the students
- guide students to discuss the implications of the need or opportunity and the conceptual statements and support them to establish a list of attributes an appropriate outcome could have
- give students with an overview of the resources available and guide them to take this into account when identifying the attributes for the outcome.
Indicators
Students can:
- explain the outcome to be produced
- describe the attributes for an outcome that take account of the need or opportunity being addressed and the resources available.
Strategies for engaging students
Indicators
Explain the outcome to be produced
Teaching strategy and explanation
Explain a range of technological products in terms of the problem they resolve (what they do), such as their atttribues and where they are used.
- Students explain a range of known and unknown technological products:
- from their experience in interacting with them
- through "predicting" where they are used, who uses them, and so on
Explain who will use their technological outcome, where it will be used, what it needs to do.
- Students complete a template (graphic organiser) with stems . For example, Outcomes will:
- be used to ... and this will ...
- be used by ... to ...
- will enable ... by ...
Indicators
Describe the attributes for an outcome that take account of the need or opportunity being addressed, and the resources available
Teaching strategy and explanation
Literacy development – use technical words to describe existing products.
- Students describe existing products using terminology such as plastic, attributes, wood, copper, stakeholders, gears, lever, screws.
Literacy development – use describing words to explain intended outcome, that is what they intend to produce.
- Encourage students to describe their product(s) using terminology such as light, heavy, shiny, red, plastic, paper, and so on.
Describing who will use their outcome, where it will be used, what it needs to do.
- Encourage students to use technical terminology to describe the attributes of their outcomes. For example, Outcomes will:
- be used by stakeholders who will ...
- be shiny to reflect ...
- be oval-shaped to ...
- be made from 3mm diameter wire.
What are resources?
- Discuss what resources are and the resources that will be used to develop an outcome.
- Prepare a collection of physical resources (or photographs of resources) to support student responses.
Level three
Achievement objective
Students will:
Describe the nature of an intended outcome, explaining how it addresses the need or opportunity. Describe the key attributes that enable development and evaluation of an outcome.
Teacher guidance
To support students to undertake brief development at level three teachers could:
- provide the need or opportunity and develop the conceptual statement in negotiation with the students
- guide students to describe the physical and functional nature of an outcome (e.g. what it looks like and what it can do) taking into account the need or opportunity, conceptual statements and resources available
- guide students to identify the key attributes an appropriate outcome should have. Key attributes reflect those that are deemed essential for the successful function of the outcome.
Indicators
Students can describe:
- the physical and functional nature of the outcome they are going to produce and explain how the outcome will have the ability to address the need or opportunity
- attributes for the outcome and identify those which are key for the development and evaluation of an outcome.
Strategies to engage students
| Indicators | Teaching Strategy and explanation | |
| Describe the physical and functional nature of the outcome they are going to produce and explain how the outcome will have the ability to address the need or opportunity | Use key questions to describe the physical and functional nature of the intended outcome. Questions to consider follow.
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| Describe attributes for the outcome and identify those which are key for the development and evaluation of an outcome | Matching descriptions of "key" attributes to a range of products. Students match a list of described "key" attributes (for example, made from soft spongy material that is light weight) to a range of products that they are both familiar and unfamiliar with. Describing "key attributes" for their outcome. Use a template with stems for students to complete. For example, The outcome:
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| Matching key attributes to technological products. Students match phrases that describe attributes of technological products to pictures of products. For example, able to cut paper matched to scissors. Using the "key" attributes of given products, students identify what the product is/does. For example,
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| Students’ evaluating the "fitness for purpose" of products against given "key" attributes. Provide students with a list of key attributes that describe a product. Students asked to identify what the product is and what makes that product "fit for purpose"? Students use a set of given key attributes to evaluate the fitness for purpose of others products. Students evaluate a range of products against a set of given "key attributes" to determine their fitness for purpose. (What makes that product "fit for purpose"?) |
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| Literacy development – use of evaluative words. Students evaluate another student’s technological outcome against its brief, making suggestions for changes to "key" attributes to allow an evaluation to occur where necessary. Using a touchy/feely bag where students cannot see the products inside. Students describe attributes of products using terminology that enables others to know what:
Students are asked to describe a range of products that they can physically touch but which are concealed within a bag. Thus, they should describe what they feel or smell. |
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Level four
Achievement objective
Students will:
Justify the nature of an intended outcome in relation to the need or opportunity. Describe the key attributes identified in stakeholder feedback, which will inform the development of an outcome and its evaluation.
Teacher guidance
To support students to undertake brief development at level four teachers could:
- provide an appropriate context and issue that allows students to access resources (including key stakeholders)
- guide students to identify a need or opportunity and develop a conceptual statement
- support students to understand the physical and functional nature required of their outcome, and how the key attributes relate to this
- guide students to consider the key stakeholders and the environment where the outcome will be located.
Indicators
Students can:
- identify a need or opportunity from the given context and issue
- establish a conceptual statement that communicates the nature of the outcome and why such an outcome should be developed
- establish the key attributes for an outcome informed by stakeholder considerations
- communicate key attributes that allow an outcome to be evaluated as fit for purpose.
Strategies for engaging students
| Indicators | Teaching Strategy and explanation | |
| Identify a need or opportunity from the given context and issue | Brainstorming needs or opportunities from a given context and/or situation. In a given context and/or situation, the class brainstorms on a board/datashow/ smartboard to identify potential needs or opportunities, including identification of who their stakeholders would/may be. |
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| Using a video of a natural or man-made (such as a building failure) disaster. Students are asked to identify needs and/or opportunities for technological advancements/ solutions that would have alleviated the disaster occurring. |
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| Personal contexts/issues. Students are asked to examine personal contexts/ issues to generate needs or opportunities. For example:
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| Establish a conceptual statement that communicates the nature of the outcome and why such an outcome should be developed | Scaffolding student understanding by analysing conceptual statements. Provide students with a range of conceptual statements that have been used to develop technological outcomes. Ask students to identify the "key" information presented in the conceptual statements. For example:
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| Writing conceptual statements that describe a technological opportunity. Present students with a range of needs/opportunities and ask them to write a conceptual statement that would enable technological practice to be undertaken to address them. |
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| Writing conceptual statements from existing technological practice. Students are asked to write conceptual statements for issues or opportunities provided by teacher and identified from:
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| Establish the key attributes for an outcome informed by stakeholder considerations | Use of mind maps to identify the "key" attributes for a range selected products. Students work in groups to identify key attributes and discuss these in order to justify those identified.
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| Stakeholder questions. Students are helped to develop a series of questions that can be used to interview a person that will identify their need or opportunity. Technology student website (page 1) Technology student website (page 2) |
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| Communicate key attributes that allow an outcome to be evaluated as fit for purpose. | Identifying how key attributes may vary due to different uses of similar products. Provide a range of products that perform similar functions and discuss how different attributes are prioritised because of their intended use/stakeholder needs. For example:
Do these key attributes allow an outcome to be evaluated as fit for purpose? |
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Level five
Achievement objective
Students will:
Justify the nature of an intended outcome in relation to the need or opportunity. Describe specifications that reflect key stakeholder feedback and that will inform the development of an outcome and its evaluation.
Teacher guidance
To support students to undertake brief development at level five teachers could:
- provide an appropriate context and issue that allows students to access resources (including key stakeholders)
- support students to:
- identify a need or opportunity and develop a conceptual statement
- understand the physical and functional nature required of their outcome
- guide students to develop key attributes into specifications.
Indicators
Students can:
- identify a need or opportunity from the given context and issue
- establish a conceptual statement that justifies the nature of the outcome and why such an outcome should be developed
- establish the specifications for an outcome based on the nature of the outcome required to address the need or opportunity, and informed by key stakeholder considerations
- communicate specifications that allow an outcome to be evaluated as fit for purpose.
Strategies for engaging students
| Indicators | Teaching Strategy and explanation | |
| Identify a need or opportunity from the given context and issue | Brainstorming the needs and/or opportunities in a given context. For a given context, the class brainstorms on a board/datashow/smartboard to identify potential needs or opportunities including identification of who the stakeholders would/may be. Develop a series of questions that can be used to interview a person that can help to identify a need or opportunity. |
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| Use a video of a natural or man-made disaster. After watching a video of a natural or man-made disaster, students identify needs and/or opportunities for a technological advancement/solution that could have prevented the disaster from occurring. |
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| Personal contexts/issues Students are asked to examine personal contexts/issues to generate needs or opportunities. For example:
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| Establish a conceptual statement that justifies the nature of the outcome and why such an outcome should be developed | Writing conceptual statements for given needs or opportunities Students practice writing conceptual statements for an issue/opportunity that is provided by the teacher or identified from the above activities. |
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| Students present their conceptual statement to class. Students focus on justifying the nature of an outcome and explaining why such an outcome should be developed |
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| Establish the specifications for an outcome based on the nature of the outcome required to address the need or opportunity, and informed by key stakeholder considerations | Distinguishing the difference between attributes and specifications. Provide students with a range of briefs that contain both attributes and specifications. In groups, students identify the attributes and the specifications. Examples of briefs can be found in Brief Development - Examples , especially in the student workbooks. Bulls-eye chart. Three concentric circles – outside circle labeled attributes, middle circle "key" attributes, inner circle specifications. Students to refine identified attributes into specifications (that is, measurable/observable functional and aesthetic expectations) Students move from writing attributes to specifications, and then consider stakeholders in terms of what, how, and why. |
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| Identify stakeholder considerations. Students create a stakeholder profile, and write specifications that meet their need(s). See Technology student website – customer profile |
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| Deconstructing an existing product to identify its specifications. Students write brief specifications for an existing product through deconstructing the product to identify such things as materials made from, cost, size of components/ingredients, relationships between components/ ingredients, safety considerations, and so on. |
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| Presenting a developed brief. Students present their developed brief to their class, justifying why their selected specifications are important to address the need/opportunity. |
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| Communicate specifications that allow an outcome to be evaluated as fit for purpose. | Identify how specifications may vary due to different uses within similar products. Provide a range of products that perform similar functions and discuss how different specifications were prioritised due to their intended use/stakeholder needs. For example:
Think-pair-share discussion that leads to a written example. |
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| Critiquing specifications to determine their measurability or establish if they are observable. Students sort a range of statements into those which are specifications and those which are not measurable/observable.
Note: an attribute is usually subjectively measured/determined, while a specification is more objectively measured/determined (that is, more specific). |
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Level six
Achievement objective
Students will:
Justify the nature of an intended outcome in relation to the need or opportunity and justify specifications in terms of key stakeholder feedback and wider community considerations.
Teacher guidance
To support students to undertake brief development at level six teachers could:
- provide an appropriate context and issue that allows students to access resources (including key stakeholders) and guide them to take into account wider community considerations
- support students to:
- identify a need or opportunity relevant to the given issue and context
- understand the physical and functional nature required of their outcome
- develop specifications and justify them based on key and wider community stakeholder considerations.
Indicators
Students can:
- identify a need or opportunity from the given context and issue
- establish a conceptual statement that justifies the nature of the outcome and why such an outcome should be developed
- establish the specifications for an outcome as based on the nature of the outcome required to address the need or opportunity, consideration of the environment in which the outcome will be situated and resources available
- communicate specifications that allow an outcome to be evaluated as fit for purpose
- justify the specifications in terms of key and wider community stakeholder considerations.
Strategies for engaging students
| Indicators | Teaching Strategy and explanation | ||
| Identify a need or opportunity from the given context and issue | Understanding the differences between a context, issue, need and opportunity. Scaffold students’ understanding through activities such as:
Use teacher-provided examples and the Connected series for examples Identifying an issue, need or opportunity from a video or case study that describes a context. Provide students with a range of videos or case studies and have them determine an issue, needs or opportunity. For examples of activities refer to the book Top Tools for Social Sciences Teachers. |
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| Developing questions to identify the issue, need or opportunity. Provide a context to students and ask them to structure questions that will identify an issue, need or opportunity. This will also promote students' skills in questioning techniques. Questions can go onto a dice template and used by them and/or other students in the future. |
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| Potential client presenting their context. A client (real or role play) presents a context and/or issue. Students question the client to gain more information. Based upon presentation and questioning the client, the students identify a need or opportunity. This can include the identification of key stakeholders. Encourage students to provide justifications as to why they believe these are relevant to the context. |
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| Establish a conceptual statement that justifies the nature of the outcome and why such an outcome should be developed | Using a technologist to critique a student conceptual statement. Technologist critiques student conceptual statements once developed. Students critique a technologist’s conceptual statement. |
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| Establish the specifications for an outcome as based on the nature of the outcome required to address the need or opportunity, consideration of the environment in which the outcome will be situated and resources available | Analysis of brief developed by practicing technologists. Use briefs that evolved as the outcome progresses towards a technological outcome. For example:
Ask students to identify:
Ask students to determine the specifications that focus on the outcome and those that are concerned with the practice undertaken to realise the outcome. |
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| Communicate specifications that allow an outcome to be evaluated as fit for purpose. | Key stakeholders critique specifications to determine if they will enable an outcome to be evaluated as fit for purpose. Key stakeholders informed to ensure that they understand the difference between a specification and an attribute |
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| Justify the specifications in terms of key and wider community stakeholder considerations. | Analyse the physical and social environment in which a technological outcome will be located - include feedback from key and wider community stakeholders Use evaluation tools such as:
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Level seven
Achievement objective
Students will:
Justify the nature of an intended outcome in relation to the issue to be resolved and justify specifications in terms of key stakeholder feedback and wider community considerations.
Teacher guidance
To support students to undertake brief development at level seven teachers could:
- provide a context that offers a range of issues for students to explore
- guide students to select an authentic issue within the context. An authentic issue is one which is connected to the context, and allows students to develop a brief for a need or opportunity that can be managed within the boundaries of their available resources.
- support students to:
- identify a need or opportunity relevant to the issue
- understand the physical and functional nature required of their outcome
- justify the nature of their outcome in terms of the issue it is addressing
- develop specifications and provide justifications for them drawing from stakeholder feedback, and wider community considerations such as the resources available to develop the outcome, ongoing maintenance of the outcome once implemented, sustainability of resources used to develop the outcome and the outcome itself, disposal of the developed outcome when past its use by date.
Indicators
Students can:
- explore the context to select an issue
- identify a need or opportunity relevant to their selected issue
- establish:
- a conceptual statement that justifies the nature of the outcome and why such an outcome should be developed with reference to the issue it is addressing
- the specifications for an outcome using stakeholder feedback, and based on the nature of the outcome required to address the need or opportunity, consideration of the environment in which the outcome will be situated, and resources available
- communicate specifications that allow an outcome to be evaluated as fit for purpose
- justify the specifications in terms of stakeholder feedback, and the nature of the outcome required to address the need or opportunity, consideration of the environment in which the outcome will be situated, and resources available.
Strategies for engaging students
| Indicators | Teaching Strategy and explanation | |
| Explore the context to select an issue | Use a range of evaluative tools to explore and evaluate a context. Evaluation tools could include:
Also see Bloom’s Taxonomy. |
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| Exploring contexts and issues. Provide students with a variety of scenarios (contexts) which they can critically evaluate to identify issues that allow for the undertaking of technological practice to derive a feasible outcome. Students undertake feasibility studies on the issue(s) and the likely technological practice that is required to resolve the issue(s). |
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| Identify a need or opportunity relevant to their selected issue | Expand on examples listed in Level 6. | |
| Establish a conceptual statement that justifies the nature of the outcome and why such an outcome should be developed with reference to the issue it is addressing | Literacy development – using linking words to provide justifications.
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| Students (and/or practicing technologists) critically analyse each other’s (student) developed conceptual statements to ensure that it is robust and can be justified.
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| Establish the specifications for an outcome using stakeholder feedback, and based on the nature of the outcome required to address the need or opportunity, consideration of the environment in which the outcome will be situated, and resources available | Strategies for eliciting stakeholder feedback. Students explore the advantages and limitations of strategies to obtain feedback from key and wider community stakeholders. For example:
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| Specification checklist. Do the specifications consider:
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| Communicate specifications that allow an outcome to be evaluated as fit for purpose | Students in pairs clarifying their specifications.
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| Justify the specifications in terms of stakeholder feedback, and the nature of the outcome required to address the need or opportunity, consideration of the environment in which the outcome will be situated, and resources available. | Literacy development. Use linking words to provide justifications. Encourage students to use linking language such as as a result of, because, therefore. henceforth, consequently. |
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| Another student (and/or practicing technologist) critically analyses a student’s specifications to verify if they can be justified and enable a technological outcome to be determined as fit for purpose. Focus on answering questions such as:
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Level eight
Achievement objective
Students will justify:
- the nature of an intended outcome in relation to the context and the issue to be resolved
- specifications in terms of key stakeholder feedback and wider community considerations.
Teacher guidance
To support students to undertake brief development at level eight teachers could support students to identify:
- a context that offers a range of issues for them to explore.
- Context refers to the wider social and physical environment in which technological development occurs Contexts may include but are not limited to: storage, afterschool snacks, outdoor living, sustainable energy, sport, educational software, streetwear, portability, furniture.
- considerations that will need to be taken into account when making judgments of fitness for purpose in its broadest sense.
- Fitness for purpose in its broadest sense refers to judgments of the fitness of the outcome itself as well as the practices used to develop the outcome. Such judgments may include but are not limited to considerations of the outcome’s technical and social acceptability, sustainability of resources used, ethical nature of testing practices, cultural appropriateness of trialling procedures, determination of life cycle, maintenance, ultimate disposal, health and safety.
- a need or opportunity relevant to the issue and context.
They could also support students to:
- select an authentic issue within their selected context
- understand the physical and functional nature required of their outcome
- justify the nature of their outcome in terms of the issue and context
- develop and justify specifications that will allow the evaluation of the outcome and its development to be judged as fit for purpose in the broadest sense.
Indicators
Students can:
- identify and evaluate a range of contexts to select an authentic issue
- explore context to identify considerations related to fitness for purpose in its broadest sense
- identify a need or opportunity relevant to their selected issue
- establish:
- a conceptual statement that justifies the nature of the outcome and why such an outcome should be developed with reference to the issue being addressed and the wider context
- the specifications for an outcome and its development using stakeholder feedback and based on the nature of the outcome required to address the need or opportunity, consideration of the environment in which the outcome will be situated, and resources available
- communicate specifications that allow an outcome to be evaluated as fit for purpose in the broadest sense.
- justify the specifications as based on stakeholder feedback and the nature of the outcome required to address the need or opportunity, consideration of the environment in which the outcome will be situated, and resources available.
Strategies for engaging students
| Indicators | Teaching Strategy and explanation | |
| Identify and evaluate a range of contexts to select an authentic issue | Analyse previous students’ technological practice/case studies to identify the critical evaluation that occurred to determine a suitable context and issue to undertake technological practice. Questions that could be answered by students include:
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| Use of compare and contrast templates (such as a Venn Diagram). Exercises in comparing and contrasting such things as:
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| Identify suitable clients from possible issues. Provide scenarios of potential client issues and ask students to critically evaluate clients and issues to determine their suitability for engagement. Justifications are required to support their inclusion or rejection as potential clients. Developing questions to determine client suitability. The class brainstorms to identify questions that will elicit information that will determine if a client is potentially suitable. For example:
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| Identify a need or opportunity relevant to their selected issue | Relevance of need/opportunity to the issue. Students present their need/opportunities to the class. Class critiques the need/ opportunities relevance to the selected issue. |
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| Establish a conceptual statement that justifies the nature of the outcome and why such an outcome should be developed with reference to the issue being addressed and the wider context | Expand on examples listed in Level 7 | |
| What is the wider context? A wider context is … |
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| Establish the specifications for an outcome and its development using stakeholder feedback and based on the nature of the outcome required to address the need or opportunity, consideration of the environment in which the outcome will be situated, and resources available | Expand on examples listed in Level 7 | |
| Communicate specifications that allow an outcome to be evaluated as fit for purpose in the broadest sense | Students critique a range of practicing technologist briefs. Students critically analyse the technological practice undertaken by a range of practicing technologists to develop a brief, to identify if their specifications are robust and allow a developed technological outcome to be evaluated as "fit for purpose". Select a range of technologists – for example, an architect, a product designer, a graphic designer, an engineer, a food technologist. |
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| Justify the specifications as based on stakeholder feedback and the nature of the outcome required to address the need or opportunity, consideration of the environment in which the outcome will be situated, and resources available | Expand on examples listed in Level 7 | |
Indicators of Progression – Brief development (Word 2007, 122 KB)
Indicators of Progression: Complete set (A3, by strand) – PDF file, 340kb
Indicators of Progression: Complete set (A3, by level) – PDF file, 319kb
Progression diagram – Brief development (PDF, 165 KB)
Acknowledgment
The indicators of progression for the components of the Technological Practice strand were developed by Dr Vicki Compton and Cliff Harwood (2010).
a range of question or task starters presented as keys to unlocking the analytical, critical, and creative thinking abilities.