April 28

Task 3 is: Formulate a Design Specification.

The IBO defines Design Specification as: A detailed description of the conditions, requirements and restrictions with which a design must comply. This is a precise and accurate list of facts such as conditions, dimensions, materials, process and methods that are important for the designer and for the user. All appropriate solutions will need to comply with the design specification.


To get a 5/6 the student: describes detailed methods for appropriate testing to evaluate the product/solution against the design specification.

Learning Objective: produce a listing of detailed specifications, identify ways of testing a solution on a specific audience or the intended user.

April 23

Please print and submit #Develop A Design Brief by the end of class.

April 21

Let's continue working on Task 2 of the Investigation - Develop A Design Brief

April 13, 15

Year 10, now on to task 2 of the Investigation: Develop a design brief.

1. Write a sentence or two to introduce this portion of your Investigation.

2. Then follow these learning objectives to success,

-formulate and discuss appropriate questions (4 or 5) that guide the investigation - this means that you should create questions and then do research that will help you solve the problem

- identify and acknowledge a range of appropriate sources of information - use in-text referencing and create a bibliography

-collect, analyse, select, organize and evaluate information - this deeper analysis of your research will lead to higher marks

-evaluate your sources of information- who are your sources? are they appropriate? are they experts in the field?

According to the assessment rubric. . .

To get a 1/2: The student investigates the problem, collecting information from sources.

To get a 3/4: The student investigates the problem, selecting and analysing the information from some acknowledged sources.

To get a 5/6: The student critically investigates the problem, evaluating information from a broad range of appropriate acknowledged sources.

Learning objectives: independently identify meaningful questions, carrry out web search, select and organize appropriate sources and evaluate them.

April 7,9

Welcome back Year 10!

During Term 3 you will be working on a special project - Communicating Information.

The problem is as follows:Guincho is considered both one of the best and most dangerous windsurfing beaches in the world. How can we better communicate to people, once in the sea, about changes in weather and sea conditons?

Challenge:Create a new method of communication that could be used by life guards or the general public. The system should be cheap to produce, easy to learn but complex enough to communicate a range of instructions. The system can be visual, audible, sensory, or a combination of these.

There you have it Year 10 - Term 3 in a nutshell. Keep your mind open and allow your creativity to drive your solution.

Remember that the Investigation has 3 steps: Identify the problem, Develop a Design Brief, Formulate a Design Specification.

The Identify the Problem is due at the end of NEXT class.

Template for Identify the Problem

Learning objective: consider the problem and its solution in relation to its possible impact on life, society, and the environment.