TECHNOLOGY

During their time at Hastings Intermediate, as part of the Technology rotation students have learning opportunities in Materials Technology, Food Technology, Digital Technology, Science and Sports Science.

Technology is problem-based learning, solving problems in a practical sense. Students investigate real issues to develop ideas for feasible outcomes, then undertake planning to identify the key stages and resources required to develop an idea into a purposeful product.

The key learning focus for Materials and Food Technology is to develop an understanding of sustainability. It is increasingly important for students to realise how technological advancement impacts on society, the economy and the environment.

Technology education is innovative, challenging and engaging. It is full of rich and varied experiences that push creative boundaries. Technology practice enables students to test their ideas, learn about processes and systems, and experience pride in their accomplishments.

Materials Technology

We have become a ‘throw-away’ society. In Materials Technology students are asked to consider the impact discarded materials can have on the environment. Their challenge is to find a solution that will optimise the value of selected material resources by repurposing them for longer use and decreasing the impact on landfills.

Soft and hard materials  provide access to a wide range of material resources. Students learn to use tools and machinery safely, from a scroll saw to a sewing machine. They integrate their newly acquired skills and knowledge to produce a technological outcome that meets an identified need.

Food Technology

Students in Food Technology are made aware of global issues such as the need to reduce food waste. They learn how to be responsible consumers and producers of food while developing an awareness of how they can make a positive contribution to the real life environmental problems that we are facing as a global community.

In the context of sustainability, students prepare and cook versatile foods using a variety of cooking techniques. They learn safe kitchen practice and food hygiene, and a broad range of skills that they can draw from, adapt, and use in the future. Students are challenged to think about how they can change and adapt a recipe to make it tastier, while still considering the nutritional value.

Sports Science

Sport Science is a new subject at Hastings Intermediate. Students get to have a taste of different topics of Sport Science. 

Students look at two different forms of exercise, aerobic exercise and resistance training and get to see how they can have an impact on their bodies. Students also have an introduction to biomechanics and look at how they can make adjustments to their body movements through analysing them with the help of technology. Nutrition is another topic covered and students learn what type of food is important for athletes to eat. There are a lot of practical activities to complement student learning.

​​​​​​​Science

Students in Science Technology explore forces and motion using the context of rocketry. They investigate Newton’s laws of motion, including how forces affect the motion of a rocket, and aim to discover optimal conditions for features of rockets to make them travel as far as possible by analysing the results of our fair testing. Students show their data visually using graphs, and make statements to interpret data in others’ graphs.

​​​​​​​Digital Technology

The digital technologies curriculum brings the focus on learning into two key areas: computational thinking (CT) and design and development of digital outcomes (DDDO).

Computational thinking enables students to express problems and formulate solutions (coding) in a way that means a computer can be used to solve them. We are exploring this with micro:bits and robotics (VEX, NXT, EV3 and Edisons).

Developing skills in DDDO allows students to become creators of digital content not just users. We explore tools and apps that can be used to communicate ideas and learning across curriculum areas. Recently we have been upskilling animating and stop motion capabilities.