Australian Technologies Cirriculum

1. Curriculum aims and objectives

1.1. Use traditional, contemporary and emerging technologies in a creative, innovative and enterprising way, and understand how technologies have developed over time.

1.2. Select and manipulate appropriate technologies and resources when creating products and services.

1.3. Evaluate and understand different processes in an endeavour to create solutions for a range of problems and opportunities.

1.4. Investigate, design, plan, manage, create, produce and evaluate technologies solutions.

1.5. Interact confidently with various technologies engage confidently with technologies and make informed, ethical and sustainable decisions about technologies for preferred futures including personal health and wellbeing, recreation, everyday life, the world of work and enterprise, and the environment.

2. Subjects

2.1. English

2.2. Mathematics

2.3. Science

2.4. History

2.5. Geography

2.6. The arts

2.7. Health and Phys ed.

3. Strands

3.1. Knowledge and understanding

3.1.1. Design and technologies

3.1.1.1. the use, development and impact of technologies in people’s lives

3.1.1.2. design concepts across a range of technologies contexts

3.1.2. Digital technologies

3.1.2.1. how data are represented and structured symbolically

3.1.2.2. the components of digital systems: software, hardware and networks

3.1.2.3. the use, development and impact of information systems in people’s lives

3.2. Processes and production skills

3.2.1. Design and technologies

3.2.1.1. critiquing, exploring and investigating needs or opportunities

3.2.1.2. generating, developing and evaluating design ideas for designed solutions

3.2.1.3. planning, producing (making) and evaluating designed solutions

3.2.2. Digital technologies

3.2.2.1. collecting, managing and interpreting data when creating information, and the nature and properties of data, how it is collected and interpreted

3.2.2.2. using a range of digital systems and their components and peripherals

3.2.2.3. defining problems and specifying and implementing their solutions

3.2.2.4. creating and communicating information, especially online, and interacting safely using appropriate technical and social protocols

4. Key concepts/ideas

4.1. Systems thinking and the overarching idea: Creating preferred futures

4.1.1. The Technologies curriculum focuses on systems thinking to develop the technologies knowledge, understanding and skills to provide a method for identifying and moving towards ethical, socially responsible and sustainable patterns of living. Systems thinking is a holistic approach where parts of a system are analysed individually to see the whole, the interactions and interrelationships between the parts and how these parts or components influence the system as a whole. In both Design and Technologies and Digital Technologies this provides opportunities for students to engage in predicting outcomes and impacts of technological decisions for current and future generations and their environments. Students creatively and actively design solutions to meet present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Both subjects acknowledge the strong connection with the Australian Curriculum: Sustainability cross - curriculum priority

4.2. Project management

4.2.1. The Technologies curriculum ensures that students are explicitly taught how to manage projects. This includes planning; evaluating processes; considering constraints; risk assessment and management; decision - making strategies; quality control; developing resource, finance, work and time plans; and collaborating and communicating with others at different stages of the process. Every technologies project involves the use of resources and it is critical that there is planning for sustainable use of resources when managing projects. Technologies projects involve ethical, health and safety considerations. They are designed for the different needs (including consideration of personal and social beliefs and values) of consumers and clients, and for commercial realities. Students learn that when they and others engage in design thinking and technologies processes, they are responsible and accountable for their designs and solutions. Project management is an essential element in building students’ capacity to successfully innovate in both Technologies subjects. Project work and project management occur as a part of everyday life and are critical to many fields of technologies employment. Technologies education allows students to develop skills to manage projects from identification of need or opportunity through conception to realisation. Project management is addressed in all years of schooling as individuals and groups of students plan how they will work to bring a design idea to fruition. Assessing and managing risk in Technologies learning addresses the safe use of technologies and the risks that can impact on project timelines. It covers all necessary aspects of health, safety and injury prevention at any year level and in any technologies context when using potentially dangerous materials, tools and equipment. It includes ergonomics, safety including cyber safety, data security and ethical and legal considerations when communicating and collaborating online.

5. General capabilities

5.1. Literacy (LIT)

5.2. Numeracy (NUM)

5.3. Information and communication technology (ICT) capability

5.4. Critical and creative thinking (CCT)

5.5. Personal and social capability (PSC)

5.6. Ethical understanding (EU)

5.7. Intercultural understanding (ICU).

6. Student diversity

6.1. ACARA is committed to the development of a high - quality curriculum for all Australian students that promotes excellence and equity in education. All students are entitled to rigorous, relevant and engaging learning programs drawn from the Australian Curriculum: Technologies. Teachers take account of the range of their students’ current levels of learning, strengths, goals and interests and make adjustments where necessary. The three-dimensional design of the Australian Curriculum, comprising learning areas, general capabilities and cross-curriculum priorities, provides teachers with flexibility to cater for the diverse needs of students across Australia and to personalise their learning. More detailed advice has been developed for schools and teachers on using the Australian Curriculum to meet diverse learning needs. It is available under Student Diversity on the Australian Curriculum website.

7. Cross curriculum priorities

7.1. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures

7.2. Asia and Australia’s engagement with Asia

7.3. Sustainability

8. Content descriptions

8.1. The Australian Curriculum: Technologies includes content descriptions at each band level. These describe the knowledge, understanding and skills that teachers are expected to teach and students are expected to learn. Content descriptions do not prescribe approaches to teaching in the Technologies subjects. The content descriptions have been written to ensure that learning is ordered appropriately and that unnecessary repetition is avoided. However, a concept or skill introduced in one band level may be revisited, strengthened and extended in later band levels. Content descriptions are grouped to illustrate the clarity and sequence of development of concepts through and across the band levels. They support the ability to see the connection across strands and the sequential development of concepts from Foundation to Year 10.

9. Content elaboration

9.1. Content elaborations are provided for Foundation to Year 10 as support material to illustrate and exemplify what is to be taught and to assist teachers in developing a shared understanding of the content descriptions. They are not intended to be comprehensive content points that all students need to be taught nor do they encompass every aspect of a content description .

10. Band levels

10.1. Foundation to year 2

10.2. Year 3 and 4

10.3. Year 5 and 6

10.4. Year 7 and 8

10.5. Year 9 and 10

11. Achievement standards

11.1. Across Foundation to Year 10, achievement standards indicate the quality of learning that students should typically demonstrate by a particular point in their schooling. The sequence of achievement standards in each Technologies subject describes progress in the learning area, demonstrating a broad sequence of expected learning. This sequence provides teachers with a framework of growth and development in each Technologies subject. An achievement standard describes the quality of learning (the depth of conceptual understanding and the sophistication of skills) that would indicate the student is well- placed to commence the learning required at the next level of achievement. The achievement standards for Technologies reflect the distinctive practices of each subject along with aspects of learning that are common to all Technologies subjects. Subject- specific terminology and organisation reflect the essential characteristics of learning in each subject. The achievement standards also reflect differences in the nature and scope of the learning in each Technologies subject, as well as the relationship between the interrelated strands: Knowledge and understanding and Processes and production skills. Achievement standards will be accompanied by portfolios of annotated student work samples that illustrate the expected learning and help teachers to make judgments about whether students have achieved the standard.