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     Panther Pathways Michigan Design Challenge
​                                                                                          By:  Justine Keuning-LaFrence

Project at a Glance :

This project was run through the Panther Pathways program, using the prompt from the Michigan Design Challenge. A small group of 4th and 5th graders completed the project during an after school program that lasted 6.5 weeks.
       
Driving Question:

How can we Design a physical product that promotes the  enjoyment of Michigan’s lakes, rivers, and water parks.            

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Standards:
  • 3.d - Build knowledge by actively exploring real world issues and problems, developing ideas and theories, and pursuing answers and solutions.
  • 4.a - Know and use a deliberate design process for generating ideas, testing theories, creating innovative artifacts, or solving authentic problems.
  • 4.c - Develop, test, and refine prototypes as part of a cyclical design process.
  • 4.d - Exhibit a tolerance for ambiguity, perseverance, and the capacity to work with open-ended problems.
Team / Culture Building:
  • Creative DNA​​
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  • Hopes/Fears/Norms
Entry Event:
  • Take students on a field trip to Tunnel Park to see the lake and beach.
  • Students solved water related riddles to open a lock box with supplies.
  • The students sketched their favorite water related activity to share with group.
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Stakeholders:
  • K-12 youth in Michigan and their families.
Empathy Building:
  • Stakeholder Map
  • Empathy Map
Inquiry / Need to Knows:
  • Dissect the driving question:  Give a few students the word design. Give a few students the words physical product. Give a few students the word promote. Then they present it to the group. Work all together to create a better understanding of the driving question. 
  • Use the Chalk Talk protocol to create three posters - Tunnel Park, Sailing Presentation,  and the Holland Aquatic Center.​​
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  • Expert share:  Macatawa Bay Yacht Club youth sailing instructors and the Holland Aquatic Center tour
  • Watch the Water Safety Video 
  • Investigating water information on Chromebooks, using MeL.
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Incubation:
  • Use the Idea Quota strategy to generate solutions. First with a tower of ideas with the other groups.​
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  • Top 10 things to keep in mind
  • 100 ideas - offering suggestions like, what if you couldn’t spend any money, what if you had unlimited amounts of money, what would a kindergartener use, what would a high schooler use, etc. 
Checking in:
  • I like, I wish and what if with each group to help them narrow focus.
  • Each group also presented their ideas to Denise Smyk, futurePREP'd director.
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Solution:
  • Use Saturate and Group with 100 ideas sticky notes.
  • NUFF test  - New, Useful, Feasible, & Fun
Critique & Revision:
  • Dot Voting to narrow down ideas
  • Storyboarding - each student will create a storyboard to see how close they are and help clear up misunderstandings.
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Authentic Audience:
  • Michigan Design Challenge group
Final Presentation:
  • Create a video and prototype to present to the audience.​
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Click here for teacher's full plan.

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Reflection and Feedback:
  • Reflection sheet ​

Click here for the teacher's Journey through PBL on Padlet . . .

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Meet the Educator:
Justine Keuning-LaFrence is a middle school librarian for West Ottawa Public Schools.
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     "I love seeing how kids tackle real-world problems with creative and interesting solutions.  When kids work through a PBL experience, they have the chance to use their unique talents and develop their critical thinking skills."​
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  • Home
  • Who We Are
  • PBL Experiences
    • ELE PBL Experiences
    • MS PBL Experiences
    • HS PBL Experiences
  • Resources
  • Protocol Examples
  • Community / Industry Partners