While our Lower School is actively trying on design thinking in a variety of ways, our Middle School is also starting to work with design thinking in several classrooms.
6th Grade: Digital Foundations Class
Most notably, a new course was rolled out this year in our Middle School wherein all 6th graders will obtain exposure to the design thinking process with specific instruction on the process itself as well as the opportunity to engage with the process with a major project. We will share the details about this when we get closer to the time when the classes are engaged in design thinking in a more intensive manner.
8th Grade: ROV Project
Some of our 8th graders are in a class that has an intriguing first project: they are going to build a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) that will operate in the water upon completion. This project presents a nice window into design thinking for our middle school students as it is both "tight" (defined parameters) and "loose" (student choice and decision making are essential).
The ROVs come in a boxed kit that have tons of parts and interesting tidbits, but zero instructions. The students work in teams to figure out the purpose of the various components and to also determine the best way to build out the ROV given the supplies they have. This emphasizes the brainstorming component of design thinking - students tossed out all manner of ideas about where the project would end up. The students also had to mentally engage in designing the outcome mentally before they began building things out. They did some diagramming and a lot of thinking and discussing about options for their ROVs. After that, the students began creating the ROV, building it out with their team. In a few days, the students will move to the test phase where they will put the ROV through its paces and determine if their design works. If it does, they will move on to share the ROV with a larger audience - if their design does not work, the students will return to brainstorming, designing, and creating phases until they land upon a successful modification to their original designs.
When I observed the class, the students were highly and deeply engaged in the ROV process. They were easily able to articulate what they were doing, the purpose behind it, and how they came up with their ideas. Here are a couple of photos:
7th Grade: LEGO Project
Some of our 7th graders are involved in a course wherein the students are building basic robots that will automate a particular task or function for the student. This is a two-pronged project that involves the students physically building out the machine and also programming the robot's activities.
The teacher, Ryan Griggs, wanted to ensure that the project was not "closed ended", or in other words, he wanted to ensure students had to think through the options and come up with their own function and outcomes. As such, he removed the pre-determined kit functions and handed over large boxes of parts and pieces to students, and gave them the option to create all manner of movements. Each group ended up focusing on different possible outcomes, ranging from having a robot pick up a can of soda and bringing it to you to being able to turn pages in a book.
Students obviously engaged in brainstorming as they considered the parts and pieces in their kits, as well as determining the work of the robot. They then had to mentally map out the design with their teammates before they began the process of creating the final product (programming and building). In the coming days they will begin testing their designs, at which point they may return to the earlier steps of the process or move on to share their successful design.
The students were again highly engaged and very active when I observed them in class! Here they are in the design phase, trying to figure out how they would build out the physical aspect of the robot:
