Problem Investigators Tackling Authentic Community Issues Using a Design Thinking Model
Laura Nielsen Emily Sleasman
Emily Sleasman
8 weeks
6-7 year olds
Identify & address school issues
Identify & address community issues
Design thinking model to achieve goals and make a difference
Our Goals for the Unit
Develop awareness & empathy
Our Goals for the Unit
Identify, research & make a plan
Our Goals for the Unit
Work collaboratively with others
Our Goals for the Unit
Use a design thinking model
Our Goals for the Unit
Understand that one person can make a difference
Our Timeframe
Ideate & Prototype
Awareness Weeks 1&2
Weeks 3&4
Inquiry & Research
Weeks 5&6
Share with Community Week 7
Launch & Act
Week 8
Our Design Cycle
Awareness beginning of unit
1.
Watch Ryan’s Well and discuss
2.
Read books
3.
Create Logo
4.
Make badges
5.
Make name tags
6.
Make boxes for problem collection
7.
Announce project to school community
Inquiry - Gathering issues from the community
● 11 Idea Collection Boxes ● 1 week for community to give ideas ● 205 issues gathered ● Buddies and parents interviewed ● Whole group mini investigation take 1 issue through design cycle
This is the most important part!!!
Photo by Peter Miller via Flickr
Sorting & Narrowing Down
Possible
Thick
Impossible
Thin
● Size of Problem ● Sort by topic ● Choose passion topic ● Groups assigned
Research - Finding resources and interviewing experts ●
Brainstorming Sheet
●
Parent Expert Talks
●
Web Searches
●
Library research
Brainstorming ●
What do we need to find out?
●
Resources
●
Interviews
●
Experts
●
Surveys
●
Field trips
How might we...
the power of
Concise, yet open
Bias to action
might
Ideation and Planning ● Worked with team and experts ● Materials list ● Resources acquired ● Drawings
Dear Colin, Hudson and FinnHow nice to be involved in your inquiry. I look forward to discussing these questions with my students this week. Stay tuned for the answers. Kind regards, Ms. Spanjaard and 5IS
Prototyping and Modeling ● ● ● ● ●
The fun part - making and creating Making the idea become a reality Organization and supervision is key! Daily check-ins Workflow lists
Testing and Revising ● Get feedback from peers, teachers and experts ● Tweak ● Ran out of time for this step
Taking Action and Sharing with our Community ● ● ● ● ●
Delivering products Assembly Buddies Report back to experts Author’s Walkabout presenting to parents and school
Reflections on the Unit ● Adult volunteers ● Need more time ● Students felt empowered ● Made a difference
Revising for this year ● Start earlier ● Work through design cycle multiple times ● More adult help
[email protected] [email protected] Q&A