Teaching sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

10 minutes

Tune In: Seeking feedback

15 minutes

Find Out: Selecting materials

30 minutes

Take Action: Bringing ideas to life

5 minutes

Reflection

Learning intentions

Students will:

safely make their designed assistive device.

Success criteria

Students can:

identify safety risks and ways to mitigate those risks
construct their designed device.

Tune In: Seeking feedback

Step 1

Remind students that in Lesson 1: Everyone Needs a Hand, each student chose an end user from the provided profiles and designed an assistive device suitable for that person based on their specific needs and interests.

Ask students to work within their table group to present their assistive device design to their peers. Explain to students that when they are not presenting their design, their role is to identify areas for improvement and provide constructive feedback and suggestions for refinement to the person presenting their assistive device. Remind students that an essential part of any design process is seeking feedback and adapting their designs accordingly.

Step 2

Encourage students to share some of the feedback and areas for improvement that their peers suggested. Feedback could include:

The design may not meet the end user’s requirements, given that person's needs and interests.
Sustainability may not have been considered in the design.
The design may not align with the end user’s aesthetic preferences.
The assistive device may not fit or be comfortable for the end user.
The assistive device may not function as you planned.

Find Out: Selecting materials

Step 1

Explain to the students that they will now need to identify the materials, tools, and processes required to build their prototype, taking into account the 4 criteria that their assistive devices will be assessed against: sustainability, aesthetics, functionality, and accessibility.

Students also need to ensure that they consider the end user's dignity, needs and interests when selecting materials and processes for their assistive device. Another important factor they need to consider is safety, which should always be the top priority when creating a device for others to use.

Step 2

Pose the question to students: What is something you might consider when choosing which material to build your prototype out of?

Suggested answers could include whether the material:

is waterproof and durable
is aesthetic
is sustainable
is cost-effective
allows the assistive device to function as intended.

Step 3

Invite students to retrieve their assistive device designs from Lesson 3: Designing with Purpose. Using their digital devices, they will begin researching the materials, tools, and processes they plan to use to construct their design. You may like to provide students with a list of example materials that prioritise sustainability.

Take Action: Bringing ideas to life

Step 1

Explain to the students that it is time to bring their designs to life! Now that they have selected which materials and tools they will use and have determined the best process for creating their design, it is time to construct their prototypes.

Remind students that as they construct their prototype, they must record their progress by identifying their successes and any challenges they encounter. Allow students 15 minutes to construct their designs using their selected materials, tools and processes.

Learning support: To help scaffold student thinking during the construction stage, encourage students to break the process down into small steps. For example:

Get all of the material and tools needed.
Cut out all of the different pieces/materials needed.
Glue the first pieces together.

Step 2

Once students have finished constructing their prototypes, initiate a class discussion about their progress-tracking task. Ask students to share the successes they had in the construction stage and any challenges they encountered.

Allow 5 minutes for students to share their insights verbally. In their table groups, allow students to share their prototype with their peers, and encourage each student to share the following:

what their assistive device or tool is, and what problem it is solving for their chosen person
demonstrate how it works
share thoughts on whether their device or tool works in the way it is intended to or not. If not, why?

Reflection

Ask students to identify the 1 vital part of the design and iteration process they couldn’t complete while making their prototypes. After a brief discussion, explain that this missing step is consulting the end user. Emphasise that seeking feedback from the person who will actually use the device is essential in assistive design because it shows whether the product truly works as intended, and what changes would make it more effective, comfortable, and user-friendly.

Invite students to reflect on how consulting the end user might have changed their design thinking process. Then, as a final discussion, ask students to turn to the person next to them and answer: ‘If you had the opportunity, what is 1 question you would have asked your device’s end user?’

Producing Prototypes

Go to

Summary

Learning intentions

Success criteria

Lesson Guides and Printables

Lesson Details

Skills Required

Curriculum Mapping

Resources Required

UN Sustainable Development Goals

Additional Information

Related Professional Learning

In this lesson