Product analysis

Preparation and Planning

You will need ICT access to play Video's and present PowerPoint slides. You will also need to photocopy enough copies of the Student Worksheets used through the lesson. They are each cited in the Lesson Plan grid.

In Episode 3, when the students complete their Product Analysis they will need space to work in groups and will also need ICT to watch Videos. They will need poster paper for both the brainstorm and to produce their final poster. The students that are completing an analysis of camouflage will need to view Slides 22-37. These are best viewed in colour on screen.

To aid preparation you could assign students to a product category in advance of the lesson. This will help to prepare enough Student Worksheets but it does not offer the students freedom to choose their preferred product for analysis.

Episode 5 could be completed as a separate lesson on product development. If you decide to separate this activity then Episode 5 could form their initial brainstorm.

About the MOD Topic

British military combat clothing consists of multiple elements of kit and each item plays a vital role in keeping military personnel safe and comfortable so they can effectively perform their job in extremely varied and challenging environments. Modern military personnel have to be prepared for chemical, biological and nuclear attacks, as well as being protected against the more conventional hazards of bullets, shrapnel and fires. They need to be camouflaged not only in the visible region of the electromagnetic spectrum but also in infrared and thermal spectrums to keep them safe from night sights and image intensifiers.

Clothing must allow the soldiers to perform their duties and stay comfortable in prolonged bouts of physical activity and to remain warm and dry afterwards. As climatic regions change, military personnel are exposed to much more extreme weather conditions and the garments must be weatherproof, durable and comfortable to wear.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) department that has the challenging role of supplying the Armed Forces with their clothing and protective equipment is the Defence Clothing Integrated Project team (DC IPT) which is part of Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S). It is their job to continually listen to service needs, understand climatic regions and the nature of warfare and ensure they are selecting the most technologically advanced and cost effective products.

Head of Defence Clothing team, Colonel Silas Suchanek, says: 'Considerable time, effort and money goes in to ensuring that our troops are provided with excellent kit that allows them to perform to the best of their capability. We continually listen to feedback from our customers - the guys and girls in the field - and work with them to provide modern specialist clothing that is appropriate to the environment they are working in.'
This lesson is focussed on three items of British military combat clothing - helmets, waterproofs and camouflage. The Student Worksheets provide information on each item that you could read in preparation to the lesson. Once the students have completed their product analysis, they then need to work in groups to design an element of combat clothing or a complete outfit for the soldier of the future. The military uniform of the future will entirely depend on the type of wars that are being fought. However, they will need to be multi-functional, fully integrated combat suits and equipped with the latest technology.

Further Opportunities for Learning

Deliver Defence Dynamics Product Evolution lesson to look at how camouflage and other combat kit has evolved since the World Wars.

Complete Episode 5 as a separate product development lesson or project.

Select other items of military clothing for analysis. Research the items on the separate Armed Forces or MOD websites:
http://www.royal-navy.mod.uk/
http://www.army.mod.uk/
http://www.raf.mod.uk/
http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/home

Students could produce their own product specification for the analysed kits or their new designs. They could also complete a more detailed quality assurance test.

Research the uniform requirements for different genders and ethnicities e.g. Sikh's that wear turbans rather than service caps.

Student worksheet answers

Download the teachers notes PDF to access the answers for this lesson.