Resource Spotlight: Design and Technology NEA Galleries

Design and Technology Subject Officer Jason Cates introduces a valuable new resource for teachers and learners tackling Non-Exam Assessments.

Both our GCSE and AS/A-Level Design and Technology qualifications are highly practical, and feature a significant Non-Exam Assessment (NEA) element. As a result, we’re often asked for advice and guidance on how to approach these assessments. We want our teachers to feel supported and prepared to deliver this element of our qualifications, so we’ve worked with our Resources Team to create our new NEA Galleries for both GCSE and AS/A-Level.

What are the NEA Galleries?

The NEA Galleries are a collection of snapshots of some high quality, creative and innovative NEAs from Summer 2022. The images illustrate the ‘problem’ identified by the student, and the solution they have developed.

Each NEA is different, and demonstrates how the student has identified a particular problem - normally one that they understand well due to a closeness or interest in the subject.

Our Design and Technology NEAs must include a ’user-centred’ approach to design, so there should be constant reflection on how ideas meet the needs and wants of the end user. Testing should also be evident, ranging from low fidelity modelling when ideas are at initial stages, through to high fidelity modelling with the introduction of CAD and CAM, and rapid prototyping, such as 3D printing.

The practical outcomes require many different materials, and the use of a range of tools, equipment and making processes.

Each of these elements is represented within the NEA Galleries.

Who are the Galleries for?

Our NEA Galleries will be especially useful for teachers who are new to Eduqas. They provide a ‘flavour’ of the types of NEA projects being produced by learners studying our Design and Technology qualifications, including the iterative cycle and the design, development and refinement that occurs to get a solution to its final stage.

Learners themselves will find the Galleries useful too – the work featured will provide inspiration and guidance on what their outcomes could be like.

One thing that both teachers and learners should note however is that none of the Galleries relate to grades – the work featured has not necessarily been chosen because of the standard of the NEA, but as a good example of how learners have approached identifying a problem and developing the solution. Eduqas teachers can find marked exemplar NEAs on our secure website.

How to use the NEA Galleries

Teachers can use the Galleries to stimulate thinking at the early stages of projects. The examples would be particularly useful during the problem identification stage at the start of the NEA, which many learners can find challenging.

They could also be used as inspirational material to show learners how their NEAs could meet the needs, wants and values of the target market, include innovative and creative thinking and employ a range of design strategies.

Our new NEA Galleries are just a small sample of the free resources available on our website – browse our GCSE Design and Technology and AS/A-Level Design and Technology resources pages for much more.