Technology · Inquiry A · Years 7–8
Te Hoahoa Otinga: Designing Solutions
Someone near you — a younger student, whānau member, or teacher — has a practical problem. Good design starts with understanding needs, not jumping to solutions.
Your mission
Why it matters
Designers iterate: prototype, test, learn, improve.
- You'll make
- A tested prototype with design story for a real user.
- Who it's for
- A real user, whānau member, or local group with the need
- How long
- About 4 weeks, in any term
- Who takes part
- The whole Years 7–8 class, together
Your first step
Interview your user about the problem. Write needs (not solutions). Sketch three possible approaches.
Your journey: DESIGN
- Discover
- Explore
- Sketch
- Improve
- Give Value
- Navigate Constraints
Every stage has Getting started, On track and Stretch support, so the whole class can work on it together.
Explore more
Trusted New Zealand sites for your research.
- Code Club Aotearoa ↗
Code Club Aotearoa
Free coding projects and clubs for NZ tamariki.
- Scratch ↗
MIT
Free block coding for games, animations and models.
For teachers: how to run it
Teach need-finding before prototyping. Safety check for materials. User test in week 3 with feedback capture.
Run it with a combined Years 7–8 class in any term. Students record each stage in Kōkiri Learn; you see progress by stage, never rankings or scores.
Ready to run it with your class?
Free trial for NZ schools. One combined Years 7–8 class, any term.