Design Thinking

Summary

Materials

• Day 6 PowerPoint deck
• Microsoft Design: Empathy (with audio description)
• Blank paper for Crazy 8 activity
• Design Thinking Practice: Create the Perfect House
• Design Thinking Practice: Create the Perfect House (worksheet in Word)
• Optional: Micro:bit Micro Pet Activity
• Optional: Minecraft Build a House

Instructional Activities and Classroom Assessments

1. Intro Design Thinking (10 minutes)
2. Full Class Activity: Crazy 8 (35 minutes)
3. Homework: Design Thinking - the perfect house

Learning Objectives

• CRD-1.A Explain how computing innovations are improved through collaboration.
• CRD-2.E Develop a program using a development process.
• CRD-2.F Design a program and its user interface.

Essential Knowledge

• CRD-1.A.4 Collaboration that includes diverse perspectives helps avoid bias in the development of computing innovations.

• CRD-1.A.5 Consultation and communication with users are important aspects of the development of computing innovations.

• CRD-1.A.6Information gathered from potential users can be used to understand the purpose of a program from diverse perspectives and to develop a program that fully incorporates these perspectives.

• CRD-2.E.1 A development process can be ordered and intentional, or exploratory in nature.

• CRD-2.E.2 There are multiple development processes. The following phases are commonly used when developing a program:

  • Investigating and reflecting
  • Designing
  • Prototyping
  • Testing

• CRD-2.E.3 A development process that is iterative requires refinement and revision based on feedback, testing, or reflection throughout the process. This may require revisiting earlier phases of the process.

• CRD-2.E.4 A development process that is incremental is one that breaks the problem into smaller pieces and makes sure each piece works before adding it to the whole.

• CRD-2.F.1 The design of a program incorporates investigation to determine its requirements.

• CRD-2.F.2 Investigation in a development process is useful for understanding and identifying the program constraints, as well as the concerns and interests of the people who will use the program.

• CRD-2.F.3 Some ways investigation can be performed are as follows:

  • Collecting data through surveys
  • User testing
  • Interviews
  • Direct observations

• CRD-2.F.4 Program requirements describe how a program functions and may include a description of user interactions that a program must provide.

• CRD-2.F.5 A program's specification defines the requirements for the program.

• CRD-2.F.6 In a development process, the design phase outlines how to accomplish a given program specification.

• CRD-2.F.7 The design phase of a program may include:

  • Brainstorming
  • Planning and storyboarding
  • Organizing the program into modules and functional components
  • Creation of diagrams that represent the layouts of the user interface
  • Development of a testing strategy for the program

Details

1. Intro Design Thinking (10 minutes)

• Introduce the concept of Design Thinking.
• Tell the Embrace baby incubator story.
• Talk about Microsoft's Inclusive Design and play video.

2. Crazy 8 Activity (15 minutes)

• Use a blank piece of paper and have the students follow instructions in the PPT as a guide for the activity.
• Students are practicing the design thinking process as they follow the directions.

3. Homework

• Identify a client, and create the perfect house for them using the Design Thinking process.
• Use the Design Thinking Practice: Create the Perfect House to guide your work.