This teacher's guide, from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, introduces six design and technology teaching activities and explains how they can be used and adapted. It includes an overview of design in the circular economy, including an exploration of how pioneers have rethought design and why it has needed...

The 1995 National Curriculum Revisions for Design and Technology, which defines the much simplified Programmes of Study (PoS) for each Key Stage and the level descriptions for AT1 and AT2. The requirements for Information Technology were separated and published separately.

By this stage it had become clear...

This Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) document contains the 2004 revision of the Design and Technology National Curriculum. As with previous documents, there were no substantial revisions, and none at all to the Attainment Target statements. The role of CAD-CAM and new materials continued to be...

Following a major overhaul of the entire National Curriculum at Key Stage Three, the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority produced a version for design and technology with a structure consistent with other subjects. There were no changes to the other Key Stages, so...

The 1999 edition of the Design and Technology National Curriculum included set out clearly the programmes of study and attainment targets for Key Stages One to Four. It sets out the importance of design and technology education to students' performance across the curriculum in promoting social, moral and cultural...

This activity, from the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), sets students the challenge of designing and building a water treatment system to produce a clean sample of water. They will need to think about what equipment they would need, what stages the...

This activity introduces the concept of 3D CAD design and some of the basic tools used with CAD software. The software used for the CAD activity is the free and widely used ‘TinkerCAD’. However, this could easily be substituted for any other 3D CAD software already available in school.

The activity involves...

This project concentrates on the design and manufacture of lighting using simple electronics but with complex and functional part modelling. Students apply the tools in Autodesk Inventor to the challenging task of creating a virtual lamp design in parts, before manufacturing the product. Students will spend time...

The project provides a lesson structure for the design and manufacture of an MP3 amplifier. The resources uses a sketching and computer aided design (CAD), alongside laser cutting and 3D printing processes. Students will apply the tools in Autodesk Inventor and 123D Make to create the MP3 parts, before...

This activity involves generating creative design ideas for a building, drawing the final design idea using CAD software, and 3D printing a model of the building. The software used for the CAD activity, ‘Onshape’, is the free and widely used. However, this could easily be substituted for any other 3D CAD...

This resource provides students with a range of consumer or user profiles that can be used for research and creating project briefs. There are 12 profiles with a range of characteristics, for example: age or gender.

This resources provides a homework choice board for students of design and technology. It suggests a number of homework challenges, differentiated into three areas: junior designer, senior designer or creative director. Homework tasks are varied and could be used to compliment exam revision.

This resource from the IET Faraday programme, supported by MEI and Tomorrow's Engineers, provides students with  the opportunity to explore circle area, accuracy of measure, percentages and data handling by investigating defects in steel production.

"A company has invented a system...

Design for a better world is a design challenge for students aged 11-14 years. It offers students the opportunity to:

• Learn about the global goals for sustainable development.
• Access a range of global contexts including water and sanitation, food security and climate action in which to...

This project looks at the animation of a character created in Project Pinocchio. Students use the tools in Autodesk Maya to create a 10 – 15 second dance routine for the character. Students are introduced to some basic navigation around Autodesk Maya before learning how to pose their characters using a HumanIK...