Learning Goals
Students will be able to investigate middle school transition needs by gathering and organizing evidence from campus walk observations, student leader interviews, and counselor conversations to identify common stress points and support needs.
Students will be able to analyze maps, schedules, handbooks, and other school information to determine how routines, spaces, and expectations shape new students' confidence, organization, and sense of belonging.
Students will be able to synthesize interview notes and observational evidence into a clear problem statement that explains the root cause of a transition challenge for fifth graders entering middle school.
Students will be able to ideate multiple support solutions, including maps, schedules, calming tools, peer advice cards, and help guides, that respond to different transition needs.
Students will be able to prototype a low-fidelity transition support resource using drawings, labels, role-play, or simple physical models that makes help-seeking clearer for new middle school students.
Students will be able to test their prototype with peers and adult partners, collect feedback, and refine the design to better meet user needs and increase confidence and belonging.
Students will be able to justify design decisions with evidence from user research and feedback by explaining how each feature of the final transition support solution addresses a specific student need.
Products
Middle School Transition User Research Folder and Tested Mini-Prototype
Each student creates a research folder with interview notes, observation evidence, and a clear problem statement, then builds and revises one low-fidelity prototype that responds to a specific transition need. The product shows how direct user evidence shaped the design.
Transition Support Corner Walkthrough and Evidence-Based Help Guide
Teams create a shared problem statement, a higher-fidelity transition support corner, and a concise help guide for incoming middle school students. The final walkthrough includes how user research informed the solution and how feedback changed the design.
No rubric has been generated yet.