Learning Goals
Students will be able to investigate student transition concerns in the new middle school building by collecting and organizing evidence from interviews and observations so they can identify real user needs.
Students will be able to synthesize evidence from student ambassadors, feeder-school teachers, and peers to define a clear problem statement about welcoming sixth graders so they can distinguish problems from solutions.
Students will be able to generate multiple How Might We statements and solution ideas for a welcoming Rube Goldberg machine so they can compare different ways to meet the same user need.
Students will be able to explain how force, motion, collisions, and energy transfer operate in a Rube Goldberg chain reaction so they can justify design choices with scientific vocabulary and reasoning.
Students will be able to prototype and test a Rube Goldberg mechanism that completes a welcoming action for a new student so they can use materials, simple machines, and energy transfer effectively.
Students will be able to evaluate test results and revision feedback from gallery walks and user trials so they can prioritize tradeoffs and improve the performance of their design.
Students will be able to collaborate to refine a shared team prototype and presentation for the One School, Many Welcomes Fair so they can communicate how their solution responds to community needs.
Products
Individual User Interview Notes, Problem Statement, and Prototype Sketch Portfolio
Each student submits a research-and-design portfolio showing firsthand evidence from at least one real user interaction, a clearly framed How Might We problem statement, and an individual prototype sketch or model. The portfolio explains how the student’s evidence shaped the design idea and what feedback will guide the next revision.
Tested Rube Goldberg Welcome Machine and Community Design Pitch
Teams present a working Rube Goldberg machine that delivers a welcoming message and completes a helpful action for new or returning students in the new middle school building. They also give a short pitch explaining the user need, scientific reasoning, tradeoffs, testing data, and revisions that led to the final solution.
No rubric has been generated yet.