Technology, Innovation & Design
Innovation, Design, Technology and Engineering
Where students create, invent, solve problems, tinker and explore
Betsy K. Lee Verb
Director of Innovation & ICT
Designing for the Future at UISG
Design thinking is used to enhance the learning experience and outcomes among children. This type of thinking involves a fluid, interactive, and dynamic problem-solving approach. Young children are especially masters of imagination and intuition. They have not been exposed to stereotypes and corrupted knowledge that tends to kill creativity in adults. It is easy to incorporate design thinking into their natural way of learning. Since young learners are creative and curious, they will ask questions beyond their level of thinking.
The basics of design thinking involve discovering, empathizing, experimenting, and producing results (DEEP). The process requires empathy, defining the problem, ideating possible solutions, creating, prototyping, and testing. Teachers should be at the forefront to grow this type of DEEP thinking methodology among young students and make the classroom experience a showcase for innovation, creativity, imagination, and intuition.
Betsy K. Lee Verb
Director of Innovation and ICT
techdirector@uisgz.org
ICT in the PYP at UISG
Students learn best when they can engage with a lesson in multiple dimensions.
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- Help children discover their ability to make things.
- Get students thinking critically about how a 2D design translates into a real-world object.
- Enable rapid prototyping in engineering classes.
- Help students achieve that elusive “Wow – I made that” moment.
You will find that children have varying interests and talents right from their younger years. At UISG, we build design thinking around the children’s interests and incorporate this overall mode of thinking into the curriculum.
At Utahloy International School Guangzhou, we include Design-Thinking and Computational Thinking into our PYP Programme to build on these innovative ideas throughout their IB continuum experience.
Design & Technology in the MYP
In the MYP Design program at UISG, we guide the students toward understanding and applying creative and critical thinking skills. Teaching them these skills prepares them to tackle real-life problems using the design thinking process.
Students in our MYP program learn how to properly use various tools such as laser cutters, 3D printers, AI, robotics, Cricut machines, and other hands-on technology. With these tools, they can create multi-dimensional projects that demonstrate their depth of learning by thinking critically and creatively.
Design & Technology in the DP
DP design technology aims to develop internationally-minded people whose enhanced understanding of design and the technological world can facilitate our shared guardianship of the planet and create a better world.
It focuses on analysis, design development, synthesis and evaluation. The creative tension between theory and practice characterizes design technology within the DP sciences subject group.
Inquiry and problem-solving are at the heart of the subject. DP design technology requires using the DP design cycle as a tool, which provides the methodology used to structure the inquiry and analysis of problems, develop feasible solutions, and test and evaluate the solution. In Diploma Programme design technology, a solution can be defined as a model, prototype, product or system that students have developed independently.
DP design technology achieves a high level of design literacy by enabling students to develop critical thinking and design skills, which they can apply practically. While designing may take various forms, it will involve the selective application of knowledge within an ethical framework.
UISG’s well-planned design programme enables students to develop practical skills and strategies for creative and critical thinking.
In the MYP, students have learned how to properly use various tools such as laser cutters, 3D printers, AI, robotics, Cricut machines, and other hands-on technology. When students enter the DP, they can take those prior design skills and add additional human ergonomic aspects, giving more purpose to their designs.
Robotics and Programming in Lower Primary
The UISG Robotics Program adds value to the Programme of Inquiry with curriculum plans from various programs that support our PYP educational values.
The Early Years will be starting Matatalabs TaleBot Pro this year. This will introduce students to computational learning without using a screen. Learning by doing is made fun & engaging as learners enjoy interacting with the cute-looking cartoonish bot whose most attractive feature is its innocent googly eyes. UISG Early Years teachers incorporate basic concepts like; sequencing, conditioning, and debugging into their units by making use of the Tale-Bot as a teaching aid. It can dance, it can draw, and even tell stories. This combines the excitement of art and gamification experiences to track coding & debugging as the students learn. Some additional benefits are:
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- Coding fosters creativity
- It forms the foundation for Math activities
- Children become confident problem solvers
- Coding improves storytelling skills
- It builds computer literacy
Lower Primary Robotics room combines Wonder Robotics with Dash, Dot, and LEGO Robotics. Wonder Robotics, focusing on the K-5 interdisciplinary robotics program, is also housed in this space. Students can interact with Dash and Dot Robots to learn and experience computational learning. Wonder Robotics teaches students coding while enabling them to learn through tangible experiences. The Robotics program spans all interdisciplinary learning, and Wonder Robotics will teach students how to move forward by reinforcing the IB PYP design thinking principles. This play-based learning programming approach is integrated into various Units of Inquiry.
VEX IQ Robotics
The UISG VEX Robotics Program for upper primary and secondary involves programming and engineering using the different IB Design Cycles (PYP and MYP). VEX competitions have noted that students in the IB who learn the Design Thinking process can collaboratively work together and build robotics that perform more accurately than teams without a Design Cycle. Beyond science and engineering principles, VEX encourages creativity, teamwork, leadership, and problem-solving among groups. It engages and inspires the STEM problem solvers of tomorrow!
UISG VEX IQ teams are in Y4-8 and our school is starting the VEX V5 competitions this year for Y9-12. They compete in various VEX and ACAMIS competitions throughout the year.
Design Spaces at UISG
The Imaginarium (PYP) is a designated space for Years 1-4 where the PYP Design Cycle is reinforced. The Design Lab in the Secondary building is a space for Years 5-12. This space’s versatility allows Years 5-6 (PYP) to create projects reinforcing the PYP Design Cycle. It will enable teachers outside of the Design department in the MYP to develop projects using a variety of machines. And finally, it allows DP students a bookable place to work on specialized projects.
There is another designated lab for the MYP and DP Design Classes equipped with laser cutters, resin 3D printers, other woodshop tools, and a spray booth.
The Design Spaces on the UISG campus are collaborative learning environments where students can gather to create, invent, tinker, explore and discover using various tools and materials. Students gather in grade or multi-aged groups to share resources and knowledge, work on projects, collaborate, design, and create.
Within these spaces, students extend learning beyond the regular classroom, encouraging them to become creative and critical thinkers and innovative designers using various design technologies. This process helps them identify and solve problems by creating new, functional, or imaginative solutions.