#design techologies

Portfolio: Design Technologies - Resourcing

There is a large number of generic project ideas and design briefs online for Design Technologies lessons, such as paper planes and sailboats (e.g. http://dadsforcreativity.com/4-activities-to-introduce-young-children-to-prototyping/). However, Design Technologies projects are arguably best defined within a particular school and class context so that they can address real needs. The design process as discussed earlier on the other hand is more generic. The above teaching resource details a comprehensive design process that can be readily applied to the teaching context in any primary school.  

It details three stages and six steps to be followed in the teaching and learning sequence based on the Stanford Design School process:

Portfolio: Design Technologies - Public Media

This 2017 article by teacher Jessica Lahey investigates the process of Design Thinking from an educational perspective. The Australian Curriculum establishes design thinking to be one of three major aspects of Design Technologies, followed by design processes and production processes which are all included in the following definition (http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/technologies/design-and-technologies/structure).

Lahey emphasises design thinking as a process. To her, participation in the process is as much a learning outcome as any final product. In consultation with an executive portfolio director she differentiates four critical stages:

1) Establishing the needs of the end user through interviews (and empathy)

2) Defining and prioritising the specifications (and constraints)

3) Testing ideas through rapid prototyping (rethinking and making required changes)

4) Developing an end product that can be assessed, presented, displayed or put to work

Lahey continues to elaborate on the benefits of design thinking such as high student motivation and engagement, inquiry-based learning, collaborative problem-solving supporting the development of interpersonal skills such as collaboration and empathy, as well as a final often tangible product.

The author concludes with a note of caution, emphasising that design thinking is not just a sequential process but a complex and nuanced approach to teaching and learning that requires expert teachers.