Reading for Identification in DVC

 My Year 11 DVC class are currently starting their seating designs. They have already looked at their design influence (the has to look at either Frank Gehry, Frank Lloyd Wright or Antoni Gaudi - Link to planning here ). They now have to think about their second design influence, which has to be Māori inspired. We looked at Matariki as a starting point for this influence and I gave them this presentation to start them off on their research.

After they had done their general reading, they had to decide on one star in the Matariki cluster and find the story of that star / character. This story was to be copied and pasted onto a Google doc and then they had to read it and highlight where something was mentioned that they could then find as an image.

They then had to find images to go with the story and put it all on the same doc ready for printing.

This is my example.

After their document was printed out, the students had to cut everything out and arrange it on a page in the sketchbooks.

We kept the highlighted areas on the written sections as it made clear the parts of the story that they were focusing on.

From here, the students have been drawing the images from their research. I think that drawing the images and not just using them to look at for inspiration, gives a greater insight into the shapes and forms as you are making stronger connections in the brain by physically working with them.

What we are on with now is design development. The students have their initial sketches based on the design elements of their chosen designer. They now have to take those initial ideas and use the drawings from their Matariki stories to inspire how the development goes.

PD - TENZ Product Design Resources

Formulating an Hypothesis (Hunch)

 A hypothesis is a tentative answer to your research question that has not yet been tested. 

How to formulate? The simplest way is to use this form: if...then…

1. “If I encourage my students to write for real reasons, then they will be motivated to write.”

2. “If I focus on extending their 'on-task' behaviour with strategies to manage themselves then they will improve their writing.”

3. “An emphasis on behavioural and cognitive engagement as well as teaching social skills will enhance my students’ ability to focus and increase their writing skills.”

I spoke with 2 school leaders to receive feedback about my hunches - 1 Deputy Principal and 1 Head of Department.

Generate a minimum of three hunches from what you have learnt so far about your students and their learning environment.	Further conversations with colleagues, school leaders.
If I give my students more confidence in their research reading, then they will be able to use the information they are reading about in their design work in a more useful way.	HOD - Allowing students to set at least a few of their learning goals may result in increased engagement. It is also the cause and effect relationship between increasing student confidence in researching and their ability to apply the information into their design work.  DP - Any and all strategics that we can employ to increase students’ confidence in research reading is to be commended.
If my students have more understanding in their research reading, then they will have the motivation to complete their work to a good standard.	HOD - Information transfer. The students' relationship with their understanding of the research material and their motivation to produce quality work can add value and may motivate the student to research further.  DP - Motivation is key with our students and  their increased confidence in research reading will contribute to this.
If my students have more confidence and motivation in their work, then will this encourage them to attend the lesson on a more regular basis?	HOD - If the opportunity for students to choose how they demonstrate their knowledge or a range of topics in which they can explore is allowed, this can provide opportunities for small success early. Feedback can also have an effect. (Constructive and encouraging)  DP -  Experience tells us that ‘Confidence and Motivation’ go hand in hand, which can only lead to positive results and increased attendance.