A specification by any other name is still a syllabus
From September 2001 the new specifications for GCSE Design & Technology apply in England and Wales (first awarding in 2003 for full courses, 2002 for short courses).

Each of the four Awarding Bodies (previously known as Examination Boards) has produced a suite of specifications for D&T (specification being the new term for syllabus). These are available to centres, or may be viewed on the respective Awarding Body web sites:
www.aqa.org.uk
www.edexcel.org.uk
www.ocr.org.uk
www.wjec.co.uk

A summary of the key features and issues re the new specifications is presented here.

How different are the new specifications?
Not very, is the short answer. The changes represent updating to the current syllabuses in line with Curriculum 2000, tweaking rather than overhaul. You should therefore recognise much of what you are looking at and have few surprises.

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Is there a real choice?
Since all specifications have been produced to the same criteria, it should come as no surprise that the Awarding Bodies have produced very similar products. So, does it matter which you choose? Subtly different, all specifications have something to recommend them, but none stands out as being especially best or worst. You need to be confident that your decision meets both your needs and those of your students. Your decision is likely, therefore, to be based on:

• preference for what the Awarding Bodies have on offer
• ease of use and clarity of the specification
• how helpful and supportive you find the Awarding Body
• the Head of Department's decision (hopefully in consultation
  with you)
• historical/brand loyalties to an Awarding Body

You may decide to stay with your existing Awarding Body. This is fair enough if your decision is based on having had good service and satisfaction. If it is simply that you could not be bothered to change after all these years, because you are familiar with their practices, it might be worth checking that you aren't missing anything better.

It pays to keep up-to-date with what each board offers and any new developments they introduce. It is certainly a worthwhile exercise simply to read through each of the specifications, because you will glean useful general information and guidance on GCSE.

What are the burning issues at KS4?
Having said that the changes are minimal they are, nevertheless, significant. However, don't make the mistake of confusing your fears and concerns with what the specifications are actually requiring of you.

Key issues to consider

• Content to be taught
• Assessment weightings
• Coursework objectives
• ICT and CAD/CAM requirements
• Moderation procedures
• Progression from KS3 and to AGCE or AVCE
• Tiering ( two tiers A*- D and C-G)
• 40 hours (maximum) on coursework for the full course
• Support materials

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What are the main changes at GCSE?
The main revisions may be summarised as follows:

• aims have been simplified to reflect national curriculum requirements
• they include a consideration of the influences of the past and present design and technology on society
• the Assessment Objectives have been expanded:
  • AO1 consists of materials, components, processes, techniques and industrial practices
  • AO2 combines designing and making into one objective, ie. capability
  • AO3 evaluation of processes and products includes examining the wider effects of design and technology on society
• greater emphasis placed on ICT, particularly CAD/CAM
• all GCSE specifications must identify opportunities for generating evidence on which candidates may be assessed in the main key skills of: communication, application of number and ICT and, where appropriate, the wider key skills of working with others improving own learning and performance and problem-solving
• all specifications must identify ways in which the study of the subject can contribute to an awareness and understanding of spiritual, moral, ethical, social, cultural, environmental, health and safety and European issues
• each specification must identify opportunities for developing citizenship knowledge, skills and understanding (from 2002 students are required to study citizenship as a national curriculum subject at KS3 & KS4)
• candidates are expected to make effective use of ICT in ways appropriate to the needs of the subject
  

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How will this affect food technology?

The ICT requirement
The main implication for food technology is the increased requirement to make use of ICT in supporting all students' learning and to include CAD/CAM. However, this is relative to what you are already doing.

In terms of educational rationale, D&T is a science and technology subject through which young people learn to understand their world and develop the knowledge and skills to interact successfully with materials, tools and resources. Key skills will also play an important role. These are today's life skills, and those that higher education and employers from all fields agree are crucial to success beyond school.

The new GCSE specifications, therefore, reflect these changing curriculum requirements re. ICT and CAD/CAM. The specifications require students to:

• develop ICT capability through the use of ICT tools to support their learning
• make effective use of ICT in ways appropriate to the needs of the subject, ie. food technology

In practice this means that students should use a broad range of ICT applications which might include:

• modelling using spreadsheets, egs. costing, calculating ratios and proportions
• using databases for nutritional analysis
• using software and Internet for research
• presenting research findings using graphs and charts
• planning for production with systems diagrams
• graphics packages for ideas development and packaging/labelling design
• data-logging to trial the control of manufacturing processes
• electronic monitoring of quality as part of the manufacturing process
• scanning and imaging
• presentation and communication

ICT should be available to students as an entitlement. Only if it its availability is well managed by schools will it become an appropriate part of their everyday working practice, and a resource to learning. This will pose issues for some schools that need to be addressed both as a whole school and within D&T departments. The important question is "how will we ensure that students have good access to ICT within food technology, and that it is being used in ways that support their learning in the subject?"

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Why all this industrial practice stuff?
Food is sourced, produced and manufactured in a technological context - this is the nature of the world in which we live. To understand food, students must understand how it is produced, processed and made available for consumer use, as well as what to do with it. Without the industrial perspective, students' knowledge and appreciation of food is incomplete and there are areas about which they remain uninformed. The subject must take this reality as its context. It is for this reason that students need to understand food in its broadest sense and be able to apply this to their own food handling and choices.

Why CAD/CAM in food technology?
CAD/CAM is an exciting and fast moving area within food product design and manufacture. Students should learn about such applications as part of understanding food in the modern world. As well as learning about CAD/CAM, students should have some practical experience with it. Only then will they fully appreciate its applications to food. There are numerous resources available to support teaching about the applications of CAD/CAM, egs. books, videos, CD-Rom, web sites including many of the materials in the F-files section of this site. These can be used with students and for professional development to improve teachers' own subject knowledge.

Ensuring that students make use of CAM in their own making is more dependent upon specialist resources that may not yet be available in all schools. However, there are a number of economical solutions:

Computer aided design
It counts as CAD, ie. using a computer to aid the design and development process, if students:

The Awarding Bodies vary in what they require in terms of CAD/CAM evidence and assessment in food technology (see summary table). So, if you have any doubts or queries, it is worth phoning to speak to the Subject Officer or emailing them through the relevant Awarding Body web site. Clear rulings are the most helpful. For example, OCR has stated that students will be expected to use CAD in their food technology coursework, but not CAM. However, students' understanding of both CAD and CAM and its applications will be assessed through the examination papers. Other Awarding Bodies may not have such a clear ruling, but are generally agreed that CAD/CAM should be used where appropriate to the project and where the resources are available.

QCA (the Qualifications & Curriculum Authority) has told Awarding Bodies that they cannot currently penalise students for not using CAM in their GCSE coursework, since it may not be available to them. However, good practice in the subject should see CAM in food technology gradually being resourced. As this happens Awarding Bodies will gradually be required to revise their expectations re CAM. It would not, therefore, be wise for schools to ignore the resourcing of CAD and CAM in food technology.

Contact your Awarding Body to find out what they would expect to see in the way of CAD/CAM at each grade. They should provide guidance and exemplar materials to enable you to meet their requirements. Without this, teachers might fall into the trap of expecting more than was intended in order not to penalise students. We must not forget that we are talking about 14-16 year olds, but equally we should not underestimate what they could do, given the opportunities.

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General questions to ask
The following questions are worth considering when reviewing the new specifications offered by the differnt Awarding Bodies:

• In-service training - does the Awarding Body offer INSET or information? ie. is it real professional development or simply guiding you through their processes and procedures (both are necessary, but distinctly different).
• Does the specification represent a clear reference and framework from which you can teach?
• Is good quality, written guidance provided?
• Does the Awarding Body provide clear guidance and advice in answer to your specific queries?
• Are the coursework requirements manageable for your students?
• Are specimen and past question papers and mark schemes published?
• Does the Awarding Body present a reasonable range of exemplar coursework tasks?
• Do they provide a report on the examination, compiled by senior examiners?
• Is individual feedback provided to each centre on the moderation of internally assessed work?

Summary tables
Click here to go to a table summarising the main features of each of the Awarding Body specifications: AQA, EDEXCEL, OCR, WJEC.