Product Design
Exam board: Edexcel
Course code: 9DT0
Entry requirement: Grade 6 in Design and Technology
Edexcel Design and Technology (Product Design) A Level has strong links with Mathematics and Science, and it enables learners to integrate and apply their understanding and knowledge from other subject areas that would have been studied at GCSE.
Design and Technology is an inspiring, rigorous and practical subject and aims to give an insight into the way that creative, designing and manufacturing industries function. Learners are therefore enabled to make the connection between the knowledge, understanding and skills they develop and how this will benefit them in the future. Learning about Product Design at A Level strengthens learners’ critical thinking and problem-solving skills within a creative environment, enabling them to develop and make prototypes of products that solve real world problems, considering their own and others’ needs, wants, aspirations and values. Edexcel’s A Level qualification requires students to identify market needs and opportunities for new products, initiate and develop design solutions, and make and test prototypes products.
Course Content and Assessment
The course is assessed through one exam and an internally marked non-examined assessment (NEA). The NEA (coursework) makes up 50% of the final A Level grade. There is a real emphasis on practical skills as well as creativity, problem solving, and applying scientific principles. The Iterative Design Project requires students to undertake a substantial design, make and evaluate a project centred on the iterative process of explore, create, and evaluate. Students will produce a portfolio of evidence, which should be a working document that evolves with the project, detailing their design decisions, problems and solutions.
Exam Paper ‘Principles of Design Technology’.
Duration of examination: 2 hour 30 minutes.
Higher Education and Careers
The logical progression from studying Product Design at A Level would be to either study for a degree or enter a training scheme (such as a higher apprenticeship) in a related discipline. However, students need not necessarily be thinking of a career in these areas to study the subject; Product Design helps students develop the soft skills sought by universities and employers, as well as providing a way of linking together the other subjects that they are following.
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