
SILO 6.2 (DRAFT) Year 6, Term 2: Ideation Scope and sequence: Prototypes Focus: Pitching an idea
Learning intention: Students use the design cycle to develop prototypes for inventions using appropriate technical terms and graphical representation techniques.
NSW Syllabus	Australian Curriculum
"A student plans and uses materials, tools and equipment to develop solutions for a need or opportunity" (ST3-2DP-T).	"Students learn to generate, iterate and communicate design ideas, decisions and processes using technical terms and graphical representation techniques, including using digital tools" (AC9TDE6P02).

Introduction to ideation

Ideation is the process of generating, developing, and communicating new ideas. In a creative context, it can involve brainstorming and problem-solving to find new solutions or product concepts. Ideation is closely related to invention. "Necessity is the mother of invention" is a saying attributed to Aesop in his fable, The crow and the pitcher from the mid 6th century BCE. The following video (1:07) tells this story.

A well-known saying often attributed to Voltaire (1694-1778) is, "Perfect is the enemy of the good".

What does this mean and what are the implications for productivity?

Steve Jobs (1955-2011), the late co-founder, chairman and CEO of Apple is credited with saying, "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication".

What does this mean and what is sophistication?

Design thinking and the design cycle

We have looked at the design cycle in SILO 1.3 'Materials' and SILO 5.2 'Engineering'. In SILO 6.3 'Ideation' we will explore the design cycle in more detail. The new words written in blue in the diagram below are detailed in An introduction to design thinking (Shanks, 2010) from the Institute of Design at Stanford.

This video (3:57) explains the five steps in design thinking, namely:

Empathise
Define
Ideate
Prototype
Test

Form and function

'Tetra Paks' were invented in 1951 and they have become very common due to their ability to preserve the shelf life of liquids. You might be surprised to know that many people use an incorrect technique when pouring from Tetra Paks as explained in the following video (2:00):

The saying "form follows function" has been around since ancient Roman times.

What does this mean and how does it relate to design?

Final form v incremental improvement

Some inventions became products which have not changed for many years. Examples of this are shown below:

(Image source https://x.com/Thinkwert/status/1937588212412649702/photo/1)

Do you think that products such as these have reached their final form or will there always be room for improvement?

The following video (9:17) titled How This Pen Changed The World tells the story of the Bic Cristal pen. (There is an unwanted ad embedded in this video from 4:00 to 5:04 but you can skip ahead when the time comes. We have also programmed it to stop at the 8:45 mark to avoid another ad.) The video shows how many of the minute details have purposes that aren’t obvious, and shows the iterative history of its design, including the benefits of the pen in increasing literacy around the world and increasing accessibility to knowledge.

Critical thinking and problem solving

Critical thinking is the process of analysing information to make a judgement, while problem solving is the process of finding solutions to specific challenges. Problem solving is more task oriented as it uses critical thinking to define a problem, generate solutions and choose the best one to implement.

Are critical thinking and problem solving two sides of the same coin?

What might be a good name for such a coin?

Objectivity and subjectivity

Objectivity is the capacity to look at something from beyond our own perspective and interests. Subjectivity is the opposite of this because it is about our own personal tastes and preferences. For example, if you were asked about your favourite colour or song, your response would be correct for you but it could not be expected to be the same for everyone else. When someone is objective they are more likely to see an issue or topic in a way which could be transferable or even generalisable to other people in different situations and contexts. This is why the scientific method seeks to structure and document experiments in such a way that other people following the same method are likely to experience the same results.

Discuss how objectivity might benefit critical thinking and problem solving.

Innovation in manufacturing

Common grocery items are just as likely to become the focus of innovation as anything else. The following video (2:32) demonstrates this idea using the example of soda packaging.

Discuss the idea that scarcity creates demand when you have the right product.

Pitching ideas

Prepare for a 'Shark tank' style activity at the end of this unit.

The following video (1:12) is a quick example of a Shark Tank pitch involving two brothers and a new idea about ice cream cones.

Rubric creation activity

Students will brainstorm ideas for a rubric. These ideas will then be merged into a rubric for the shark tank sessions later in the unit.

Four levels of innovation

Albion et al. (2022, pp. 172-173) defined four levels of innovation as follows:

Level 1: Refinement

Existing product refinement – improvement of a product.

Level 2: Reinvention

Reinvention of existing product – adding new features to a product.

Level 3: Evolution

Evolutionary product – significant change to an existing product, usually irreversible.

Level 4: Revolution

Revolutionary product – creating something new.

Design challenge

Click here for a design challenge worksheet which you could use for the following 'Shark tank' activity.

Shark tank 1

The five students in group 1 will present. Peer evaluation will be captured using verbal feedback and scored according to the rubric.

Shark tank 2

The five students in group 2 will present. Peer evaluation will be captured using verbal feedback and scored according to the rubric.

Shark tank 3

The five students in group 3 will present. Peer evaluation will be captured using verbal feedback and scored according to the rubric.

Shark tank 4

The five students in group 4 will present. Peer evaluation will be captured using verbal feedback and scored according to the rubric.

Shark tank 5

The five students in group 5 will present. Peer evaluation will be captured using verbal feedback and scored according to the rubric.

The circular economy

The circular economy is based on the idea of designing systems to keep resources in use for as long as possible and minimise waste and pollution. The following video (3:43) by CNBC explains how the circular economy is being adopted in various industries and businesses.

Biomimicry

Biomimicry is when technology is inspired by nature. The following video (2:50) contains several interesting examples of biomimicry and how this is an exciting new direction in STEM fields.

Moderated self-assessment

Discussions with students around the key components of conceptual topics and how they fit together can generate insights into student achievement.

We welcome your feedback and suggestions

The chief investigator for The SILO Project is Associate Professor Brendan Jacobs, Head of Department STEM Education, University of New England. The SILO Project thrives on incremental improvement so constructive feedback is greatly appreciated. Please contact Brendan via email at bjacobs7@une.edu.au to share your thoughts and recommendations.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License

SILO 6.2 (DRAFT)

Year 6, Term 2: Ideation

Scope and sequence: Prototypes

Focus: Pitching an idea

Learning intention: Students use the design cycle to develop prototypes for inventions

using appropriate technical terms and graphical representation techniques.