I know the question is vague and somewhat idealistic, but what do we want for our students? The answer I can often whittle out an educator's long and heart felt answer is something along the lines of starting and finishing a task with fidelity. What I love about my current role as an MYP Design teacher is my daily use of the Design Cycle. There are many iterations of this cycle in every discipline out there, the main purpose being, how do you get from thought to product. The MYP Design Cycle and scaffolded versions I use, do just that.
The second vertically aligned unit in each of my grade levels after a Digital Citizenship lesson, is a model building unit. I've found that this project, above all the others I've implemented really shows students the relevance of researching and planning before prototyping. After all, what part do all people, not just students, rush towards? The building and prototyping phase. However, without proper research and planning, these prototypes are rarely our best work, as the ongoing woodworking projects in my garage can attest to. This is where the Design Cycle comes in, to effectively bring the elements of research, planning, prototyping, and reflection together.
(pictures to come)
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