As a capstone project for their 7th grade year, students have been working since late March on a variety of design thinking projects. Director of Academic Technology Steve Trust says, “Student designers have been learning to employ the Stanford Design Methodology to create a new tool for use by faculty and staff ‘clients.’ The goal is to have the students work collaboratively to solve something that has been a challenge in our community, while building their communication, time management, and problem-solving skills.”
After potential projects were submitted by faculty, the students chose which projects they wanted to be involved with, then brainstormed ideas and potential solutions to present to their clients. Following these initial meetings, the design teams created multiple prototypes, managed their budgets, and checked in with their clients to provide updates and elicit feedback.
On Wednesday, May 17, each design group gave a presentation on their process to an audience of parents and faculty members, before debuting their final projects to adults and peers alike. Some of this year’s projects include an interactive 3D map of campus for admissions visitors, displays to showcase book recommendations, and a more attractive and – we hope – functional solution for Lost and Found. The hard work and creativity students put into these and all of the projects were impressive!