ABSTRACT
Teachers can use the lists they have developed to audit their own knowledge and skills in order to: identify where they need to develop, prioritise this development, and look at ways in which the knowledge and skills can be gained. Materials technology is also known as 'resistant materials'; it covers the designing and making of products primarily in metals, timbers and plastics, and modelling in card and foams. It may also, in some schools, include ceramics, electro-mechanical systems and compliant materials such as textiles. In teaching pupils aged 11—14 years, teachers will not have the immediate prospect of preparing pupils for examinations, but they must give them the foundations for that work. Teachers will, also, almost certainly be working to national guidelines, which change over the years. It is important, therefore, for teachers to build a conceptual framework to help students understand the requirements placed on them.
