Speech Class Design Challenge--Take 2!

Who knew that upcycling could be so fun? And create an ideal opportunity for assessment of presentation skills to boot?

This semester I challenged my Speech students to design a product for an audience of their choice, which they would then pitch live at the end of the semester. But here was the catch--they had to upcycle materials from around the school to do it. (Shout out to local middle school art teacher and design expert, Beth Rogers Bundy, for the brilliant idea!)

What followed was an amazing four-week adventure in which students immersed themselves in the design process (guided by the Stanford Design School model).  Working in pairs and trios, each team chose a focus audience from the SMA community, researched their needs, and ideated designs to fit those needs.

After scavenging piles of unwanted items from around our school, the students worked together to build and test their designs.

Since this project took place at the end of the semester-long class, the teams' final assessment was to prepare a 7-10 minute professional pitch that showcased their growth in public speaking and presentation skills during the course of the semester.

The assignment expectations (posted as a Schoology assignment) were high--equal participation by team members, use of excellent visuals (slides, photos, and videos), live demo of product if possible, and polished sales-pitch style with clear use of persuasive strategies covered in our class.

And the students definitely delivered!

On the pitch day, I invited faculty and staff members to join our audience and offer feedback to my students on their pitches. Despite a bit of nervousness and a few technical glitches, all seven pitches went wonderfully well! The students certainly showcased their understanding of persuasive and design strategies, smart use of visuals and aides, well-designed audience interaction, and solid presentation skills. 

At various points in the process, we took time to collaborate via Google Hangouts with Bundy and her art classes, who are working on a similar challenge.

Throughout the four weeks, students blogged about their process, ideas, and reflections using Seesaw.

Click above to see the class blog on Seesaw. The students enjoyed trying out the various options for visual and textual blogging.

Pitch by the DripDrop team: Maggie N., Sidney S-M, and Josie S., published with their permission.

One of my favorite moments was when one team explained the design process in their own words.

The faculty and staff who joined us were highly impressed by the students' presentations--in fact, several of them commented that they hope the students' products actually get created.

If nothing else, this unit solidified for me the benefits of hands-on learning and design thinking for high school students. They saw the concept as relevant, and therefore spent significant effort on their products and pitches--quite the feat during the final month of the school year!

For more ideas for bringing design thinking and challenges into your classroom, check out the following resources.
Stanford Design School website
Beginner's Guide to Design Thinking in the Classroom by A.J. Juliani
Global Day of Design site
"Learning by Design: The Idea that Moved a District" by ISTE Connects
Eduotopia's resource page on Design Thinking