ABSTRACT
Pupil progression should be addressed at every stage of planning: lesson plans (short term), units of work (medium term) and departmental plans that are informed by national curriculum frameworks or examination guidelines and usual cover one or more school years (long term). The elements of planning for progression are described in this chapter.
The chapter begins by defining design and technology capability, which is generally recognised as the centre of all learning in design and technology, where capability is a sum of the parts of a pupils’ experiences and learning, rather than the atomisation of making, designing, researching and planning. Using design and technology capability as a starting point, the second section explores two levels of planning: medium- and long-term planning. In the final section, the focus shifts to the needs, motivations and characteristics of individual pupils and how these factors might influence pupils’ learning. Whilst acknowledging that some of these influences are beyond your control, the idea is that by bringing them to the fore they can be considered, and where appropriate, redressed through planning for progression.
