Introduction​​​​

This guide for teachers explains how to supervise a design project for children in school years 4, 5, 6; that is 9 to 11-year-old children, which we group together and name ‘Level II.’ Note that we do not use the phrase ‘design thinking’ as this level, we simply say ‘design.’ As school children mature through the first six years of school, the design curriculum evolves beyond mere creativity and making, into a forum for useful problem-solving. Children extend their general knowledge as they learn about their design topics; their motor skills are trained as they sketch their ideas and make things using basic hand tools; and their blossoming communication skills come in to play as they collaborate on design challenges.
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To teach design is to teach the process of designing. The children learn how to design by doing. At the start of a design task, the teacher will set a common Design Topic for the entire class from the range of options to be found in the Design Thinking for Schools website. Whether it is a game, a mechanical device, or a dream house, 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 children-designers to be inspired and learn from each other. Learning-by-doing while following the steps of the design process will give the children a mental model of how to design. While some children will inevitably do better than others, the goal is to raise everyone’s confidence in designing. Level II students will be able to work on projects individually or in teams, depending on the design topic. The figure below shows the design steps for Level II children. They are: LEARN, DRAW, MAKE, and TRY.

FIGURE: The design steps, Level II.

The figure below shows the teacher’s role when supervising Level II design in class. It begins with PREP, when the teacher prepares the design task; followed by the LEARN, DRAW, MAKE, and TRY design steps; and ends with POST, for the teacher to assess and mark the student design work.


 

FIGURE: The teacher’s role, Level II.

PREP

Plan a design task in advance. Will the children work in the classroom or at home? Should they work individually or in groups? Should the classroom desks be re-arranged for the children to work in groups? What sources of information will they use to learn about the topic? Where will they store their work-in-progress, especially their models? Consider too, the expected outcomes, what will the children-designers have to show at the end of the design task? You may even organise a show at the end of the design task for the children to exhibit their finished work to their parents and teachers. Stationery, materials, and tools are discussed below. Print The Design Steps Poster (II) and display it in your class to familiarise the children-designers with the design steps for Level II.

Schedule
Each Design Topic handout for students indicates how long it should take to complete. Design tasks for children at Level II can take from half a day (1 session), to one week (5 sessions) to complete, depending on the topic. Children at this level can focus on one topic for a limited period of time. The figure below will help you schedule a design task, it shows the approximate time needed for each design step for Level II.

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FIGURE: Time schedule, Level II.

Introduce the design task
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. Once you have chosen a design topic, continue here to introduce the design task to your Level I students:

Explain the design topic

• Discuss ‘design.’
  • Explore the meaning of the verb, to design. Ask the students to define design.
  • One possible definition is “to come up with something that makes our world better.”
  • Ask questions: “What things are designed?” “Who designs?”
• Distribute the What is Design? (II) handout.
  • Discuss the handout.
  • Discuss the questions from the handout.
• Introduce the Design Topic* by reading it aloud in class.
  • Explain and discuss the design topic.
  • Explain the outcomes: “At the end, you will have a…”

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

Explain the design steps

• Show The Design Steps Poster (II).
• “LEARN, DRAW, MAKE, and TRY are the steps that you take to design something.”
  • “First, you LEARN about the design topic.”
  • “Then you DRAW as many ideas as you can.”
  • “Then you MAKE a model of your design idea.”
  • “Finally, you TRY your design idea to see if it works or not.”
  • “By following these steps, we can work alone or in a group to design things and solve many kinds of problems.”
  • (Note that there will be plenty of opportunities for the teacher to recap the design steps as the students work on the design task.)
• Show the About the Handouts for Students (II) handout.
  • It shows which handout is for which design thinking stage.
  • 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 (II) handout.
  • The children should get the items listed.
  • They are sufficient for designing.
  • They do not include materials and tools for the MAKE step, as those vary according to the design topic.​​​​​​​