Page 28 - Journal 2018B FINAL

Concurrently, students undertook short challenges designed to build their skills in technical drawing, CAD, Arduino, 3D printing and laser cutting. All students undertook each of these challenges in order to expose them to the opportunities on offer for producing potential solutions to their problem. Students kept a folio of basic skills during this time.
A tool for first aid
Part 3 - DEVELOP
This phase gave students time to work collaboratively on the project. The role of the teacher during this phase was one of facilitator. Groups required support in maintaining collaboration, refining their products, refining their technical skills and reflecting on the processes that they were undertaking.
Part 4 - FINAL ASSESSMENT
Students presented the solution to their chosen problem at the ‘3Ds Expo’. Students investigated marketing methods in order to create a stall to entice potential investors. Educators from other schools and families of our students were invited and welcomed to be a part of this process. All teachers and visitors were assessors, visited stalls with their mobile phones in hand, in order to assess students on their presentation skills via a QR code that linked to a Google Form. The focus for students was not to have a perfect product to display but rather them being able to describe the design cycle in relation to their own journey.
USING MEDIA TO GENERATE FEEDBACK
During the ‘Design’ phase of the project, students were tasked to create a video which could be
used to showcase their problem needing to be solved and their solution. This involved analysing and creating persuasive texts as well as utilising cinematic techniques in order to make the pitch video as persuasive as possible. Students made their videos available via private social media channels in order to receive feedback from friends,
family and their peers. Students also designed a feedback method to pair with the video in order to get the desired, targeted feedback.
THE STUDENT EXPERIENCE
Students were surveyed at the completion of the subject in relation to their experiences. This data is collected at the end of each Central Study in order to inform improvements for the future.
Feedback from students was positive with comments such as:
“We were encouraged to pursue different ways to learn to help make the lessons enjoyable. The hands-on nature of this central study worked very well for me as I am a tactile and visual learner.”
Respondents reported:
• 99.1% were able to develop Critical and Creative Thinking (111 respondents).
• 97.8% were able to develop Literacy capability (92 respondents).
• 99.01% were able to develop Numeracy capability (101 respondents).
WHERE TO FROM HERE?
Following discussion with Prof. Yong Zhao (http://zhaolearning.com/), our aim for 2020 is
to encourage students to go deeper with their product development by utilising the Design Cycle repeatedly in order to improve their product. This prompts us to consider how we will provide time for students to do this. In the short term, we have made the suggestion that students continue their development in Research Project and Research Practices.
26 | SASTA Journal
A system for removing plastic from waterways