Outcome+Development+and+Evaluation

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 * Outcome Development and Evaluation**

This component allows for a strong focus on students achieving excellence and showing perseverance in producing an outcome of worth. Not all technological practice results in technological outcomes. This component therefore allows for a range of creative and innovative ideas to be taken to various stages appropriate to the context. Such a focus allows student to arrive at a ‘no go’, decision when there is no defensible reason to use resources for a particular purpose. Decisions underpinning the selection of particular outcomes for further development rely on extensive reflective and critical analysis of what is of value and why. This helps students to develop their capability in ethical decision making and acting, in accordance with these decisions. Exploration of materials in terms of functional and aesthetic value against environmental cost should be undertaken as extensively as possible, in order to interrogate designs and resourcing prior to the selection of materials and the development of any final outcome. Outcomes, and the practice undertaken to develop them, should be critically reflected on and evaluated from a range of perspectives to ensure fitness for purpose. This in turn provides opportunities for students to explore stakeholder responses to outcomes, and to understand these in terms of the values that are embedded in them. Justification of decisions made will provide opportunity for students to clearly identify and articulate their own values and explain how these are reflected, or not, in other social groups. The development of souvenirs for the Te Papa store provides a range of examples of how the students had to explore and understand a range of issues associated with values, in order to develop prototypes of souvenirs appropriate for their clients. Not only did they need to understand what was of value for New Zealanders, they also needed to understand the values of potential customers across a range of ages and cultures. Issues associated with economic worth and profit margins were also critical in the discernment and development of high quality but affordable souvenirs.

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Technological Outcomes  Technological outcomes are developed through technological practice for a specific purpose and are definedas material products and/or systems that are fully realised in situ. Technological practice also results in other outcomes that are referred to as intermediate outcomes. These intermediate outcomes are very important in technology and technology education, as they are valuable for developing ideas, exploring, testing and communicating aspects of technological outcomes before they are fully realised in situ. These include such things as feasibility studies, conceptual designs, models, prototypes etc.