Articulate Local Challenge
Students engage in a quick field outreach to a local community member or stakeholder to gather direct input on a local challenge. They capture an empathy artifact—such as a quote, image, or quick sketch—and draft a concise Point-of-View (POV) statement focused on the user’s needs. Working in small groups, they formulate How Might We (HMW) questions, build a user persona profile from the interview, and outline a simple problem tree or systems map showing root causes. Students share their draft POV and artifacts with a peer or user for feedback (user testing) and perform a rapid prototype iteration by revising the POV, HMWs, and personas in response to feedback. By the end, each group will produce a POV statement, HMW questions, persona profiles, and a problem tree or systems map ready for peer feedback in the next phase.
Lesson plan
7 steps| # | What teachers do |
|---|---|
| 1 | Organize into small groups and discuss the local issues you researched. (5 min) |
| 2 | Conduct field outreach: Each group talks to a community member to gather input on a local challenge. Capture an empathy artifact—quote, image, or sketch. (15 min) |
| 3 | Draft a Point-of-View (POV) statement summarizing the community member's needs. (5 min) |
| 4 | Formulate How Might We (HMW) questions in your groups. (5 min) |
| 5 | Create a user persona based on your interview and outline a simple problem tree. (5 min) |
| 6 | Share your draft POV, HMW questions, and persona profiles with another group for feedback. (5 min) |
| 7 | Revise your POV statement, HMW questions, and persona profiles based on the feedback received. (5 min) |
Preparation (3 items)
- Arrange for brief outdoor interaction time with community members so students can collect empathy artifacts.
- Prepare materials such as pens, paper, and tablets for capturing quotes, images, or sketches.
- Prepare guidelines on creating user personas and problem trees.