Nuffield Design & Technology

Nuffield's Design & Technology curricula covers the entire range of students, from primary through secondary levels (Key Stages 1-4). Its materials provide a series of design-related activities, including short, skill-oriented Resource Tasks, case studies, product evaluations, and longer, more open-ended Capability Tasks that help assess student learning and understanding. Students work to ensure they will know enough to successfully encounter the design tasks and produce viable products.

How can a teacher support students with widely different knowledge and skills to do a design activity? In this movie, you will hear Dr. David Barlex, Executive Director of the Nuffield Design & Technology project, talk about some of the key pedagogical features built into the Nuffield materials.

Of special note is David Barlex's description of the working back-and-forth that students do between well-structured Resource Tasks (e.g., doing experiments with different types of switches) and Nuffield's more open-ended Capability Tasks (e.g., designing an electronic device that uses switches to advertise the opening of a new store in a nearby mall). Nuffield D&T has provided useful models for technology education teachers and textbook authors here in the US and the world over.