Planning and Designing Wind Farms

This lesson is designed to build students’ competencies in the following skills:

• creative thinking
• critical thinking
• collaboration
• problem-solving
• prototyping

Australian Curriculum (v9.0) content description: Year 9 & 10, Design and Technologies

Students learn to:

• analyse how people in design and technologies occupations consider ethical, security and sustainability factors to innovate and improve products, services and environments (AC9TDE10K01)
• analyse the impact of innovation, enterprise and emerging technologies on designed solutions for global preferred futures (AC9TDE10K02)
• analyse and make judgements on how the characteristics and properties of materials are combined with force, motion and energy to control engineered systems (AC9TDE10K03).

Relevant parts of Year 9 & 10 achievement standards: Students can explain how people consider factors that impact on design decisions and the technologies used to design and produce products, services and environments for sustainable living. They explain the contribution of innovation, enterprise skills and emerging technologies to global preferred futures. Students can justify their decisions against developed design criteria that include sustainability. They communicate solutions to a range of audiences, including using digital tools.

NSW Syllabus outcomes: 

• evaluates designed solutions that consider preferred futures, the principles of appropriate technology, and ethical and responsible design (DT5-5)
• develops and evaluates creative, innovative and enterprising design ideas and solutions (DT5-6)

General capabilities: Critical and Creative Thinking

Cross-curriculum priority: Sustainability 

Level of teacher scaffolding: Medium: facilitate discussion around interpreting and analysing data around the location of turbines and layout.

UN SDG 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation

• Target 9.1: Develop quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure, including regional and transborder infrastructure, to support economic development and human well-being, with a focus on affordable and equitable access for all.

• Considerations in Wind Farm Design Factsheet
• Device capable of displaying audiovisual material
• Student devices for individual research
• Student Worksheet
• Visual Explainer
• Wind Farm Case Study Factsheet

This lesson has been developed in partnership with the Queensland Government through Queensland's Clean Energy Workforce Roadmap. Cool.org would like to acknowledge and express our gratitude to the Clean Energy Council for the expertise and advice provided in creating these resources.

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