Design, make, evaluate
Design & Technology · Key Stage 1 · The School
The cycle
DESIGN what you will make and why. MAKE it. EVALUATE how well it works. Then improve and go round again. It is a cycle, not a line — going round twice is normal and expected, and a first attempt that revealed a problem has done its job.
A brief has a user
'Make a bag' is not a brief. 'Make a bag for my grandmother to carry her shopping, that is light, has a handle she can grip, and holds four tins' is: it names a USER and lists what success looks like. Those listed requirements are the CRITERIA.
Evaluating honestly
Test against your criteria, one at a time. Does it hold four tins? Can she grip the handle? 'It looks nice' is not evaluation, because it was not in the brief. Saying what failed is worth more than saying everything worked — nothing improves otherwise.
BRIEF: a pencil pot for a six-year-old that holds ten pencils, does not tip over, and can be made from card. The finished pot is bright and beautifully decorated. Now evaluate. Holds ten? Count them — it holds seven. Tips over? Push it — yes. Made from card? Yes. So it fails two of three, however lovely it looks. That is an evaluation; "I really like it" is not.