I’ve seen some use of the design process at my fieldwork placement this semester. In the Creative Crafts course I’ve been observing, students begin with a project focused around a particular skill. For their first project, students take a large sheet of construction paper and use either yarn or embroidery floss to sew a design into it. First students ask a question such as, “What is the criteria for the project?” “What type of design do I want to make?” “How can I best make something aesthetically interesting using these materials?” Next they begin imagining how to answer these questions, this may include research into other sewing related art, or into designs they may want to use. Next they begin prototyping by sketching out their designs in pencil onto the paper, keeping in mind the final material will be thread.
Then the students begin sewing the thread into the paper, following their sketches [building]. After each class they will evaluate their progress, and decide whether or not certain aspects of the project are working. If parts of their work needs to be revised they will circle back to the asking stage, followed by imagining how to fix it, prototyping the solution, and building more until the entirety of the project is complete. Once finished, students show their completed piece to the teacher and then reflect on their work in a self-assessment sheet, but they are never given the opportunity to share out with the class as a whole which I see as a missed opportunity. The next project then builds on the previous, sort of creating a semester long design cycle.
December 10, 2018 at 1:43 pm
That bulletin board with the design process is fabulous! It really seems to capture a lot of attention while setting a clear example as to how/what the project will be!
December 20, 2018 at 1:33 am
I too observed at Pioughkeepsie High School and I have to say I’m quite jealous I didn’t get to see this project they were working on. These yarn art projects are wonderful and would be so intriguing to try and make. It was pretty cool that after we learned about Design Thinking I fully realized how much this template is used throughout schools and their lessons. I believe I noticed this teacher had some posters up that resembled Deign Thinking process as well, teaching kids about how to come up with a project and go through with it lastly questioning how you can build upon it.
December 20, 2018 at 1:33 am
*Poughkeepsie