Contextual Learning Portal

The Student Design Institute

Basics

Project TitleThe Student Design Institute
MA Curriculum FrameworksScience and Technology/Engineering, Arts
School ContactJoshua Briggs, Director of Learning and Teaching
School / DistrictMonument Valley Middle School, Berkshire Hills Regional School District
Brief DescriptionThe Student Design Institute is a MakerSpace initially focused on 3D printing. Students first encounter the MakerSpace and Design Institute using a curriculum modeled on the Future Cities Competition. Students are presented with real world problems of the near future - economic, social, environmental - and are asked to use design and engineering to create solutions to those problems.

The core goal of the SDI is to get students to develop certain habits of thinking, such as "express", "engage", and "persist". We are going to get students to work through the engineering process a number of times, both so they learn that any design process is cyclical, and so they become more comfortable with the concept of failure.

The long-term goal of the project is that other teachers throughout our school will build opportunities to use the MakerSpace into their own curricula. Not only will they create projects and end-of-unit assessments that leverage these habits-of-thinking and design skills, they will create spaces in their scope-and-sequences for students to propose MakerSpace projects. We want to use this space as an opportunity to make our curriculum much more student-driven.
PartnersThe Berkshire Fund for Technology, Flying Cloud Institute, the Berkshire Museum
Communicating About Our ProjectWe are going to be bringing in teachers from other departments into our core planning team. A few select teachers front the Science team will work with us and serve as ambassadors to the wider department. In the Spring, we will introduce the idea of curriculum fellowships to other teachers to get them working on incorporating the MakerSpace into their own curricula. We will also have parent-meetings/forums in the late Spring/ early Summer to introduce the brooder community to how we are using the is project in the school.
Photo and Caption 1This first day assignment will force students through the entire design and implementation process in a very short amount of time. It will also force them to make hard choices, and inevitably set them up to make generative mistakes.
View/Download File: First Day QuickFire Assignment
Photo and Caption 2One self reflection assignment that will have students both write and draw their analysis of the day‘s work.
Photo and Caption 3Our likely space!

Key Questions

Essential Questions/Enduring Understandings Essential Questions:
How can technology and design help us create a future that is sustainable and responsible?
How does collaboration within the design process help us solve real world problems?

Enduring Understandings:
3D printing technology is an emerging tool that can impact society in positive ways.
The design process is crucial as we work through authentic problems.
The design process and creative problem solving process are similar: Define the problem to solve; brainstorm various solutions; select a solution; design, build, test and redesign the solution; share results.
Connections: How or why was this topic identified? Why is it meaningful?We have worked hard in the past few years to move more and more towards a student-directed learning environment. We think one of the key ways to create true interdisciplinary work is to link it through the STUDENT. We begin by making connections between disciplines so that students have a more holistic sense of their own learning. But ultimately, we want the students to be driving those connections.

Equally important, we want to create curriculum that pushes back against the achievement craze. There is unquestionable educational value in making mistakes, in failing, in understanding that success is a process, not a product.

We think a MakerSpace, in which students are collaborating to create something, and are forced to go through an iterative design process is the ideal space to begin to make these connections and embrace making mistakes and celebrating failure.

From there, we decided that the Future Cities Project provides a rich framework in which to build collaborative communities.
Background Research: What resources were used to find background information for this project?Donna Astion, team member and Enrichment Teacher, has used the Future Cities competition as an extra-curricular activity with select students in the past. As we began talking about this process, she brought us to the Future Cities Project.

We looked at rubrics and materials from the Future Cities Competition to help shape our process, and adapted them for our own use. These informed our choices about what next steps to take.

Finally, we visited the MakerSpace at our High School and discussed the impact that it has had on the curriculum and student experience there.

All
Web Link: National Engineers Week Future City Competition™
View/Download File: /project484_975/FutureCitypilot.docx.pdf
View/Download File: /project484_975/FutureCityModelrubric1.docx.pdf
Outcomes: What was the outcome? How was it shared or applied in the community?We are continuing our Pilot of this program while looking forward to doing full implementation in the Fall. We are taking lessons learned to both tweak our approach, and do some significant overhaul.

Our community has become increasingly aware of the project. We are hiring a new technology teacher in the Spring to begin work over the Summer, and we are incorporating the MakerSpace and Student Design Institute into our search process. When we have hired this person, they will work to funnel much, if not all, of our instructional technology work through our MakerSpace.
Family: Any opportunities to involve parent/guardians and other family members in this project?For our Pilot, we reached out to parents of every student in the class to discuss how students will be involved in the class. We also did a mid-pilot check-in, reiterating our instructional goals and outcomes and encouraging families to discuss the concepts being used in the class at home.

We are planning a Parent Forum in the Fall to get parents on board to understand our overall vision for the school.

Finally, we want to find simple take-home activities, conversation starters, and projects to create a fun and engaging home-school connection surrounding this project. Each major unit (Research, Design, Modeling, Presentation) will include targeted discussion questions for family members. The questions will be designed to make explicit connections between the concepts being studied in the SDI class and what family and friends do in their own work. For example, the research phase will feature targeted questions about how research is used in the professions of family and friends. There will be interview protocols for students to use to help find connections between home and school.

We will be bringing in 3-4 "guest experts", designers, architects, contractors, builders, and engineers to present to our classes about their own work and how it connects to a particular unit. The first people we will look to for these experts are parents, caregivers, and family members working in these fields.

Finally, we will end each session with a showcase in which students present their designs to families and friends. These evening showcases will give students a chance to show what they have learned and continue improving their presentation skills.

Units / Activities

Unit: Introduction to the Student Design Institute (2 Days) - Guest Presentation 1* - Quickfire Challenge 1* - Introduction to Future CitiesDay 1: Introduction to the technology/ Quickfire challenge
- Our class will kick off with a professional from a local engineering, design, or architectural company who uses 3D printing to create models for problem-solving in their actual work. The guest will not only show students how this work can connect to real-work applications here int eh Berkshires, he or she will get to "show off" a little in regards to what the technology can do. In our Pilot, we found that students were either over-anxious to use the 3D printers, or were somewhat disinterested in the technology. We hope this introduction will help entice both kinds of students into the work.
- Design Quickfire Challenge. Students will do a "quick fire" design challenge, in which they are asked to go through all of the stages of a design in rapid succession. The goal is to not only introduce the stages of design, but to get students "out of their heads". Design is cyclical, and therefore includes the important step of making mistakes. With this activity, we get students making mistakes immediately. At the end of the challenge, students will receive general feedback from the panel of judges (including our design guest). They will get final results on the challenge in the next class.

Day 2: Quickfire results and conversation, Future Cities introduction (video)
- Students are given the final results of the Quickfire Challenge. They are encouraged to rejoin their Quickfire groups to discuss the results, focusing on the discussion questions. This is followed by a whole-group discussion on how to balance creating something artistic while meeting multiple criteria.
- Students are also introduced to the private Instagram account that will hold all documented photos from the class.
- Students are introduced to the Future Cities Project. They watch a video of 2015 Future Cities Competition Presentations, are given a timeline for the class, and are introduced to the concept of "job roles" in the process. YouTube Video: Warwick Future City 2015 courtesy of Owen Blevins *All guest presentations will be tied to a Quickfire challenge on the same day with the guest designer as a judge. Quickfires 2-4 will be designed to math the skills/domain of the presenter. The first Quickfire, however, is more general.
Web Link: Warwick Future City 2015 - YouTube
View/Download File: QuickFire Challenge 1
View/Download File: Quickfire 1 Discussion questions
Unit: Tools and Process (2 Days)Students will explore TinkerCad and brainstorm ways to utilize this tool for their design solution. Students will be given time for both free exploration in TinkerCad, and directed small group and individual tasks to craft 3D models in the program. Each small group will print a simple, small 3D model.

During this Unit, students will balance working directly with TinkerCad and 3D printing with direct instruction and small group discussion about the cyclical nature of the design process.Picture Note Making from "25 Quick Formative Assessments for a Differentiated Classroom" • © 2009 by Judith Dodge • Scholastic Teaching Resources
View/Download File: /project484_975/PictureNoteMaking.pdf
Unit: Problem/Research/Proposal (5 Days) - Guest Presentation 2 - Research - Quickfire 2 - Research phase - Presentation of research Day 1: Intro to Research
- Second Guest speaker comes to class to talk specifically about how he or she incorporates research into the design process. The speaker uses real-world examples to discuss how research is incorporated throughout the design.
- Quickfire 2 (exact format dependent upon guest speaker) - students will engage in a quick team activity in which they must go through an accelerated research process. At the end of their time, they present their research and process to the panel of judges, including the guest speaker, to receive critique of their work.

Day 2-4 - Students receive quick fire results and engage in small and large group discussions about the research process.

Students are presented with their real life issue to solve and begin research on urban farming and cities of the future. Groups begin research phase of their projects.

View FC videos and examples of models.

Near Pod assessment - used to introduce students to the idea of Urban Farming.

Day 5 - Students present research results. Guest presenter 2 is invited back to sit in and comment on research process/results.Assessment: Research product Summative/DDM: Written: Report Research report to define problem, frame design and inform outcome
View/Download File: Research Template
View/Download File: Research Question
View/Download File: NearPod Assessment 1
Web Link: Stephen Ritz: A teacher growing green in the South Bronx | Talk Video | TED.com
View/Download File: Research Overview
Design (6 Days)Students use their research to craft a design for their urban farming plan.

This Unit begins with individual and small group reflections on the results of their research. Groups must come up with multiple initial proposals for design, and choose one to move forward.
During this process, small groups will check in with the larger group on the process to critique and share challenges.
Web Link: How rooftop farming will change how we eat: Mohamed Hage at TEDxUdeM - YouTube
View/Download File: Urban Farming Student Response
Model and Build (10 Days) - Guest Presentation 3 - Modeling - Quickfire 3After the guest presentation and quick fire challenge to introduce the modeling and building unit, small groups will present their design visions to the entire class.

Two entire class sessions will be dedicated to presenting visions using a studio arts critique model. Groups will present their concepts, receive feedback from peers and teachers, and take notes to incorporate into the modeling process.

During modeling, students will be encouraged to use multiple media to represent their work. 3D printed models will be a central part of the final product, but other media include clay, wood, and cardboard.
Presentation (2-3 Days)Students take their final projects and craft them as presentations for a panel of "experts". The panel is made up of teachers, parents, other students, and community members from relevant fields (engineering, architecture, etc.)

A key part of this panel review is genuine, critical feedback to students. We do not want this to be a pat on the back moment, but instead a celebration of process. Assessment: Final design presentation and publication Summative/DDM: Performance: Authentic Task Students will work together in groups to consider the Future City scenario: "Many thousands of years ago, humans learned to domesticate animals and grow plants for food. Because we no longer needed to hunt and gather, we could stay in one place and start to build cities. It was the beginning of civilization. Today, agriculture is the largest global enterprise on earth. And while some regions still farm in ways similar to our ancient ancestors, for most of the world the mechanization of planting and harvesting, chemical fertilization and pest control, advanced irrigation, and other modern farming tools and techniques led to increased crop output—which, in turn, became a major contributing factor to rapid population growth. By 1900, the global population was roughly 1.7 billion people. In 2050 it is expected to exceed 9.5 billion. That’s more than 450% increase in the total number of people over the last 150 years. With billions more mouths to feed, there are increasing pressures on our global food supplies: less farmable land, more water pollution, growing water scarcity, increased fuel costs (making importing and exporting foods more expensive), pesticide resistance, and the growth of megacities, to name just a few. In order to feed the world in the future, we will have to come up with smart new ways to grow our food much closer to where we live. The challenge: Choose two foods (one vegetable and one protein) and design a way to grow enough of each within your future city borders to feed all of your citizens for at least one growing season. Taking into account your city’s size and location, you must consider the critical elements needed to grow food including light, climate, air quality, space, water, soil, and nutrients." Written task will be assessed using a shared rubric. 3D Model will be shared with an audience of relevant professionals.
View/Download File: Student Awards for Final Presentations
View/Download File: Final Team Presentation Rubric
Student Documentation (ongoing)Throughout the process, students will be engaged in two key forms of documentation: Keeping a personal process journal, and sharing the responsibility of photo-documenting the process using IPad cameras. These photos are uploaded daily to a class instagram account.
Community Showcase (evening)After students present their final project in class for panel review, their work is celebrated in an evening showcase for families and community members.

- Guest Presentations - All three visiting designers from the year are invited to give a 3-5 minute presentation on their own work, and how the students in the SDI Class are building skills and habits of thinking that relate to their field.

- Student Showcase - Tables are set up inside the cafeteria, and teams give short presentations about their projects for families and guests.
Home-School Connection (ongoing)Each major phase of this class will involve focused questions to be explored at home. These questions will not be homework, but rather discussion topics and potential projects designed to incorporate family members.

The purpose of these questions will be to strengthen the home-school connection with the class. We want to find numerous avenues to help students understand that the work they are doing in this class is directly connected to the real world.

Instructional Techniques

Student Directed LearningThe shape of these projects are really driven by student interest and drive. Students are empowered to share opinions, give critique, and most importantly, MAKE MISTAKES. This class will not hold a student`s hand. We are focusing on the fact that design is a cyclical process, and as a result, students must be free to make mistakes.
Research Driven ProjectsThe entire design project begins with students having to answer a focused question about an environmental problem with research. Students will work in their small groups as research teams.
Hands-on Project Based LearningStudents design and model their Future Cities project. They engage in an iterative process of research, design, model, revise, and potentially research again.

Smaller hands-on projects are used throughout the process (see Quickfire challenges below)
Group DiscussionsA certain segment of class time will be dedicated to full group discussion. Students will share out from their small group work, talk about the overall arc of the project, and engage in shared critique time.
Quickfire challengesScattered throughout the project will be opportunities for Quickfire Challenges. These quick projects are designed to get students "out of their heads". The strategy is that one way to get students to embrace the power of making, and learning from, mistakes, is to give them a set of circumstances in which mistakes are inevitable.

Quickfire Challenges are timed design challenges in which students have an extremely limited amount of time to plan, design, and execute a project around a known rubric or scoring system. Rather than getting bogged down in overthinking, they have to make fast choices, design based on those choices, and then reflect on the consequences of the choices that they have made. (And, reflect upon the fact that poor choices do not necessarily mean the end of the world.)

These challenges will be explicitly linked to visits by local designers, engineers, architects, and other professionals in related fields. These visitors will give presentations, and quickfires will be shaped to reflect those presentations.
Authentic Expert FeedbackStudents will have the opportunity to learn from real experts from various design and engineering fields on a number of occasions. Each major section of the class (introduction, research, modeling, and presentation) will be kicked off by a visiting professional who will speak explicitly about that aspect of design. Then, students will participate in a design challenge and the expert will review their work.

Students will also get this feedback as they present their final projects to a panel which will include teachers, community members, and experts in the field.
Small Group InstructionStudents are broken into groups of four. Each group has clear roles that rotate on a daily basis. Each role has expectations that the student must meet. The roles are:
Documentarian - responsible for documenting group progress through writing and photos.
Project Leader - responsible for keeping group on task and synthesizing ideas.
Contrarian - responsible for playing "the devil`s advocate", particularly when the group seems to be easily agreeing on everything.
Ambassador - responsible for speaking on behalf of the group to the whole class.

In addition to these roles, every student is regarded as a Designer at all times.
Direct InstructionTeachers introduce activities, quick fire challenges.
Teachers give direct instruction on 3D software and printing.
Teacher/Team Self AssessmentTeachers engage in reflective self assessments at the end of each session with the students. Because this is a developing curriculum, we need to be constantly revisiting and revising our practice.

Assessment Techniques

Student Journal - Self Reflection - Self AssessmentStudents keep an ongoing journal of their reflection on the process and products. Each class, students will be given a reflective prompt to frame their thinking about the day.
View/Download File: Final Student Self-Assessments - Exit Tickets
RubricsWritten research project, final product, and final presentation will all be graded using rubrics.

Rubric adapted from the National Engineers Week Future City Competition, 2011. http://futurecity.org
View/Download File: /project484_975/FutureCityModelrubric2.docx
View/Download File: Final Team Presentation Rubric
Performance Based Assessment: Authentic Task: Oral PresentationFuture Cities final design presentation and publication
Students will work together in groups to consider the Future City scenario:
"Many thousands of years ago, humans learned to domesticate animals and grow plants for food. Because we no longer needed to hunt and gather, we could stay in one place and start to build cities. It was the beginning of civilization.
Today, agriculture is the largest global enterprise on earth. And while some regions still farm in ways similar to our ancient ancestors, for most of the world the mechanization of planting and harvesting, chemical fertilization and pest control, advanced irrigation, and other modern farming tools and techniques led to increased crop output—which, in turn, became a major contributing factor to rapid population growth.
By 1900, the global population was roughly 1.7 billion people. In 2050 it is expected to exceed 9.5 billion. That’s more than 450% increase in the total number of people over the last 150 years. With billions more mouths to feed, there are increasing pressures on our global food supplies: less farmable land, more water pollution, growing water scarcity, increased fuel costs (making importing and exporting foods more expensive), pesticide resistance, and the growth of megacities, to name just a few. In order to feed the world in the future, we will have to come up with smart new ways to grow our food much closer to where we live.
The challenge: Choose two foods (one vegetable and one protein) and design a way to grow enough of each within your future city borders to feed all of your citizens for at least one growing season. Taking into account your city’s size and location, you must consider the critical elements needed to grow food including light, climate, air quality, space, water, soil, and nutrients."
3D Model will be shared with an audience of relevant professionals.
Ongoing, Formative AssessmentTeachers will monitor and talk with small groups to check in on student understanding.

This will also involve small, "quick fire" challenges in which students are forced into a tight timeframe to put what they have learned to the test very quickly.
Formative, Ongoing Assessment: Instagram AccountEach small group will have the role of "documentarian" this role will rotate each class. These students are responsible for photographing group progress to be uploaded to the share Instagram account.

Teachers will monitor these photos as authentic artifacts of student understanding.
Discussion/ Peer Assessment: Daily wrapStudents will be asked to present out their progress on a daily basis. This will open a space for both peer assessment and teacher assessment.
Group CritiquesFollowing a studio art critique model, students will be expected to present out drafts of their models for peer and teacher feedback.
NearPod Assessments (Performance-Based Quizzes)NearPod is an interactive, online platform that allows teachers to create robust, performance-based assessments to gather formative and summative data on students.
View/Download File: NearPod Assessment 1
Teacher Self-AssessmentsBecause this is a developing curriculum, it is crucial for our team to take time at the end of each session to reflect on how the curriculum is working. We need to recognize successes, and analyze areas of potential growth.
View/Download File: End of class Teacher reflection
Student AwardsAt the end of the class, student groups will be recognized for a variety of accomplishments, ranging from aesthetics to student initiative. And the student group with the highest overall score on their design, presentation, and model are recognized.

Direct website link to this project: http://ContextualLearningPortal.org/contextual.asp?projectnumber=484.975

Contextual Learning Portal (archive)

The Student Design Institute

Basics

Key Questions

Units / Activities

Instructional Techniques

Assessment Techniques