Creativity and innovation--innovative design process. The student takes an active role in learning by using a design process to solve authentic problems for a local or global audience, using a variety of technologies.
Knowledge and Skills Statement
Further Explanation
The further explanation is designed to be a resource for educators that helps them better understand the topic their students are learning. Further explanations may be written at a more complex level than would be expected for students at the grade level.
Design Thinking Process:
Design Thinking is a creative and user-centered design methodology that provides a solution-based approach to solving problems. In the provided design thinking process—a simplified five-stage process, the steps can follow any specific order, can occur in parallel, and can be repeated iteratively.
1) The first stage of the design thinking process is to empathize with the motivations and the needs of the users or individuals impacted by the product or solution.
2) The goal of the define stage, the second stage, is to identify the problem and interpret the research results.
3) Ideation, the third stage of the process, is a creative process where designers generate ideas to address the problem identified in the define stage.
4) In the fourth stage, designers turn ideas into prototypes or simplified versions of potential solutions or products.
5) In the final stage, designers or evaluators test the complete product or solution using the best solutions identified during the prototyping phase. Designers may return to previous stages to make further iterations, alterations, and refinements.
The stages can be understood as different modes that contribute to a project rather than sequential steps. This process is often used in conjunction with the engineering design and computational thinking process within STEM careers.
Solution-Based Approach to Problem-Solving:
A solutions-based approach focuses on identifying and implementing specific solutions to address a problem. The solutions-based approach encourages students to consider multiple solutions to problems. Starting in grade 2, students will consider multiple solutions when solving a problem. Other methodological approaches used in industry to solve a problem include analytical, creative, systems thinking, agile problem-solving, trial and error, root cause analysis, and heuristic approach.
Demonstrated Proficiency
Ask students to solve a problem using a design process. Assist them with prompts for the empathy and ideation steps. Ask students to storyboard a solution [prototype] and explain their solution to the class.
Example:
Problem
I want to get a pet, but it needs a special home to live in when I am here at school.
Empathy prompts
- What do I need to know about the pet to find the right home for it?
- Do I need to know its size to find the right home for it?
- Do I need to know if it likes to be warm or cold?
- What else do I need to know about this pet to know what it's house should look like?
Definition prompts
- Let's review what we know about this pet now. Tell me one thing we know.
Ideation prompts
- What ideas do you have about what the home should include for an animal that <summarize the pet's details that have been discussed>?
Prototype prompts (Storyboard):
Draw what this pet's house should look like and what might be in it. Tell me about your solution.
Note:
Record the answers to the empathy and definition questions where students can view them when working on their prototype.