Designing With Empathy: When Students Build for Others

What happens when you combine critical thinking, empathy, literature, and design thinking? Our second graders discovered the answer as they were encouraged to see the world from a different perspective. 

The lesson began with a simple but thought-provoking activity: "What Does Not Belong?" Students examined groups of four pictures and discussed which one didn't belong. They quickly realized there wasn't always one correct answer. As explained and listened to each other's reasoning thinking and listening to the reasoning of others.They were challenged to design their own visual "What Does Not Belong?" cards for classmates to solve.

Source: https://talkingmathwithkids.com/wodb/

Next, we read The Black Book of Colors, a beautiful story that invites readers to imagine experiencing colors through the senses of touch, smell, taste, and sound rather than sight. The book sparked  conversations about how people with visual impairments experience the world and the importance of designing with everyone in mind. Students were then introduced to Braille and how it is a tool for communication., As they explored the raised-dot patterns, we discussed that technology isn't always electronic. 

As we reviewed their earlier design we realised that it was not accessible for the visually impaired and so we took on another challenge to Create a tactile version of "What Does Not Belong?"

Using a variety of textured materials, shapes, and everyday craft supplies, students designed cards that could be explored entirely through touch. Each card included four tactile objects, with one intended to be different in some way. Their classmates then tested the designs by feeling each object without looking and explaining which one they thought did not belong. The challenge was about much more than finding the "right" answer. Students practiced empathy by considering the needs of others, creativity by designing accessible games, and critical thinking by justifying their reasoning. They also experienced the engineering design process by testing, revising, and improving their creations based on feedback.

Tactile Puzzles created by Grade 2 students

Students interacting with the tactile puzzles created by Grade 2 students at the 2022 Social Studies Fair and checking with the answer key at the back.

References 

“Which One Doesn’t Belong?” Math Anywhere, https://www.mathanywhere.org/which-one-doesnt-belong/. 

“WODB (Which One Doesn’t Belong?).” Talking Math with Your Kids, https://talkingmathwithkids.com/wodb/. 

“Design Thinking in the Elementary School Classroom.” EdTech-Class, 16 June 2021, https://edtech-class.com/2021/06/16/design-thinking-in-the-elementary-school-classroom/.