Introduction​​​​

This guide for teachers explains how to supervise a design thinking project for students in school years 7, 8, 9; that is 12 to 14-year-old students, which we group together and name ‘Level III.’ Design thinking projects are forums for Level III students to extend their general knowledge by exploring topics in depth; they discuss their projects and negotiate amongst themselves to make decisions; their creativity is enhanced as they collaboratively solve problems; their motor skills are refined with ever more complicated building; their advanced communication skills come in to play as they investigate, solicit advice, and collaborate on design challenges; and they experience the ups and downs of any endeavour that involves experimentation and risk taking.

To teach design at this level is to teach the design thinking process. The students learn by doing. Thus, we do not teach a student how to design a specific thing, we teach them how to design anything. At the start of a design project, the teacher sets a common Design Topic for the entire class from the range of options to be found in the Design Thinking for Schools website, whether a pinhole camera, a basic robot, or urban furniture, or a topic set by the teacher. Having the whole class work on a common design topic is easier to manage, and it allows the student-designers to be inspired and learn from each. Such a classroom will be buzzing with activity, friendly competition, and the open exchange of ideas. Learning-by-doing while following the design thinking stages will give the students a mental model of the route to success when designing. Some students will inevitably enjoy more success at doing a design project than others. The goal is to raise everyone’s confidence in designing. Level III students will be able to work on projects individually or in teams, depending on the design topic. The figure below shows the design thinking stages for Level III students. They are: UNDERSTAND, DECIDE, CREATE, BUILD, and TEST.

FIGURE: The design thinking stages, Level III.

​​​​​​The figure below shows the teacher’s role when supervising Level III design in class. It begins with PREP, when the teacher prepares the design task; followed by the UNDERSTAND, DECIDE, CREATE, BUILD, and TEST design thinking stages; and ends with POST for the teacher to assess and mark the student design work.

FIGURE: The teacher’s role, Level III.

PREP

Plan a design thinking project in advance. What would be a suitable design topic? Where will the student-designers work? Consider whether they will work in the classroom or at home, and whether they will work individually or in groups. What sources of information will they use for desk research? How will they do field research? Where will they store their work-in-progress? If they are to work in teams in the classroom, then how to arrange the space for best results? Consider too, the expected outcomes; what will the students have to show at the end of the project? Where possible, try to organise a show at the end of the project for the student-designers to exhibit their finished projects to their parents and teachers. (Note: Stationery, materials, and equipment are discussed below.) Print The Design Thinking Stages Poster (III) and display it in your class to familiarise the student-designers with the design thinking stages for Level III.

Schedule
​​​​​Each Design Topic handout for students indicates how long the project should take to complete. Design thinking projects for students at Level III can take from half a day (1 session), to one week (5 sessions), up to one semester (15 to 30 sessions) to complete, depending on the topic. Students at this level can maintain focus and work on a single design topic for a prolonged period of time. The teacher schedules the design task according to the school timetable. The figure below will help you schedule a design project, it shows the approximate time needed for each design stage for Level III.

FIGURE: Time schedule, Level III.

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To begin
If you want to do a design project in your class but are unsure how to begin, return to the checklist at this page: Teach Design in Your Class, and then choose a Design Topic for your level of student.

Introduce the design topic

• Discuss ‘design.’
  • Explore the meaning of the verb, to design. Ask the students to define design.
  • One possible definition is “acting to improve something in our world.” What do the students think of that definition?
  • Ask questions: “What kinds of things are designed?” “Who designs?” “What kinds of professions do design?” “What are the benefits of design?” “Can you think of any drawbacks to design?”
• Discuss the What is Design Thinking? (III) handout.
  • Discuss the handout.
  • Discuss the questions from the handout.
• Introduce the Design Topic* by reading from the handout.
  • Explain and discuss the design topic.
  • Explain the outcomes: “At the end, you will have a…”
  • Explain how the design thinking project will be assessed and marked. See the Assessing and Marking Level III guide for teachers for information.

(* The design topic that the teacher has set for the students.)

Explain the design thinking stages

• Show The Design Thinking Stages Poster (III).
• The design thinking stages are: UNDERSTAND, DECIDE, CREATE, BUILD, and TEST. The student-designers will follow these stages in this design project. (Note that we use the word, ‘stage,’ to describe the steps to Level III students.)
  • “First, we try to UNDERSTAND the design topic and what people need;
  • then we DECIDE what is and what is not necessary for the thing that we are designing;
  • then we CREATIVELY come up with many ideas to solve the design problem;
  • then we BUILD a model of the thing that we are designing;
  • finally, we TEST what we have designed to see whether it works or not.”
  • “Design thinking can be used to design many types of things or to solve many kinds of problems. Design thinking can be done by individual designers, but it works best when it is done by a group working together.”
  • (Note that there will be plenty of opportunities for the teacher to recap the design thinking stages as the students progress through the design project.)
• Discuss the About the Handouts for Students (III) handout.
  • It shows which handout is for which design thinking stage.
  • There are handouts for students for four of the design stages. The build stage does not have a handout.
  • Explain that handouts for students guide them at different stages of the design task, “to help you design better.” They may keep this handout together with their notes.
• Explain the Stationery for Designing (III).
  • The students should get the items listed.
  • They are sufficient for designing.
  • They do not include materials and equipment for the BUILD stage, as those vary according to the design topic.