Challenge B: Substantive Post #2

A design process uses thoughtfully planned steps to solve problems and find answers. It helps learners understand a problem, explore ideas, monitor progress and review the results. The design approach has four key phases: Understand (visualize the problem), Plan (generate and explore ideas), Create (put the ideas into action) and Reflect (look at the results and identify areas of strength and areas for improvement). This approach uses Divergent thinking to expand learners’ ideas and explore different options and Convergent thinking to analyze and refine ideas to get a clear solution. Overall, this process encourages continuous reflection and growth supporting lifelong learning. 

For Challenge A, I started by brainstorming ideas related to my hobbies, such as hockey and golf. Although I liked the ideas, I wanted to create a comic that connected with my career in education. I reflected on subjects that I taught and wanted to use the comic as a review piece for my light and sound unit. I planned the comic by connecting my existing knowledge of light and sound with what I wanted my students to know. Through peer feedback and iteration of frequent changes, I was able to improve on my project by creating a comic that had clear illustrations and ideas. Looking back, I am happy with the results; however, I would have liked to revise the language to make it more suitable for grade 1 students. 

In Challenge B, my group started by brainstorming ideas for the basis of our videos and, through much thought we decided to create STEAM experiments within education. Using clear communication, our group planned the project by exploring different STEAM ideas and connecting the challenges to our prior knowledge. We have started testing our prototypes (building a toy car, egg drop and changing the colour of flower pedals) and will use peer feedback to improve our final product. Similar to Challenge A, this project followed the phases of the design process to create solutions and demonstrate the importance of collaboration and purposeful planning.