C11 Awareness of sustainability issues and wider impact
During my degree we never really touched upon this area and to be quite honest there was never any need to either. However, I have marked this area of the audit as a '2' meaning basic knowledge because I feel that we live in a world now where these issues are constantly thrown at us, whether it is on the news, through our every day life's in terms of the choices that we make, even with the products that we use and consume. For this reason, I feel that I have some sort of understanding already as to what this area may entail, but the only aspect that I know I shall learn more about throughout this time on the course is the ability to be able to translate these issues within a Design and Technology context. How do students apply this within the classroom and through their projects? Undoubtedly by the end of this course I shall know more about such things and this part of the audit will demonstrate my further engagement and understanding.
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My initial understanding of the term 'AWARENESS OF SUSTAINABILITY ISSUES AND WIDER IMPACT"
As I have mentioned I am no expert in this area of the audit but I can imagine this entails what impacts products, processes, manufacturers, materials have on the environment and people. I also think that it considers how students can translate this knowledge within their own work and in the workshops. I can understand the importance of this area as well, because materials are not always going to be around so as young designers we need to think of ways to be sustainably but also think of other ways in which we can be more sustainably within out own work.
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As I have mentioned I am no expert in this area of the audit but I can imagine this entails what impacts products, processes, manufacturers, materials have on the environment and people. I also think that it considers how students can translate this knowledge within their own work and in the workshops. I can understand the importance of this area as well, because materials are not always going to be around so as young designers we need to think of ways to be sustainably but also think of other ways in which we can be more sustainably within out own work.
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What I have learnt and what I now understand
I have decided to choose this area of the audit for my 'Analysing subject concepts module' Therefore, by the end of this unit I would expect that this area of the audit will demonstrate some good and strong evidence of my engagement and development.
What has helped me to learn within this unknown area was to generally read as much information as I could about sustainability, what I tried to do is read content that was linked to sustainability in Design and Technology. I have used the Internet and books to help me learn and came across some extremely resourceful websites and interesting books. Practical Action, has particularly been a very helpful source for me to learn from I found many useful teaching resources that allowed me to translate the context to the subject. Here is the following link.http://practicalaction.org/
What I now have learnt and understand is that 'Sustainability' does not just include impacts on the environment and people, these are certainly issues that are concerned however it is much wider than this. Through my research I have been able to identify that there are four spheres of sustainability:
I have learnt that if you analyse these areas of sustainability it can allow you to determine whether a product is sustainable or not. They are also sets of rules that you can consider as a designer and it can cover many different areas which can ultimately shape your final designs and products.
As I have progressed further into this area of the audit and within my modules I have come across more aspects of sustainability. I have learnt that now (meaning in the 21st century) designers are constantly thinking about how to create their products in the best and most sustainable way. Even in schools they teach and ingrain this subject in the bid for students to apply this within their own work. I have come across a really effective model that helped me to think about reducing the impact of a new product on the environment and people. I discovered this on the practical action website and I think it really breaks down and illustrates clearly how easy it is to be sustainable as designers and as consumer.
The Six R's
I would say that these are basic principles of sustainability and any designer or consumer can adhere and reflect to these points when designing or buying a new product. For me as a learner I have realised that by looking at things like this that breaks down content it allows me to understand the area much more. What also helped me to understand these concepts of the Six R's was looking at visuals that represented the areas. Below is a slide show which displays some of my notes - it was these sheets that helped me thinking more about this idea of referring back to the Six R's model.
I have decided to choose this area of the audit for my 'Analysing subject concepts module' Therefore, by the end of this unit I would expect that this area of the audit will demonstrate some good and strong evidence of my engagement and development.
What has helped me to learn within this unknown area was to generally read as much information as I could about sustainability, what I tried to do is read content that was linked to sustainability in Design and Technology. I have used the Internet and books to help me learn and came across some extremely resourceful websites and interesting books. Practical Action, has particularly been a very helpful source for me to learn from I found many useful teaching resources that allowed me to translate the context to the subject. Here is the following link.http://practicalaction.org/
What I now have learnt and understand is that 'Sustainability' does not just include impacts on the environment and people, these are certainly issues that are concerned however it is much wider than this. Through my research I have been able to identify that there are four spheres of sustainability:
- Economic impacts - The effects a product has on the economy, whether it supports economic growth, generates profit for a developing country, creates or reduces jobs, working conditions, fair wage, how the product is developed,
- Environmental impacts- How the planet suffers from a product being produced including, the materials involved i.e Renewable, non-renewable, pollution, prevention, environmental management, disposals, the life-cycle of a product and it's durability, and the manufacturing processes involved from start to finish.
- Social impacts- The impact a product has on the lifestyles of people, how a product can shape and change social dynamics or traditions, whether it can improve quality of life, if it considers targeted audiences and other users for example people with disabilities, it can also cover things like working conditions, equal opportunity, communities, jobs, fair trade.
- Cultural impact- How a product can potentially offend a religion, ethnic group, gender, age whether it encourages the maintenance of traditional cultural values or traditions, or does it replace traditions
I have learnt that if you analyse these areas of sustainability it can allow you to determine whether a product is sustainable or not. They are also sets of rules that you can consider as a designer and it can cover many different areas which can ultimately shape your final designs and products.
As I have progressed further into this area of the audit and within my modules I have come across more aspects of sustainability. I have learnt that now (meaning in the 21st century) designers are constantly thinking about how to create their products in the best and most sustainable way. Even in schools they teach and ingrain this subject in the bid for students to apply this within their own work. I have come across a really effective model that helped me to think about reducing the impact of a new product on the environment and people. I discovered this on the practical action website and I think it really breaks down and illustrates clearly how easy it is to be sustainable as designers and as consumer.
The Six R's
- Rethink - Do I need to make/buy this product? Can my designs consider people and the environment or does the product consider these factors?
- Refuse - Do I need to use this material or buy this product? If it is bad for people and the environment I will not use it.
- Reduce - Can I cut down on the amount of material and energy i used or even complete different processes and minimise waste.
- Reuse- Can I use this product that is now waste and create something else? Or at least use some parts of it. Can I design a product with this in mind?
- Recycle - Can I use the best materials so that when the product is disposed the materials can then be reused and not harm the environment.
- Repair - Do I really need to buy a new product if this one breaks? Can I design my product to be fixable if broken
I would say that these are basic principles of sustainability and any designer or consumer can adhere and reflect to these points when designing or buying a new product. For me as a learner I have realised that by looking at things like this that breaks down content it allows me to understand the area much more. What also helped me to understand these concepts of the Six R's was looking at visuals that represented the areas. Below is a slide show which displays some of my notes - it was these sheets that helped me thinking more about this idea of referring back to the Six R's model.
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Furthermore, although so far I have generally been researching this area of the audit using the Internet and books as my main source I have started to notice that there is evidence of sustainability within the design process and during your development stages. For instance, when I was creating my model for my Electronics project, I initially completed the model because I wanted to see how it would appear in 3D formation to aid the designs development, I also wanted to experiment with how I was going to shape the plastic. Now obviously this does save time because it allows you to see any faults and understand how you are going to manufacture a proposed concept, but without realising as well you are actually minimising waste because you are not going in straight away head first and trying to build something without any awareness on how it may function. So modelling and prototyping your ideas is a process that considers these aspects of sustainably or at least touches the issues of it. So in some respects it is a underling factor in most projects but why is this not made clearer during the design process ?
Furthermore, although so far I have generally been researching this area of the audit using the Internet and books as my main source I have started to notice that there is evidence of sustainability within the design process and during your development stages. For instance, when I was creating my model for my Electronics project, I initially completed the model because I wanted to see how it would appear in 3D formation to aid the designs development, I also wanted to experiment with how I was going to shape the plastic. Now obviously this does save time because it allows you to see any faults and understand how you are going to manufacture a proposed concept, but without realising as well you are actually minimising waste because you are not going in straight away head first and trying to build something without any awareness on how it may function. So modelling and prototyping your ideas is a process that considers these aspects of sustainably or at least touches the issues of it. So in some respects it is a underling factor in most projects but why is this not made clearer during the design process ?
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Analysis of new knowledge and the next step
To begin with I marked this section of the subject audit at a '2' meaning basic knowledge, and I feel that this was a fair mark. So far I have learnt a great deal more about the importance of Sustainability within a Design and Technology context and because of this I have most defiantly progressed and will start to think differently as a designer and consumer.
Whilst I was exploring this area there were certain parts as a learner that I found very successful and other times where I found that I was not as successful as perhaps envisaged.
To begin with the most successful parts of my engagement has been finding some really useful sources and teaching aids. Practical action has been a great site that has helped me to understand the importance of this subject within Design and Technology and also it will be something that I can refer to at a later date when I am actually teaching in a classroom. I found that printing off certain information and content and highlight key points and analysing areas allowed me to think further about the area. I may decided to do this again in the future with other areas because it certainly got my brain thinking. Overall, I felt that I was very successful in my researching skills, I managed to obtain some good sources not just from the internet but also from books as well.
Whilst I was learning about 'Sustainability' I felt very overwhelmed at times about how much content the area actually covers. It is such a big subject area and therefore at the early stages of my learning I felt that I had so much information and research and some of it was not very relevant to Design and Technology. Furthermore, I spent such a long time reading through it all and not only did this take a long time but I found it difficult at times to work out what was actually relevant and what was not. This was a unsuccessful aspect of my learning and if faced with this again I think that I must take one step at a time and not overload myself with piles of research which could potentially confuse me and lead me off course and in the wrong direction.
My next step now is to conduct further research to see if there is any more to learn about the area of Sustainability and also I would like to find out how we can translate these skills within our work, the classroom and as designers and consumers. Basically I would like to find out the principles and what information is most important for students to know and learn. Hopefully when I reach this stage, things will be a lot more clearer and I will be able to progress further within this area of the audit. Finally, I would also like to engage in some sort of activity or activities, as this will not only help me understand this area further but also it shall display that I have a deeper understanding of the area and this in turn will support the learning objects in my 'Analysing subject concepts module'. This activity or task that I intend to complete will be something that I need to really think about but before hand, I would like to engage further within some of the content, perhaps I can do this by researching examples of projects that support sustainability or lessons that include this area. What is important is that I am able to encompass all of the principles of sustainability within one task as this will be a good example of my development.
Analysis of new knowledge and the next step
To begin with I marked this section of the subject audit at a '2' meaning basic knowledge, and I feel that this was a fair mark. So far I have learnt a great deal more about the importance of Sustainability within a Design and Technology context and because of this I have most defiantly progressed and will start to think differently as a designer and consumer.
Whilst I was exploring this area there were certain parts as a learner that I found very successful and other times where I found that I was not as successful as perhaps envisaged.
To begin with the most successful parts of my engagement has been finding some really useful sources and teaching aids. Practical action has been a great site that has helped me to understand the importance of this subject within Design and Technology and also it will be something that I can refer to at a later date when I am actually teaching in a classroom. I found that printing off certain information and content and highlight key points and analysing areas allowed me to think further about the area. I may decided to do this again in the future with other areas because it certainly got my brain thinking. Overall, I felt that I was very successful in my researching skills, I managed to obtain some good sources not just from the internet but also from books as well.
Whilst I was learning about 'Sustainability' I felt very overwhelmed at times about how much content the area actually covers. It is such a big subject area and therefore at the early stages of my learning I felt that I had so much information and research and some of it was not very relevant to Design and Technology. Furthermore, I spent such a long time reading through it all and not only did this take a long time but I found it difficult at times to work out what was actually relevant and what was not. This was a unsuccessful aspect of my learning and if faced with this again I think that I must take one step at a time and not overload myself with piles of research which could potentially confuse me and lead me off course and in the wrong direction.
My next step now is to conduct further research to see if there is any more to learn about the area of Sustainability and also I would like to find out how we can translate these skills within our work, the classroom and as designers and consumers. Basically I would like to find out the principles and what information is most important for students to know and learn. Hopefully when I reach this stage, things will be a lot more clearer and I will be able to progress further within this area of the audit. Finally, I would also like to engage in some sort of activity or activities, as this will not only help me understand this area further but also it shall display that I have a deeper understanding of the area and this in turn will support the learning objects in my 'Analysing subject concepts module'. This activity or task that I intend to complete will be something that I need to really think about but before hand, I would like to engage further within some of the content, perhaps I can do this by researching examples of projects that support sustainability or lessons that include this area. What is important is that I am able to encompass all of the principles of sustainability within one task as this will be a good example of my development.
Further Development in this area
I have now put together a folder that holds all of my research and notes. This will be handed in along with the other material that I will have for my 'Analysing subject concepts' module. The reason why I have put all of the content into a folder is because it not only supports the learning objectives required for the module, but also it has enabled me to put the content in some sort of order and understand the area more. By doing so it has helped me to develop even further with my work and I have now been able to propose some activities that I could complete in order to dig deeper within the area.
I have been able to generate these proposed tasks or activities, with the help of teaching resources that I have taken from the practical action website. This material includes PowerPoint presentations and suggested activities or lessons that teachers can complete within their classes. These act as guidance but the idea is to teach students the importance of sustainability in everyday life but also within the Design and Technology world.
Click on the pictures below to see the proposed activities that generated. This have been taken and scanned in from my research folder.
I have now put together a folder that holds all of my research and notes. This will be handed in along with the other material that I will have for my 'Analysing subject concepts' module. The reason why I have put all of the content into a folder is because it not only supports the learning objectives required for the module, but also it has enabled me to put the content in some sort of order and understand the area more. By doing so it has helped me to develop even further with my work and I have now been able to propose some activities that I could complete in order to dig deeper within the area.
I have been able to generate these proposed tasks or activities, with the help of teaching resources that I have taken from the practical action website. This material includes PowerPoint presentations and suggested activities or lessons that teachers can complete within their classes. These act as guidance but the idea is to teach students the importance of sustainability in everyday life but also within the Design and Technology world.
Click on the pictures below to see the proposed activities that generated. This have been taken and scanned in from my research folder.
I have also begun to generate some sort of structure and propose what I think are the basic principles of Sustainability within a Design and Technology context. I decided to create a PowerPoint Presentation to display these concepts. I have in fact considered that this may actually change at a later date as I come to the end of my engagement with this area but I think it is important to display this within the audit as it will show how far I have come and also how these concepts may have changed as I progress.
Below are some more images taken from the PowerPoint presentation click on one to see a bigger image.
Below are some more images taken from the PowerPoint presentation click on one to see a bigger image.
The above principles as I have mentioned are merely starting points, I am well aware that as I dig deeper and engage further within the content of this area I shall no doubt change some of these around and perhaps even find more principles that could even be more important as my research continues. By creating this as a power point Presentation it has helped me to break down the content into digestible chunks. If I were to teach a lesson based on this information here I think it would certainly need to be cut as it covers a vast amount of areas. I think I must be able to either encompass all of these factors into one activities or concentrate on certain areas and break them down into several articles to find that deeper understanding.
What also helped me within my research within this area was to research into what the National Curriculum says about Sustainability.
It states -
Below is a picture showing my task that I completed
They are posters of a product analysis I completed on Yeo Valley it focused on the environmental, social and economical and cultural impacts the product can have and also looked at whether the products applies the Six R's within their work.
What also helped me within my research within this area was to research into what the National Curriculum says about Sustainability.
It states -
- Working in stimulating contexts that provide a range of opportunities and draw on the local ethos, community and wider world, pupils identify needs and opportunities.
- They combine practical and intellectual skills with an understanding of aesthetic, technical, cultural, health, social, emotional, economic, industrial and environmental issues
Below is a picture showing my task that I completed
They are posters of a product analysis I completed on Yeo Valley it focused on the environmental, social and economical and cultural impacts the product can have and also looked at whether the products applies the Six R's within their work.
need to justify what lead you to completing a product analysis. why it covers the basics or principles of sustainability.