Industrial Design and Research
Partnership with Bonner Leaders Science Tutors
15 Week Capstone Project

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How can design thinking fit into K-12 education?

Design combines knowledge with creativity and can be a valuable addition to STEM.

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My Research in a 5th Grade Classroom

I worked with fifth grade students at a Houston elementary school to teach them a lesson about science and participate in a mini design project.

The 5th graders tested their knowledge by drawing 2 ideas and prototyping.

Takeaways from Research Activity

Access to a variety of pieces helped the students be more creative.
The students quickly made associations of how the different pieces fit together.
The right or wrong responses to the science principles helped students evaluate their work.

Prototyping Supplies

The prototyping supplies for the activity was expensive, single use, and later discarded.

Next step

Create a reusable design kit.

Design + is a reusable design toolkit that helps students ages 8-10 learn new STEM concepts.

Kit for Creativity

I created a reusable toolkit that can be used for many design challenges.

Exploratory

Design+ allows exploration in both volume and structure.

Design + STEM

Design+ is a tool to teach applied concepts in STEM through a process of design thinking.

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Prompts

Design a bench for two people.
Build a house with a window.
Bridge the gap between two desks.
Create a container that moves.
Build a tower 4 inches tall.
Make a flower and its vase.
+ more

Visitors to the final presentation were able to create unique responses to the prompts!