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Classroom spotlight: Design technology

This week, we would like to focus on some of the amazing things our students are doing in the MYP Design classes!

MYP1

Since the start of the present academic year, the MYP1 design classes have been exploring the key concept of “communication” through their unit Introduction to Design. Students are encouraged to be creative and come up with innovative ideas in creating their products. As design is a new subject for MYP 1 students, emphasis is placed on helping the students to get familiar with the assessment criteria of the IB Design Cycle, which is the core of the discipline.

Their first summative task was to come up with a story and connect it to the Design Cycle by creating an interactive PowerPoint presentation to demonstrate their understanding, using the related concept of “innovation” in their designs. As samples, please see below the finished products of Alena and Samira! To view these, click on the links provided below, download the PowerPoint and then run them.

(N.B.: You need to have Microsoft PowerPoint program installed on your device)

Samaira SoniLink to Student work
Alena PavluLink to Student work

MYP 3 – 5

All the students are experiencing the virtual learning environment; synchronously or, in some cases, asynchronously. Teachers function as the anchor point and do our best to ensure students stay connected.

This is something we try very hard to encourage. Welcoming students with some funny questions and answers is one way to help them get involved. Using badges to praise their contributions or achievements helps make them fully engaged. As a necessity of the subject, we make sure that the required skills are taught in an effective manner, the same as in face-to-face learning. We do this via conferences and by sharing the required resources with the students as per their level.

    Proactive communication as well as  timely and specific feedback are crucial parameters for the Design department This helps us anticipate the needs of students. Further, to meet the needs of all students, we consider multiple options for communication including email, Teams meetings and posts. Many different pedagogies have been used to fulfil the learning objectives. The Design team is always passionate to deliver a program which keeps the students engaged and enthusiastic about their learning, and we are gratified to see our students show perseverance and persistence in their approaches.

Arif Shaikh & Praveen Sharma

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