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February 2023

The following report gives feedback to assist assessors with general issues and trends that have been identified during external moderation of the Level 3 internally assessed Design and Visual Communication standards in 2022. It also provides further insights from moderation material viewed throughout the year and outlines the Assessor Support available for Design and Visual Communication.

Contents

• Insights
• Assessor Support
• Contact NZQA

Insights

91628: Develop a visual presentation that exhibits a design outcome to an audience

This standard requires students to exhibit a design outcome that has been developed with consideration of an audience, graphic composition and a selected space.

The standard was able to be met when evidence included an analysis of the exhibition space, how a potential audience would move through the exhibition space and would interact with the presentation, and how this informed the development of the presentation.

Evidence is required of researching existing presentation modes and compositions that will inform the development of the student’s own graphic compositions (and/or models, digital or physical).

Students who met the standard requirements showed the development of a product or spatial design to a final presentation. Collected evidence shows research of existing presentation modes and compositions that inform the development of the student’s own graphic compositions (and/or models, digital or physical). Providing the presentation without the development meant that the standard could not be achieved.

Evidence is required of the presentation in the exhibition space (preferably with an audience). Lacking this evidence is the main contributor to not achieving the standard.

Presentations that use animations need to consider how the audience would access and interact with the screen/monitor to view the animation.

For reading clarity, if assessment evidence is converted to a digital format it should be scanned at 300dpi or higher, edited for contrast, cropped and aligned before saving as PDF. The same applies to photographs of the presentation in the exhibition space.

91629: Resolve a spatial design through graphics practice

This standard requires students to analyse a spatial design context to identify opportunities and constraints informing the design brief and the development.

The development consists of exploration and refining of spatial design ideas through graphics practice, and showing understanding of spatial design knowledge.

Students were successful in this standard by identifying a potential site and considering the prevailing climate (rainfall, wind, sunshine, etc.), topography and potential aspect (positioning of the spatial design relative to the view, climatic conditions and access), and establishing the potential opportunities and constraints.

Students were better informed of spatial design knowledge by research into existing spatial design, architects and designers, materials, construction, and spatial design visual communication modes.

The successful students followed this research to generate potential initial ideas, and selected a preferred option which was explored and refined through progressive variations of both the interior and the exterior while addressing the brief, and the identified opportunities and constraints.

Students who were not successful generated only ideation or initial ideas, then proceeded to describe the interior and/or the exterior.

For higher grades, the consideration of wider environmental conditions and human factors related to the design context is required. Effective examples include explaining floor plans and their use such as bedrooms, kitchens, bathrooms, etc. Further evidence includes locating the spatial design on a site and illustrating access, views, the effect of climate, neighbouring buildings, trees and parks.

91630: Resolve a product design through graphics practice

This standard requires students to analyse a product design context to identify opportunities and constraints that will inform the design brief and the development. The development consists of exploration and refining product design ideas through graphics practice and showing understanding of product design knowledge.

Students were successful in this standard by identifying a potential need and considering the potential users, possible advantages being sought, and ergonomics (the interface between the user and the product) to establish the potential opportunities and constraints.

Students were better informed when seeking a potential need by research into existing solutions, manufacturing and assembly, and product design visual communication modes.

The successful students followed this by generating potential initial ideas, then selected a preferred option which was explored and refined through progressive variations while addressing the brief and the identified opportunities and constraints.

Students who were not successful generated only ideation or initial ideas, then proceeded to describe the form of the product.

For higher grades, evidence is required of the consideration of wider environmental conditions and human factors related to the design context. This includes the awareness and application of ergonomics showing how the product will be used. The inclusion of consideration and communication of the products operation and its assembly should be evident to reach higher grades.

Assessor Support

Online

NZQA’s learning management system (Pūtake) offers 150+ easy to access courses, materials and products. These are designed to support teachers as assessors to improve their assessment of NCEA standards. 

Online, subject-specific, bite-sized learning modules and short courses are now available to complement the traditional face-to-face workshops that NZQA offers. These online courses can be accessed using your Education Sector Logon. Courses available for Design and Visual Communication include:

• Developmental phases in graphics practice
• 91069: Promote an organised body of design work to an audience using visual communication techniques

Online Making Assessor Judgements workshops are also available throughout the year. These workshops are structured to guide teachers to improve their understanding of each grade level by examining several full samples of student work. The following standards are available for enrolment in 2023:

• 91341: Develop a spatial design through graphics practice
• 91342: Develop a product design through graphics practice
• 91343: Use visual communication techniques to compose a presentation of a design

Feedback from teachers for these workshops indicates that more than 90% of participants agreed or strongly agreed that the content in the module was beneficial:

“This would be a really good department exercise to do in a meeting before marking the standard.”

“I found reading and analysing the extracts for evidence against level 8 in the curriculum very useful.”

In 2023, Design and Visual Communication teacher-assessors will have the opportunity to participate in the Phase Two pilot for the Assessor Practice Tool, which enables assessors to practice making judgements on up to ten samples of student evidence per standard. Once assessors have assigned a grade, they will receive immediate feedback from a moderation panel on their judgement. NZQA are piloting the Assessor Practice Tool with the following standards for Design and Visual Communication:

• AS91629: Resolve a spatial design through graphics practice
• AS91630: Resolve a product design through graphics practice

The Assessor Practice Tool will be used to provide assessors with support for the new NCEA standards from 2024 onwards. Schools will receive further information about Phase Two of the Assessor Practice Tool in early 2023.

NZQA will continue to offer several non-subject-specific modules and workshops, designed to improve general assessment practice. The following modules and workshops will be available in 2023:

Assessment Approaches, an online workshop exploring different methods of assessment

• Culturally Responsive Assessment
• Assessment Guidance – Reviewing Your Practice
• Tāku reo, tāku mahi – My voice, my work, a guide to managing authenticity
• Why Less is More, a guide to reducing volumes of student evidence

We will also continue to run the Transforming Assessment Praxis programme, an online workshop relevant to all subjects which helps assessors learn about re-contextualising assessment resources and collecting evidence in different ways, in order to better meet the needs of students.

Check the NCEA subject pages on the NZQA website regularly, as more online modules, workshops and courses will be added throughout 2023.

Live and Face-to-face

The Best Practice Workshops (online and face-to-face) offered by Assessment and Moderation continue to be viewed by the sector as significantly contributing to improved assessor practice:

“The workshop helped to review my own knowledge, and great to share ideas."

“It was great having time to challenge my thinking in assessment."

Workshops, webinars, or presentation slots can be requested to provide targeted support to local, regional or national audiences. National Moderators are available to present at conferences, local or national hui or via live webinars. These services are available on request and subject to availability.

Contact NZQA

More detailed information, including how to request or register for a workshop or online course, can be found on our Assessor Support pages or by emailing workshops@nzqa.govt.nz.

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