Title:

The Architects of Grade 9 Setting: A bright, chaotic Design and Technology classroom at a public high school. Time: 2:45 PM, Friday afternoon.

“Design and make a model of a bridge (e.g., a truss bridge or beam bridge) that can span a 300 mm gap and support a load of at least 1 kg.”

"Check the circuit diagram section," Thabo said, carefully gluing a brace. "Did we label the input and output forces correctly?"

2. Self-Reflection

• Purpose: Assess learners’ ability to follow the design process: identify a problem, research, generate ideas, plan and produce a functional product/prototype, and evaluate outcomes.
• Duration: Short-term PAT (e.g., 1–2 lessons plus take-home or class practical time).
• Weighting: Typically 20–30% of term mark (adjust to school policy).
• Learning outcomes assessed: problem solving, design thinking, technical skills, safe tool use, communication (sketches and annotations), materials knowledge, simple testing and evaluation.