This term Stage 2 commenced our fourth Unit of Inquiry under the Transdisciplinary Theme: How We Organise Ourselves. Our Central Idea for the unit is: The design of buildings and open spaces depends on the social and environmental needs of its users. This will be taught through the concepts of Connection and Causation and will guide our Lines of Inquiry:

• How the built environment is designed to meet people’s needs
• Environmental and sustainable influences on design
• Thinking like a designer (Design Thinking Methodology)

From day one the boys have been actively engaged in the unit as we began with a creative and hands-on provocation. The boys walked into a class with what seemed to be a simple task: Design a place for a young man to rest. They worked in groups to use only paper and tape to meet this user’s needs. Many of the boys got to work, creating a ‘house’ with a bed and some extra luxuries to help him rest. They were all pretty happy with their design until Miss Peterson and Mr Pollard “forgot to mention” that this user was an architect who also needed space to work. The boys then had to modify, rethink and then redesign their building. Some of them added a desk, bookshelves and even windows for natural light. It was then, when they thought they had solved the problem, the teachers threw another spanner in the works: He works with 20 other people. Their frustration levels rose quite a lot, but the boys solved this problem by adding extra rooms, another storey, larger desks etc. Miss Peterson and Mr Pollard weren’t finished yet, as they then told us that one worker was in a wheelchair and that they wanted to rely on natural lighting and use limited electricity. After a lot of remodelling and redesigning the boys finally achieved a final product that met these users’ needs. The teachers were happy and we were happy (finally).

The boys learnt that it is important to identify the needs of a user first before designing and constructing a building. It was an awesome learning experience and a great provocation for our new Unit of Inquiry. We will continue exploring the the design process by creating user profiles for the users of buildings and open spaces in the community. We will also consider social and environmental factors during the design process and emphasise the importance of using sustainable materials.

It’s going to be another exciting unit for Stage 2!

Mr Pollard and Ms Peterson – Stage 2 Teachers