The Design Process – a reflection to consider

Initial thoughts about starting the technology design challenge were not overly positive ones, I had preconceived ideas which were mostly negative. This is probably a common reaction from teachers who have not had the opportunity to really engage in the process and learn about the benefits for educating students today. We have an ever changing globalised world to educate children in and it’s important that their learning encompasses the best of this and teaches them how to deal with the everyday world they experience in a safe and exciting way. The technology design process does this! Immersing students in a project that excites them and educates them at the same time is powerful. The Design and Technologies and Digital Technologies curriculum focuses on creating students who are active and informed in sustainability, ethics, are socially responsible, can work collaboratively or individually, can critically analyse and think and have the ability to communicate on a number of different levels.

At the beginning of the process the planning phases can be a little arduous and drawn out if the students were to complete them all by themselves, however, it can be made fun and exciting and adapted to suit any age level. Simple planning sheets which are age appropriate could help to alleviate concerns that students may lose focus. I believe the whole design process whilst it has definite stages needs to be a very flexible and open ended process which can allow students to come up with a range of different solutions and ideas to address the initial challenge. Teachers need to make the design challenge age and experience appropriate and relevant to each classes context.

The design challenge process lends itself to both individual and collaborative learning and can easily foster both. Even though a challenge may be presented as individual work, using the peer feedback process involves students in a collaborative learning situation which can be beneficial on a number of levels. Peer feedback allows students to learn from each other, rather than just the teacher. Students will engage in meaningful discussions and provide each other with constructive comments about ways to improve a project whilst also finding the points that have been done well and celebrating successes. However, students still need to include constructive criticism in order to increase learning and engagement. Merely saying that everything is great does not extend learning and thinking and allow for growth in a project. It is important that this learning process is monitored closely to ensure students really understand its purpose and how to effectively and courteously take part in the process.

Taken from: http://technologygroup6.wikispaces.com/Rhiannan

Another critical component in the design process is being able to make informed and educated decision about the final project or solution. Educating students on how to do this gives them tools to be able to reason and justify their decisions, not only in their project but in their everyday decisions. The use of a decision making matrix is a great tool for students to have and use. In my design challenge I used an existing template and used it in a different way to suit my needs. However, throughout my readings and research I came across the following template which I feel provides a perfect example that could easily be incorporated into the classroom for student use.

Taken from: Teepee Consulting. (2011) Higher Order Thinking for Gifted and Talented Students. [Powerpoint Slides]. Retrieved from https://moodle.cqu.edu.au/mod/page/view.php?id=13721.

Overall the technology design process provides students with immense benefits in their learning but does require teachers to adjust their teaching pedagogies. Teachers become more of a facilitator rather than dictator. Students need to be allowed to explore and investigate to create their own learning. Teachers will be required to carry out more forward planning to ensure the resources that students may need are available and depending on their imaginations and creativity this could be a lot or a little. Teachers will also have to adjust to the type of environment that students need in order to be creative, it may not always be an ordered, tidy classroom that facilitates creativity! For me this will be challenge in itself. It is important to allow students the freedom to explore and create their own understandings, and to experiment with this new found knowledge in order to learn how it is relevant to their world and can help them to create a better and more sustainable community. The answers will be in the solutions they uncover throughout their explorations.