The Learning Grid

  Learning Grid Initiatives

Case Study

Gary Glover is a design and technology teacher at Sandhill View School; he has been involved in the challenge for the past two seasons, bringing teams to compete at regional and national level.

Team KAT, won its Regional
Final this year and also
competed in the National
Final at BETT 2005

Team KAT's Car, taken at
the National Final 2005

Team KAT receiving their
award at the NE
Regional Final 2005

He found that the challenge met many of the requirements for the GCSE specification and at the same time was a ‘real project’, in the sense that there was prescribed criteria in the form of a technical design specification, along with a design brief. Taking this into account, he introduced the challenge to the class and showed them the demonstration videos. Result - instant motivation!

Gary split the class into teams and started on the project. Teams worked individually and together to help ensure they would be successful in the competition and at the same time were producing portfolios of evidence for their GCSEs.

As this teamwork continued, Gary found himself becoming more a facilitator than a traditional ‘teacher’. He said: “The competition has made teaching the Applied Engineering course easier. No need to try and motivate pupils! No more missed teacher deadlines, no more excuses! Just clear evidence available for their Applied GCSEs, a practical ‘real engineering’ project. Pupils can see why they are doing the work, appreciate the need to work in teams and individually, as well as communicating with a variety of people at all levels.”

As part of the Applied GCSE engineering course at Sandhill View School, the pupils are required to produce an engineered product. In association with the City of Sunderland College, Gary attended a presentation by Heather Hawthorne on the Jaguar F1 Team in Schools CAD/CAM Design Challenge.

Gary found that although he would give help when necessary, the group was already identifying their needs. It was no longer a course where he had to dictate every element. Pupils were motivated and competitive, wanting to get to the National Final in London. The teams were committed to producing quality work and products. Instant differentiation was achieved as the more motivated and competitive teams put more effort in and produced better work.

Gary has found, and continues to find, the competition a massive hit with his pupils - he believes that the life skills they have learned, and experiences they have gained, will be with them for the rest of their lives and at the same time they are getting GCSEs. He said: “What we wanted from this project was to raise achievement. The success the pupils have had have been highlighted in school, regionally (in local newspapers), nationally both via the F1 competition final and promotional work and through the DfES breakthrough project - Raising Boys’ Achievement.