This is where design and technology teachers get together on TES. This group covers all the key areas of D&T including food technology, textiles, graphics and electronics. It’s a great source of lesson ideas and inspiration.
Hello all,
I have just been invited to an interview for a Product Design post (It will be my NQT year so my first interview-eek!)
I have been told that I have to teach a 1 hour lesson (classroom based) to either a year 7 or 8 group and it can be on anything I like relating to Product Design. Wondered if anyone had any suggestions at all as I feel daunted by the freedom I have been given! I have seen a lot of Product Analysis suggestions so maybe would be a good idea to steer away from this as there are 3 other candidates and I feel it may be a popular choice of topic to cover!
Any help/suggestions/advice will be HUGELY appreciated!
Sustainability: Big issue right now and rightfully so!
1) Give the class a quick intro, explain/ give loose definition of sustainability
2) Throw it back to the class, can they suggest a product which they feel to be sustainable?
Challenge them, don't accept first answer, why is it sustainable? is it all good or are there bad points as well? Can a product ever be truly sustainable? Allow the discussion to grow, do not panic, bring it back to you when you need to move on.
3) Ask them to come up with a set of rules, these will determine whether a product is sustainable or not, do not lead, make them own these rules, there are countless possibilites. Get the other pupils to challenge the rules.
4) Have a display with various objects, pens, cars, Mc D's packaging etc etc. Get them to judge and articulate their answers using the rules they designed and that they believe in, notice THEY not you!
5) At the end show them a stock pile of fridges in a dump, sustainable or not? Get some opinions. Then leave them with this!! If we did not have fridges, how much more packaging would food require, additives, improvers, increased transport with heavier packaing, increased distribution of additives etc, more waste food product, disposal and collection of waste food product. The Fridge looks like the sustainability devil but is it a saint? You do not answer this, their and only their answer will determine the effectiveness of the lesson and ultimately the actual learning that has taken place.
Hope this gives you some ideas and may the force be with you!
Cheers
Spencer
TheoGriff Not a good idea to ask for other people's ideas for an interview. One of your competitors might see it and do the same thing. There was a Headteacher on here who had 4, four, interviewees all doing the same lesson that they had seen suggested here on the forums. She recognised it as she had seen it too, but even if she hadn't, the fact that all four did almost the identical lesson sort of gave the game away! So you need to think of your own ideas for a lesson that will show learning and progress - those are the keys.
Not a good idea to ask for other people's ideas for an interview. One of your competitors might see it and do the same thing. There was a Headteacher on here who had 4, four, interviewees all doing the same lesson that they had seen suggested here on the forums. She recognised it as she had seen it too, but even if she hadn't, the fact that all four did almost the identical lesson sort of gave the game away!
So you need to think of your own ideas for a lesson that will show learning and progress - those are the keys.
So I'd steer well clear of Spencers suggestions (whilst banking it for when you do get the job!)
Best of Luck x
Fair point Littlemiss, I had never really considered this possibility and when you think about it, yes it could happen. As littlemiss says, may be able to use idea at later stage, good luck and tell us how you get on.
Completely take on board your point!
I was just looking for suggestions on topics, and wouldn't deliver a lesson that I hadn't planned myself for the interview! It would be too cringeworthy getting caught out!
After seeing so much on 'Product Analysis' in forums, I can imagine interviewers regularly see lessons which are VERY similar, so I was just looking for different suggestions for an overall topic.
Thank you so much for your suggestion Spencer- I do think it is a great topic to cover and will perhaps look into coming up with my own take on it :)
Littlemiss, thanks for your wise advice- how awkward it would be if 4 candidates delivered the same lesson!
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