Activity 01
Inquiry Circle: The User Interview
Students 'interview' a peer or teacher about a daily frustration (e.g., losing their hat). They take notes and then work in pairs to write a 'Problem Statement' that starts with 'How might we...'
Analyze the needs of the target user for a given problem.
Facilitation TipDuring the Collaborative Investigation, assign clear roles (e.g., interviewer, note-taker) so every student contributes to gathering user insights.
What to look forProvide students with a scenario (e.g., 'Students find it hard to carry all their books and lunchbox'). Ask them to write: 1. Who is the target user? 2. What is one user need? 3. Write a problem statement for this scenario.
AnalyzeEvaluateCreateSelf-ManagementSelf-Awareness
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Activity 02
Think-Pair-Share: The 5 Whys
The teacher presents a simple problem (e.g., 'The bin is full'). Students work in pairs to ask 'Why?' five times to get to the root cause, helping them see that the first problem isn't always the real one.
Justify the importance of clearly articulating a problem statement.
Facilitation TipWhen doing the 5 Whys, model how to gently push students to ask 'why' again when answers sound too simple or personal.
What to look forPresent a broad design challenge, such as 'Making the classroom more organized.' Ask students to discuss in small groups: 'Who might need this? What are their specific problems? How can we define the problem more clearly?' Facilitate a whole-class share-out of refined problem statements.
UnderstandApplyAnalyzeSelf-AwarenessRelationship Skills
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Activity 03
Gallery Walk: Problem Brainstorm
Post large sheets of paper around the room with different 'users' (e.g., a gardener, a pet owner, a librarian). Students walk around and write one problem each of those people might face that technology could solve.
Construct success criteria for a proposed solution.
Facilitation TipFor the Gallery Walk, provide sentence stems on posters to help students frame their problem statements during the brainstorm.
What to look forAfter user research activities, ask students to individually list 3 things they learned about their target user. Then, have them write one sentence explaining how this information helps define the problem they are trying to solve.
UnderstandApplyAnalyzeCreateRelationship SkillsSocial Awareness
Generate Complete Lesson→A few notes on teaching this unit
Approach this topic by making the abstract concrete. Use familiar scenarios first (e.g., 'Why is it hard for someone to tie their shoes?') to demonstrate how many layers a problem has. Avoid rushing to solutions by explicitly teaching that defining the problem is a separate skill from solving it. Research in design education shows that students who practice problem definition early create more thoughtful and effective final products.
Successful learning looks like students articulating a specific user’s need and framing it as a focused problem statement. They should show curiosity about others’ experiences and use evidence from research to support their thinking. Confusion is normal at first, but by the end, they should be able to explain why a well-defined problem matters.
Watch Out for These Misconceptions
During the Collaborative Investigation, watch for students who ask closed questions or lead the user toward their own ideas.
Model open-ended questions like 'What makes that part of the activity hard for you?' and have students practice phrasing questions that avoid yes/no answers.
During the Gallery Walk, watch for students who write problem statements that sound like wishes or assumptions rather than clear needs.
Prompt students to use evidence from their brainstorm notes by asking, 'What did you observe that makes you say this is a problem?'
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