Lesson at a Glance | He Tirohanga Whakamua
NgΔ WhΔinga Ako | Learning Intentions
Students will know
- Why researching "prior art" prevents reinventing flawed technological wheels.
- How to evaluate commercial products against 4 criteria: functional performance, material selection, user experience, and lifecycle impact.
- How prior art research provides the evidence base required for Level 1 Digital Technology Excellence justifications.
Students will demonstrate
- By researching and deconstructing 3 existing solutions in their chosen challenge area.
- By completing Portfolio Section 3: Prior Art & Materials Evaluation.
Do Now | TΔ«matanga Whakaaro (10 min)
Engineering Research Prompt:
"Why is copying a good idea with improvements considered professional engineering, while ignoring existing solutions is considered amateurish?"
Unpack: Technologists build on the shoulder of existing work. By researching 3 existing products (prior art), you identify what works well (to adapt) and what fails miserably (to fix or avoid).
Prior Art Evaluation Matrix (15 min)
Students select 3 existing products relevant to their chosen context and evaluate them across 4 criteria:
| Product / Solution | Key Advantage | Major Flaw / Weakness | Lifecycle & Material Footprint |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solution A (Commercial Standard) | Low cost, widely available. | Glued plastic casing, zero repairability. | High embodied carbon, landfill destination. |
| Solution B (Eco/Modular Niche) | Modular components, repair guide. | High initial purchase price, bulkier form factor. | Recycled metals, closed-loop take-back. |
| Solution C (Community / Open Source) | Open hardware plans, 3D printable. | Requires technical skill to assemble; variable durability. | PLA bio-plastic or local timber options. |
Materials Evaluation: Embodied Carbon and End-of-Life Recovery (15 min)
The matrix above judged what the three researched products do. This stage judges what they are made of, which is where a sustainability brief is usually won or lost.
1. Name the dominant materials (4 min)
For each of the three products, list the two or three materials that make up most of its mass. Not every material β the ones that would show up on a scale. Students who cannot tell from the product itself record that as a finding: a product whose materials are not identifiable is already failing on recovery.
2. Look up the embodied carbon (6 min)
Embodied carbon is the energy spent making a material before it reaches anyone. Students look the figures up and write the source beside each one. They do not estimate. A number with no source does not go in the portfolio, because an assessor cannot check it and neither can you. Where a figure cannot be found, that gap is recorded too β it is a real limitation of the research, and naming it is worth more than inventing a number.
3. Test the end-of-life question (5 min)
Two questions per product. Can one person separate the materials using ordinary hand tools? And for each separated material, where does it actually go in this district β kerbside, a specific drop-off, or landfill? "Recyclable" is not an answer; a named destination is.
The product that scored best on function often loses here. Record that disagreement rather than resolving it β it becomes one of the trade-offs defended in Lesson 9.
π Conceptual Design Portfolio β Section 3: Prior Art & Materials Research
Students open their Level 1 Digital Technology Portfolio and complete Section 3:
Section 3 Requirements:
1. Prior Art Deconstruction Table: Detailed evaluation of 3 existing market/community solutions.
2. Materials Audit: Compare 2 housing/structural materials (e.g. virgin ABS plastic vs recycled aluminium or timber composite) for embodied energy and end-of-life recovery.
3. Design Takeaways: Identify 2 features to adapt and 2 flaws to eliminate in your conceptual design.
Exit Synthesis | Ka Mutu Hoki (5 min)
Exit Ticket:
"My research into existing products revealed that [Product A] failed because [Flaw]. My conceptual design will overcome this by [Solution]."
Teacher Planning & NCEA Alignment
NCEA Level 1 Digital Technologies Alignment (6 Credits):
- Excellence Criteria: Justify design choices using evidence gathered from research into existing technological outcomes and material performance.
- Technological Knowledge: Demonstrate understanding of material properties, manufacturing constraints, and environmental trade-offs.
Vocabulary: Prior art, deconstruction, embodied energy, material properties, trade-off matrix, open-source hardware.