Curriculum / Electronics Design / Task sheets

Student task sheets

Sixteen task sheets, one for each assessed strand, printable as a set on A4 landscape. The content comes from Plans/assessments-g10.md. All sixteen are complete, so nothing here is a placeholder, but the band ladders and tips are written rather than sourced from a rubric and the statement of inquiry is a draft. Sheets are not linked from the unit page yet.

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ManageBac

Ai / Criterion A, Inquiring and analysing

Show that they need this

Statement of inquiry

Designers develop new functions by making devices that sense, decide and act for the people who need them.

Key concept
Development
Related concepts
Function, Innovation
Global context
Scientific and Technical Innovation
Time
2 classes
Worked
On your own
  1. 1Choose your client, then research with AI
  2. 2Laptops closed, write it by hand
Do2 classes
  • What the situation is now, with at least one piece of evidence you actually collected. Not something you assumed.
  • Why this has to be electronic. What will your device sense, work out, or remember that a person, a sign, or a phone your client already owns cannot do as well?
  • What happens if nobody makes anything. If the honest answer is "not much", you have not found the need yet.
Hand inEnd of class 2, handed in on paper
  • Need Statement, handwritten in class
  • Your research notes from class 1, however you made them.

Where it goes

A photo of your handwritten page to ManageBac, and the paper itself at the end of class 2

GradedAi

“Explains and justifies the need for a solution to a problem for a client/target audience.”

What separates the bands

1-2An incomplete need statement, with no evidence and no justification.
3-4A need statement with limited justification and no evidence you collected yourself.
5-6A need statement with some justification and at least one piece of evidence you collected.
7-8A detailed need statement, fully justified, with your own evidence and a clear argument for why this problem needs electronics.

Tip

Use AI hard in class 1. Ask it to argue against your idea, not just for it.

Tip

Take notes you can write from. In class 2 they are the only thing on your desk.

Tip

Choose a group outside your own grade, then go and ask them. Do not guess what they need.

Tip

Justifying a need means proving it, not asserting it.

Aii / Criterion A, Inquiring and analysing

Planning your research

Statement of inquiry

Designers develop new functions by making devices that sense, decide and act for the people who need them.

Key concept
Development
Related concepts
Function, Innovation
Global context
Scientific and Technical Innovation
Time
1 class
Worked
On your own
Do1 class
  • Put your list in order of priority. Think carefully about the order of your research, which tasks have to happen first, and if something can only be done after something else.
  • What did you give up? Name what you could not afford, and say what could go wrong because you skipped it.
  • A "bench test", budgeted at 3 tokens. It is the only activity that tells you whether your idea is physically possible.
  • A "what this lets me decide" column on every row.
Hand inEnd of class 1
  • 1 page research plan

Where it goes

A PDF of your research plan to ManageBac

GradedAii

“Constructs a detailed research plan, which identifies and prioritizes the primary and secondary research needed to develop a solution to the problem independently.”

What separates the bands

1-2A basic plan that is unlikely to help you develop a device.
3-4A plan that will help you develop parts of your device, in no particular order.
5-6An organised plan, ordered by priority, that will help you develop your device.
7-8A detailed and organised plan, prioritised with reasons, including the bench test, where every row lets you decide something.

Tip

Every row should let you decide something. If it does not, take it off the plan.

Tip

Spend the tokens on the bench test. It's required for a 7-8, and is the only thing that tells you what is physically possible.

Tip

Reading about a sensor is not the same as watching one fail on your desk.

Tip

Write down what you gave up, and what could go wrong because you skipped it.

Aiii / Criterion A, Inquiring and analysing

Take apart four products, without opening them

Statement of inquiry

Designers develop new functions by making devices that sense, decide and act for the people who need them.

Key concept
Development
Related concepts
Function, Innovation
Global context
Scientific and Technical Innovation
Time
3 classes
Worked
On your own
  1. 1One card together, then your first one alone
  2. 2Two more cards
  3. 3The badly designed one, then your summary
Do3 classes
  • What it is, who it is for, what it costs, and how it gets its power.
  • What it must be sensing, and your evidence.
  • What it must be deciding. Look for behaviour a direct wire from input to output could not explain.
  • What it does back, and which output does it.
  • Your block diagram: what goes in, what happens in the middle, what comes out, with real catalog parts named.
  • Power: mains, batteries or rechargeable, and what that choice forced the designer to do.
  • Controls and lights: every button and every indicator, and what a user must already know to use it.
  • One sentence on what you would copy from this product, and what you would leave behind.
Hand inEnd of class 3
  • 4 Black Box Cards and a summary
  • Bring the cards to class for the summary discussion.

Where it goes

Photos of your four cards and a PDF of the summary to ManageBac

GradedAiii

“Analyses a range of existing products that inspire a solution to the problem in detail.”

What separates the bands

1-2An incomplete analysis, of products unlikely to guide your work.
3-4Basic analysis of four products, though not all of them will help guide your work.
5-6Partly detailed analysis of four products, most of which will help guide your work.
7-8Detailed analysis of four products that all guide your work, with a summary that turns them into design implications.

Tip

You may share one product with a classmate, no more.

Tip

Do not open anything. Work out what is inside from how it behaves.

Tip

Name real catalog parts in your block diagrams, not just "a sensor".

Tip

The summary is where the marks are. Four cards and no summary stays at 5-6.

Tool

Build the cards in the Black Box Analyzer, then print the whole set as one PDF.

Aiv / Criterion A, Inquiring and analysing

Write your design brief

Statement of inquiry

Designers develop new functions by making devices that sense, decide and act for the people who need them.

Key concept
Development
Related concepts
Function, Innovation
Global context
Scientific and Technical Innovation
Time
1 class
Worked
On your own
Do1 class
  • A summary of your research, not a repeat of it.
  • Who the client is and what they need, carried over from Ai.
  • What the device must do. This is the row that becomes your specification in Bi.
  • The constraints you already know about: power, size, cost, where it lives.
Hand inEnd of class 1
  • Design Brief, 1 page

Where it goes

A PDF of your brief to ManageBac

GradedAiv

“Develops a detailed design brief, which summarizes the analysis of relevant research.”

What separates the bands

1-2An unfinished brief that does not reference your research.
3-4A basic brief that references your research.
5-6A brief that includes a summary of your research.
7-8A detailed brief that summarises your research and states clearly what the device must do.

Tip

Referencing your research is a requirement, not an option.

Tip

"What the device must do" is the row that carries into Bi. Spend your time there.

Tip

Write about hardware here, not about people. You already did the people in Ai.

Tip

One page. If it runs longer, you are repeating your research instead of summarising it.

Bi / Criterion B, Developing ideas

Write your specification

Statement of inquiry

Designers develop new functions by making devices that sense, decide and act for the people who need them.

Key concept
Development
Related concepts
Function, Innovation
Global context
Scientific and Technical Innovation
Time
1 class
Worked
On your own
Do1 class
  • One row per rule, each written so it can be tested.
  • Numbers wherever a number is possible. Times, distances, durations, counts.
  • The decision rule: what your device works out on its own, without being told.
  • The standalone rule: working on your client's desk, on its own power, with nobody helping it.
  • Where each rule came from in your research.
Hand inEnd of class 1
  • Design Specification, 1 page

Where it goes

A PDF of your specification to ManageBac

GradedBi

“Develops detailed design specifications, which explain the success criteria for the design of a solution based on the analysis of the research.”

What separates the bands

1-2An incomplete set of specifications.
3-4Basic specifications, partly linked to research, some of which can be tested.
5-6Specifications partly linked to relevant research, which can be tested.
7-8Detailed specifications, linked to relevant research and all testable, including the decision rule and the standalone power rule.

Tip

Every rule must be testable. If you cannot describe the test, rewrite the rule.

Tip

Put numbers in. "Fast" is not a specification, "within 2 seconds" is.

Tip

Include the rule about the decision your device makes on its own.

Tip

Include the rule about running on its own power with nobody helping it.

Bii / Criterion B, Developing ideas

Come up with a range of ideas

Statement of inquiry

Designers develop new functions by making devices that sense, decide and act for the people who need them.

Key concept
Development
Related concepts
Function, Innovation
Global context
Scientific and Technical Innovation
Time
3 classes
Worked
On your own
  1. 1Draw cards, make ideas fast
  2. 2Develop and annotate your best six
  3. 3Breadboard tests and the swap
Do3 classes
  • Block diagram. What goes in, what happens in the middle, what comes out, with real catalog parts named.
  • Sketch of the object. Roughly to scale, in the place it will live, next to a hand or a desk for size.
  • Three frame storyboard. What the user does, what the device does back, and what state it is left in.
  • Your notes, explaining how this idea helps your client and pointing at your Bi rules by number, plus one risk.
Hand inEnd of class 3
  • 6 ideas + 2 breadboard tests
  • A photo or short video of each breadboard test, with a note on what it proved.

Where it goes

Photos of all six idea sheets to ManageBac

GradedBii

“Develops a range of feasible design ideas, using an appropriate medium(s) and detailed annotation, which can be correctly interpreted by others.”

What separates the bands

1-2Fewer than six complete ideas, with messy drawings and few notes.
3-4Six ideas with drawings and some notes.
5-6Six ideas with clean block diagrams, sketches and notes.
7-8Six well developed ideas with clean diagrams, storyboards and dense notes, plus two breadboard tests that prove the risky parts work.

Tip

Write far more notes than you think you need. You are explaining the idea to someone who is not you.

Tip

Use a ruler and drawing tools. Neat drawings are easier to annotate.

Tip

Build only the risky part on the breadboard. Twenty minutes is enough to kill a bad idea.

Tip

Six genuinely different ideas, not one idea in six colours.

Biii / Criterion B, Developing ideas

Choose one design and defend it

Statement of inquiry

Designers develop new functions by making devices that sense, decide and act for the people who need them.

Key concept
Development
Related concepts
Function, Innovation
Global context
Scientific and Technical Innovation
Time
2 classes
Worked
On your own
  1. 1Run the three checks
  2. 2Scoring table and writing
Do2 classes
  • Why your chosen design wins, pointing at your Bi rules by number.
  • The argument against it. What does it do worse than the ideas you rejected? What are you giving up?
  • What you took from the rejected ideas and moved into the final one.
  • What is still unsolved, including any check you have not passed, and how the build will deal with it.
Hand inEnd of class 2
  • Checks, scoring table, reasons
  • If you are asking for a board other than the SuperMini, submit that argument here too.

Where it goes

A PDF of your checks, table and reasons to ManageBac

GradedBiii

“Presents the chosen design and justifies fully and critically its selection with detailed reference to the design specification.”

What separates the bands

1-2A choice with little or no reasoning behind it.
3-4A choice with basic reasons, and no argument against it.
5-6A choice justified against your specification, with some argument against it.
7-8A choice justified in full against your specification by number, with the strongest case against it, and what you carried over from the ideas you rejected.

Tip

Point at your Bi rules by number. Vague praise scores nothing.

Tip

Write the argument against your own choice. Leaving it out caps you at 5-6.

Tip

Say what you took from the ideas you rejected, and where it went.

Tip

If you want a board other than the SuperMini, make that case here with the three checks.

Biv / Criterion B, Developing ideas

Draw everything you need to build it

Statement of inquiry

Designers develop new functions by making devices that sense, decide and act for the people who need them.

Key concept
Development
Related concepts
Function, Innovation
Global context
Scientific and Technical Innovation
Time
3 classes
Worked
On your own
  1. 1Block diagram, circuit diagram, wiring list
  2. 2State diagram and code plan
  3. 3Case, parts list, requirements, test points
Do3 classes
  • Block diagram, circuit diagram and a wiring list.
  • A state diagram and a code plan.
  • Case drawings with measurements, and a parts list with real part numbers.
  • Requirements for making it, and the test points you will use to check it works.
Hand inEnd of class 3
  • Production Pack, 6 to 9 pages
  • The pack must be signed off by Mr. K before build class 1.

Where it goes

A single PDF of the whole pack to ManageBac

GradedBiv

“Develops accurate and detailed planning drawings/diagrams and outlines requirements for the creation of the chosen solution.”

What separates the bands

1-2Incomplete drawings and a limited outline of what is needed to build it.
3-4Basic drawings and a general outline of requirements.
5-6Partly accurate and somewhat detailed drawings, with requirements outlined.
7-8Accurate and detailed drawings, including circuit, wiring and state diagrams, with full requirements for building it.

Tip

Someone else has to build from these drawings. Draw for them, not for yourself.

Tip

The state diagram is where most packs are thin. Show every state and what moves between them.

Tip

List real parts with real part numbers, and say when each must be ordered.

Tip

Get signed off before build class 1. An unsigned pack costs you build time.

Ci / Criterion C, Creating the solution

Plan your build

Statement of inquiry

Designers develop new functions by making devices that sense, decide and act for the people who need them.

Key concept
Development
Related concepts
Function, Innovation
Global context
Scientific and Technical Innovation
Time
1 class
Worked
On your own
Do1 class
  • Your critical path, marked. The chain of tasks that decides your finish date.
  • Order deadlines. Anything you buy, print or send to a machine gets a class number by which it must be started.
  • A "finished when" on every row. If a task has no finish condition, nobody can follow it.
  • A backup plan on every critical path row.
Hand inEnd of class 1
  • Build Plan, both versions

Where it goes

A PDF of both versions, before and after the swap test, to ManageBac

GradedCi

“Constructs a detailed and logical plan, which describes the efficient use of time and resources, sufficient for peers to be able to follow to create the solution.”

What separates the bands

1-2A plan too incomplete for anyone else to follow.
3-4A basic plan, with some tasks and rough timings.
5-6A logical plan with timings and resources, which a classmate could mostly follow.
7-8A detailed and logical plan with a marked critical path, order deadlines, a finished-when on every row and a backup on every critical row, which a classmate can follow without asking you anything.

Tip

Mark the critical path. It is the chain that decides your finish date.

Tip

Every row needs a finished-when. "Work on the case" is not a task.

Tip

Put an order deadline on anything you have to buy, print or send to a machine.

Tip

Do the swap test honestly. What your partner cannot follow is what you have to fix.

Cii / Criterion C, Creating the solution

Show real technical skill

Statement of inquiry

Designers develop new functions by making devices that sense, decide and act for the people who need them.

Key concept
Development
Related concepts
Function, Innovation
Global context
Scientific and Technical Innovation
Time
During the build classes
Worked
On your own
DoDuring the build classes
  • Three skills, shown in depth, from at least two different areas.
  • Photographs of the work in progress, not only the finished part.
  • A first attempt beside the fixed version, where something went wrong.
  • An entry at the end of every build class.
Hand inEvery build class
  • Making Log, 3 skills in depth
  • Photos of the work itself, not just of the finished part.

Where it goes

Your making log to ManageBac, updated at the end of every build class

GradedCii

“Demonstrates excellent technical skills when making the solution.”

What separates the bands

1-2Poor technical skill in making your device.
3-4Satisfactory technical skill in making your device.
5-6Competent technical skill in making your device.
7-8Excellent technical skill, shown through three skills in depth from at least two different areas.

Tip

Three skills in depth beats ten touched lightly.

Tip

Use at least two different areas. Ten classes at the printer is not a build.

Tip

Photograph the work as you go, including the attempts that failed.

Tip

Write the log at the end of every build class, not at the end of the unit.

Ciii / Criterion C, Creating the solution

Follow your plan and finish it

Statement of inquiry

Designers develop new functions by making devices that sense, decide and act for the people who need them.

Key concept
Development
Related concepts
Function, Innovation
Global context
Scientific and Technical Innovation
Time
End of the build classes
Worked
On your own
DoEnd of the build classes
  • It does what your specification says, including the decision it makes on its own.
  • It runs on its own power, with no laptop connected, for as long as your specification claims.
  • It is in a case, or deliberately open and neat, with every board fixed down and nothing loose.
  • Every button and every light is labelled, in words your client can read.
  • There is a way to turn it on and off.
  • The wiring is tidy enough to repair, and connectors unplug instead of being cut.
  • A one page user sheet: what it does, how to start it, what each light or sound means, and what to do when it stops.
Hand inLast build class
  • The finished device
  • The device itself, demonstrated in class and working on its own power.

Where it goes

Photos of the finished device and a PDF of your user sheet to ManageBac

GradedCiii

“Follows the plan to create the solution, which functions as intended and is presented appropriately.”

What separates the bands

1-2A device that does not follow the plan and does not work.
3-4A device that follows the plan loosely and works with several problems.
5-6A device that follows the plan and works with few problems.
7-8A device that follows the plan, does what your specification says including its own decision, runs on its own power, and is finished well enough to hand to your client.

Tip

Test it on its own power, with no laptop attached, before you call it finished.

Tip

Label every button and every light in words your client can read.

Tip

Connectors should unplug, not be cut. You will need to repair it.

Tip

Write the one page user sheet as if you will not be there to explain anything.

Civ / Criterion C, Creating the solution

Explain every change you made

Statement of inquiry

Designers develop new functions by making devices that sense, decide and act for the people who need them.

Key concept
Development
Related concepts
Function, Innovation
Global context
Scientific and Technical Innovation
Time
Ongoing, every build class
Worked
On your own
DoOngoing, every build class
  • Every change, dated, in the class it happened.
  • The trigger. What went wrong, or what you found out.
  • The options you considered, not just the one you chose.
  • What the change cost you somewhere else.
Hand inEvery build class
  • Change Log, dated

Where it goes

Your change log to ManageBac, updated at the end of every build class

GradedCiv

“Fully justifies changes made to the chosen design and plan when making the solution.”

What separates the bands

1-2Few changes recorded, with no reasons given.
3-4Many changes recorded, with only some reasons.
5-6Many changes recorded, most with a trigger and a reason.
7-8Every change recorded and dated, each with its trigger, the options you considered, and what it cost you elsewhere.

Tip

Write the entry the day the change happens. Logs written later are obvious.

Tip

Every entry needs a trigger. Something made you change it.

Tip

Name the options you considered, not just the one you picked.

Tip

Say what the change cost you somewhere else. That is what full justification means.

Di / Criterion D, Evaluating

Design your tests

Statement of inquiry

Designers develop new functions by making devices that sense, decide and act for the people who need them.

Key concept
Development
Related concepts
Function, Innovation
Global context
Scientific and Technical Innovation
Time
2 classes
Worked
On your own
  1. 1Give every rule a test
  2. 2Build the test sheets
Do2 classes
  • A test for every rule in your specification.
  • The actual test sheets, written out and ready to use.
  • Who you are testing with, and when.
  • Both kinds of data: things you count, and things people say.
Hand inEnd of class 2
  • Test Plan + your test sheets
  • Bring printed copies of the sheets to the testing session.

Where it goes

A PDF of the plan and every test sheet to ManageBac

GradedDi

“Designs detailed and relevant testing methods, which generate data, to measure the success of the solution.”

What separates the bands

1-2Testing methods unlikely to generate useful data.
3-4Basic methods which generate some useful data.
5-6Methods which generate useful data for most of your rules.
7-8Detailed methods with the actual test sheets written out, generating useful data for every rule in your specification.

Tip

A question answered yes or no will not tell you much. Ask what happened instead.

Tip

Build the real test sheets now. Naming a method is not designing one.

Tip

Give every rule in your specification a test. A rule with no test cannot be judged.

Tip

Collect numbers and words. You need both to judge a device.

Dii / Criterion D, Evaluating

Test it and judge the results

Statement of inquiry

Designers develop new functions by making devices that sense, decide and act for the people who need them.

Key concept
Development
Related concepts
Function, Innovation
Global context
Scientific and Technical Innovation
Time
2 classes
Worked
On your own
Do2 classes
  • Every rule from your specification, one row each, in order.
  • What test you used, and what data it produced.
  • Met, partly met, or not met, with the evidence beside it.
  • A closing note on where your evidence is thin, and why.
Hand inEnd of class 2
  • Every rule, judged one by one
  • Your completed test sheets, photographed or scanned.

Where it goes

A PDF of your judged specification table to ManageBac

GradedDii

“Critically evaluates the success of the solution against the design specification based on authentic product testing.”

What separates the bands

1-2Few rules judged, with little evidence behind the judgements.
3-4Most rules judged, with limited evidence.
5-6Every rule judged against evidence from testing.
7-8Every rule judged against evidence from real testing, including an honest account of where your evidence is thin.

Tip

Judge every rule, including the ones that failed. Skipping them is obvious.

Tip

A device that works when you use it is not the same as a device that works.

Tip

If you only tested a rule yourself, write that down. Honesty costs nothing here.

Tip

Point at your evidence in every row. A judgement with no evidence is an opinion.

Diii / Criterion D, Evaluating

Say how it could be better

Statement of inquiry

Designers develop new functions by making devices that sense, decide and act for the people who need them.

Key concept
Development
Related concepts
Function, Innovation
Global context
Scientific and Technical Innovation
Time
1 class
Worked
On your own
Do1 class
  • Each improvement traced back to something Dii found.
  • Ranked, most important first, with a reason for the order.
  • One improvement for something that already passed.
Hand inEnd of class 1
  • Improvements, most important first

Where it goes

A PDF of your ranked improvements to ManageBac

GradedDiii

“Explains how the solution could be improved.”

What separates the bands

1-2Improvements listed with no link to your testing.
3-4Improvements with some link to your testing.
5-6Improvements that each point back to something your testing found.
7-8Improvements ranked by importance, each pointing back to your testing, including one for something that already passed.

Tip

Every improvement points back to something Dii actually found.

Tip

Rank them. Most important first, and say why it is first.

Tip

Include one improvement for something that already passed.

Tip

"Make it better" is not an improvement. Say what you would change and why.

Div / Criterion D, Evaluating

What difference did it make?

Statement of inquiry

Designers develop new functions by making devices that sense, decide and act for the people who need them.

Key concept
Development
Related concepts
Function, Innovation
Global context
Scientific and Technical Innovation
Time
2 classes
Worked
On your own
Do2 classes
  • What would you stop doing if you had this?
  • What would you start doing?
  • Who else in this room would notice it, and would they mind?
  • What would annoy you about it by the third week?
  • Who would charge it, or fix it, or switch it back on when it stops?
  • Would you want to keep it? What would have to be true for that?
Hand inEnd of class 2
  • Impact report + demo video
  • The video must show your client using the device in the place it would live.

Where it goes

Your report as a PDF and your 3 minute demo video to ManageBac

GradedDiv

“Explains the impact of the product on the client/target audience.”

What separates the bands

1-2Little explanation of what difference the device made.
3-4A basic explanation of the difference it made, with little evidence.
5-6An explanation of the impact on your client, with evidence from real use.
7-8A detailed explanation of the impact on your client, evidenced by the demo video and their own words, returning to the need you wrote in Ai.

Tip

Film your client using it, in the place it would live, doing the real task.

Tip

Their words matter more than yours. Record what they say.

Tip

Quote your own Ai need statement. That is where the report closes.

Tip

You take the device home at the end, so the video is the only record that it was used.