{"id":1284,"date":"2019-05-23T06:48:08","date_gmt":"2019-05-23T06:48:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/educationexpress.uts.edu.au\/inspiringteaching\/?p=1284"},"modified":"2019-05-24T06:33:06","modified_gmt":"2019-05-24T06:33:06","slug":"movement-toward-design-thinking-western-sydney-high-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/educationexpress.uts.edu.au\/inspiringteaching\/2019\/05\/23\/movement-toward-design-thinking-western-sydney-high-school\/","title":{"rendered":"The movement toward design thinking in a Western Sydney high school"},"content":{"rendered":"

However, the housing boom and increased population in Western Sydney has seen our little part of the world change rapidly over the past five years. As part of the NSW Government\u2019s strategy to cater for the demands of tomorrow\u2019s Sydney, Riverstone High School is receiving a complete rebuild and our student population is expected to increase from 400 to over 1,000 in the next few years. Construction has already started on a new future focused learning space that will include presentation spaces, lecture halls, outdoor learning areas, media\/AV rooms and collaborative learning spaces. Most significantly, the new build will not include traditional classrooms. It goes without saying that in order to prepare for our brand-new learning space, we needed to rethink our approach to teaching and learning.<\/p>\n

As Relieving Head Teacher of English and History, I was tasked with the challenge of implementing a cross curricular, Project Based Learning program for Year 7. The process has been extremely rewarding and has had measurable impact on student achievement and engagement. Below is an overview of our process;<\/p>\n

Step 1: The logistics<\/strong><\/p>\n

Initial phases require negotiation with various staff members about the logistics of the project. After receiving approval from the Senior Executive, we worked closely with the staff member that creates the timetable to ensure Year 7 had three, 2hr PBL lessons per fortnight. These lessons were held in the school library and consisted of the whole cohort making use of one open plan learning space. Also, any resources that need to be purchased or financial considerations need to be discussed early in the planning process.<\/p>\n

Step 2: What do we want the students to learn?<\/strong><\/p>\n

As with all quality teaching and learning we begun with our noses in the glossy NSW English and History syllabi. Close analysis of the English outcomes and the requirements of the \u2018Investigating the Ancient Past\u2019 depth study in History allowed us to summarise the key competencies of the project \u2013 we asked What do students need to know? And What do they need to be able to do?<\/p>\n

Step 3: Establishing the Driving Question and deciding on the Public Product<\/strong><\/p>\n

Analysis of the syllabus outcomes illuminated a cross curricular focus of \u2018the importance of technology.\u2019 The English outcomes required students to create new, digital texts and the History syllabus allowed us to open up the definition of technology to \u2018anything that has helped humanity progress (artefacts, tools, weaponry). After careful consideration we decided on the driving questions \u2018Does Technology help or hinder humanity?\u2019<\/em><\/strong> It is abstract, has a real world connection and most importantly, is not google-able. Students would have the option to choose a significant piece of technology and make a 3-5 minute documentary on it\u2019s development and impact on the human race. A documentary stood out as the perfect text type because it is a factual film that requires the support of evidence and sources.<\/p>\n

Step 4: Sustained inquiry through quality assessment design <\/strong><\/p>\n

To ensure students engaged in a continual process of inquiry and reflection, we created an assessment task with multiple tasks and check in points.\u00a0 One highly valuable element of our program was the use of learning conversations. These took the form of an informal meeting with a teacher where the group members provided an update on their progress and collaboration. In addition to this, mandatory hand in tasks were all backward mapped from the final public product (documentary) and ensured students were working towards the creation of a documentary (storyboard, transcript, source analysis).<\/p>\n

Step 5: The Hook Event<\/strong><\/p>\n

Integral to the success our project was captivating student interest through an engaging hook event. At Riverstone High School we gathered a range of old technology including a wheel barrow, floppy disk, arcade machine, wagon wheel, gramophone and much more. The technology was displayed in the school hall and students completed a group challenge where they had to guess the use of the technology and list each item in the order it was first invented. Students were highly engaged and the activity assisted students in considering technology was more than just the latest iPhone.<\/p>\n