Lesson at a Glance | He Tirohanga Whakamua
NgΔ WhΔinga Ako | Learning Intentions
Students will know
- Using physical mock-ups, CAD models, or digital prototypes to test conceptual feasibility.
- Evaluating model performance against specific functional and physical constraints.
- Documenting test results and using empirical data to validate design decisions.
Students will demonstrate
- Build low-fidelity physical or digital 3D model of conceptual outcome.
- Test model against ergonomic, assembly, and functional constraints.
- Log photo evidence and test evaluation notes in Year 11 Technology Design Log.
β‘ Whakaoho | Do Now: Context & Issue Audit (10 mins)
Rapid prototyping & physical/digital modelling strategies (cardboard mock-ups, Tinkercad/Onshape 3D CAD models, Figma wireframes).
π Activity 1: Conceptual Outcome Testing & Verification (15 mins)
Build the cheapest model that can still answer your riskiest question β cardboard, CAD, or a paper interface will do. Decide before you build what result would make you abandon this concept. Then test it, record the data, and report the result honestly, including the case where your concept failed. A model that could only ever confirm you was not a test.
βοΈ Activity 2: Design Log Workshop (25 mins)
Construct a low-fidelity model, conduct functional/ergonomic testing against brief constraints, and record evidence photos/videos in your log.
- Build a low-fidelity model (card, foam, or digital mock-up) of the interaction that matters most β not the whole product.
- Run two tests against brief constraints (fit, reach, sequence-of-useβ¦) and record pass/fail with a photo in your log.
- Log what the model taught you that the drawing could not, and what changes in v3 because of it.
π― Poroporoaki | Exit Ticket & Portfolio Check (10 mins)
Write two sentences on what your model taught you that the drawing could not β including the result you did not want.
π design portfolio Milestone: Lesson 8
Ensure your design log entries for Lesson 8 (Modelling & Concept Testing) are saved and updated with annotated sketches, stakeholder notes, and sustainability justifications.
π§ Kaiako Planning Notes & Assessment Guidance
Assessment note: this unit is not tied to a live NCEA standard β check current NZQA Technology standards before promising credits. Teach it as Year 11 technology design thinking.
- Technological Practice: Δkonga develop a conceptual design for a sustainable-technology outcome.
- Differentiation & Scaffolding: Provide physical component samples and sentence frames for stakeholder interviews and justification writing.
- Extension (outstanding work): Challenge students to conduct a full Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) tracing raw material extraction through to end-of-life e-waste processing.
- Te Ao MΔori Integration: Ground material choice in traditional ecological knowledge (mΔtauranga taiao) regarding resource extraction and seasonal renewal.