This resource supplements the advice in the Principles and Practice paper for technologies to support practitioners in capturing what children and young people have achieved as a result of learning related to significant aspects of learning in technologies.
*NEW* PDF file: Technologies progression framework
Significant aspects of learning in technologies
Assessment of learning in Technologies in early years establishments, special education establishments, primary schools and secondary schools is supported and made manageable by the identification of significant aspects of learning (SALs). These significant aspects of learning, listed here, ensure that learning is coherent for children and young people.
There are 13 significant aspects of learning in the Technologies. They are bulleted under the organiser headings below:
Technological Developments in Society and Business
SALs must be common to all levels from early to fourth, the outcomes and experiences for business are at 3rd and 4th level only. Children and young people begin to understand how technologies affect the world of work and their impact on society more generally from their early years experiences onwards therefore it is logical to merge these organisers for the purpose of assessing progress and achievement.
- Awareness of technological developments (Past, Present and Future), including how they work
- Impact, contribution, and relationship of technologies on business, the economy, politics, and the environment
Digital Literacy
As with literacy, numeracy and health and wellbeing, digital literacy should be placed at the heart of all learning, not only the technologies area of the curriculum.
- Using digital products and services in a variety of contexts to achieve a purposeful outcome
- Searching, processing and managing information responsibly
- Cyber resilience and internet safety
Computing Science
- Understanding the world through computational thinking
- Understanding and analysing computing technology
- Designing, building and testing computing solutions
Food and Textile Technologies
Food and textiles like other technological organisers cuts across different curricular areas. For further information on this SAL please also refer to Health and Wellbeing.
- Food and textile technologies
Craft, Design, Engineering and Graphics
- Designing and constructing models/products
- Exploring uses of materials
- Representing ideas, concepts and products through a variety of graphic media
- Application of engineering
Using this resource
This resource outlines significant aspects of learning and describes what breadth, challenge and application looks like to support practitioners in assessing learners’ progress in technologies. It should be used when planning learning and assessment. It will also contribute to the moderation and profiling processes to help create a reliable picture of learners’ progress and achievement. It should be used as a guide and is not intended as an assessment criteria checklist.
The following workshops have been developed to support practitioners’ engagement with the professional learning resource and can be used as professional learning opportunities.
Familiarisation of the curriculum paper
PowerPoint file: A structured process for engaging with the professional learning paper
What is breadth, challenge and application?
Matching task: this activity is designed to allow for discussion around the concepts breadth, challenge and application.
- The first file is set out as a grid containing a number of statements which should be cut out to create individual ‘tags’, shuffled and issued as a set. Participants should then try to match each of these tags to the three main headings – breadth, challenge and application. Practitioners may wish to go on to discuss further examples from their own practice.
- The second file contains the answers according to the curriculum paper.
PDF file: Breadth, challenge and application activity
PowerPoint file: Breadth, challenge and application – answers
