School Design Challenge

Have you ever wondered what school is like on the other side of the world? Well, the students in my 3rd/4th grade social studies class were able to experience how school is done in different places on Earth. Some students were able to visit schools in Mexico, Japan, and India, while others went to Indonesia and Nepal. The students were able to experience these schools through Google Earth.  

Using what they learned, the students had to complete a design thinking challenge. Design thinking is a process to solving problems in creative ways. Throughout the process the students develop empathy, define the problem, question the problem, brainstorm ideas to solve the problem, and design a prototype of the solution. Ms. Tesmer, our district Technology Specialist, used her Google Earth skills to create a great design challenge for the students. The students were put to the task of incorporating a unique quality or activity from their observed school around the world to bring to Goodrich School. This idea had to fit the needs of Goodrich School. This was their culminating project for our unit on culture.

Step 1: Empathy

The first and most important step in a design thinking challenge is developing empathy for others. During this step the students placed themselves in another school and developed an understanding of how school is like in another place. The students had to draw conclusions about the identity of their assigned school. They completed the following requirements below.

• Make observations regarding unique actions/activities the school does.
• Consider a new perspective of how school is done somewhere else.
• Interpret possible thoughts people at that school have about the school
• Interpret possible emotions people can have about the school.

 

Step 2: Define

The next step was to define the needs of Goodrich School. The students did this by interviewing staff and students.

 

Step 3: Define Continued

Students analyzed the responses to the interview questions in order to find patterns and similarities in the interviews. This helped the students determine the specific needs of Goodrich School.

Step 4: Brainstorm & Prototype

The students brainstormed activities and ideas from their observed school to bring to Goodrich, based on Goodrich's needs. Once the students decided on an idea, they created a prototype of their new idea. The students created their own Google Earth Voyage to display their new idea! They built their working version in Google Tour Builder. See some of their new ideas below!
Design Challenge #1 Design Challenge #2 Design Challenge #3