ES Design: Home

Why teach design?

Design is a weekly specialist class for grades 2-5 students. Design helps prepare students for a volatile, unpredictable, complex and ambiguous future. The design cycle teaches students to engage with problems, needs, or wants; develop a plan of action; create a prototype or product; evaluate what they make, and then seek to improve upon it.  

Throughout the design cycle students develop their thinking, self-management, social, research, and communication skills. You can find out more about each stage of the process in the boxes below. 

We believe design should connect, inspire, challenge and make a difference. It will do this by: 

• Providing a balance of authentic, experiential physical and digital projects. 
• Integrating with units of inquiry (transdisciplinary). 
• Teaching responsible use of a range of physical and digital skills. 
• Being transparent to all stakeholders. 
• Using design thinking and the WAB design process. 
• Being inclusive of all abilities, genders and nationalities. 
• Preparing students for MYP design.