Subject: Design & Technology
Many students study Design & Technology at school and this activity, devised by the University Centre at Yeovil College, can easily be integrated into the school curricula in this subject. The activity content is designed to build upon pupil's existing knowledge and enhance ‘the student experience’ by focusing their ideas to come up with a working technology based solution to a number of ‘Real World’ design problems.
The day itself consists of 3 tasks, all of which require the students working in teams of four, to produce workable solutions, each one taking around 1.5 hours. Typical problems include;
- Design of a working Wind-Turbine
- Design of an Aerodynamic Vehicle using a wind-tunnel to reduce drag
- Design of a Self-Righting Sonar Buoy to emit a flashing light when self-righted and Design of a Solar Powered, Self-Propelled Vehicle
These are all related to areas of technology that are relevant to the modern world and to the technology challenges facing young technologists in the 21st century. The tasks are very practical and require the use of mechanical and electrical-electronic skills learned in school to construct working models.
Each of the 3 tasks when completed is judged with points awarded for each. The tasks are designed to be achievable, but at the same time are quite demanding due to the time limit imposed to achieve solutions to each task. To achieve their objectives, the importance of working effectively as part of a team, good time management, clear communication, delegation, feedback and collective responsibility are emphasised. The tasks are very topical and can be directly related to real problems requiring real technological solutions in the new millennia.
Typically, each day can be offered to between 60 – 80 students, the cost for which is around £1,600.
The activity is designed for Year 10 students to cover a wide range of technology concepts needed to devise workable solutions. During the day students are assessed and where they achieve, are awarded their British Science Association Bronze CREST (CReativity in Engineering, Science and Technology) Awards for technology, which can be included in personal records of achievement and used to enhance applications to universities, colleges and potential employers. The activity can be offered to complete year groups, focused groups of technology students or groups of students coming together from a number of schools to compete at a Further Education College.
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