Best for
Design challenges, innovation tasks, maker projects, social problem-solving, and collaborative prototyping.
Technology / Innovation • Years 7-10 • Ready to use tomorrow
Design Thinking Process
Use this handout to guide ākonga through empathy, problem definition, ideation, prototyping, and testing. The goal is not just to make something clever, but to design with and for people in ways that are useful, culturally grounded, and responsive to place.
Free design scaffold, premium adaptation path
This handout works as a ready-to-go classroom planning sheet. If you want a challenge linked to a local issue, curriculum focus, or year level, Te Wānanga can generate adapted versions while keeping the design process explicit.
- Swap in a school, hapori, or environmental challenge.
- Generate junior or senior versions of the same design brief.
- Save the adapted workflow and return to it in Creation Studio or My Kete.
Kaiako planning snapshot
- Use length: 30 minutes for a quick design sprint, or multiple lessons if students move into prototyping and review.
- Grouping: Pairs or groups of three work best so ideas are challenged but everyone contributes.
- Prep: Decide on the challenge, available materials, and who the intended users are.
- Teaching move: Keep students grounded in user need rather than rushing to the first “cool” idea.
Resources already provided
- Empathy and user-needs prompts
- Problem definition frame
- Idea-generation scaffold
- Prototype and test checklist
- Reflection questions
- Curriculum companion for planning/reporting
If the challenge calls for planning boxes, criteria prompts, or a review checklist, they are already here so kaiako can teach immediately instead of building templates first.
Ngā Whāinga Akoranga / Learning Intentions
- We are learning how to understand a real user or community need before designing.
- We are learning how to test and improve ideas instead of treating the first idea as finished.
- We are learning how design can respond to people, place, and purpose in Aotearoa.
Paearu Angitu / Success Criteria
- I can explain who my design is for and what problem it solves.
- I can show more than one possible idea before choosing a direction.
- I can improve a prototype after testing or feedback.
Curriculum integration / Te Marautanga alignment
Use the linked curriculum companion to make the technology and problem-solving expectations explicit when planning, assessing, or reporting. This handout is strongest when the design challenge is tied to a meaningful local need rather than a generic task.
A local lens for design
Design thinking in Aotearoa should not feel detached from people and place. Strong design starts with listening carefully, noticing who is affected, and recognising that useful solutions should fit the values, realities, and aspirations of the communities they serve.
1. Empathise
- Who is this design for?
- What do they need, struggle with, or hope for?
- What matters to them in this context?
2. Define the problem
Our design challenge is: ___________________________________________
We know this matters because: _____________________________________
A better outcome would look like: _________________________________
3. Ideate
Generate at least three ideas before deciding:
- __________________________________________________________
- __________________________________________________________
- __________________________________________________________
4. Prototype and test
- What will you make or show first? ________________________________
- How will someone test it? _____________________________________
- What feedback would help most? ________________________________
5. Reflect and refine
What worked well? _______________________________________________
What needs changing? ____________________________________________
What is your next version? _______________________________________
Teach this tomorrow
Print / share
- One copy per student or group
- Challenge brief and any available materials list
Decide before class
- Whether the prototype is paper-based, digital, or oral
- How much time students get for testing and revision
Good progress looks like
- Students can justify why they chose one design direction
- Students respond to feedback rather than treating first ideas as final
Hononga Marautanga · Curriculum Alignment
The Arts — Ngā Toi
Level 3–4: Apply design thinking and artistic skills to communicate ideas and meaning; make informed choices about techniques, media, and presentation for specific purposes and audiences.
Social Sciences — Tikanga ā-Iwi
Level 3–4: Understand how arts and design reflect and shape cultural identity; recognise how Māori and Pacific artistic traditions carry knowledge, history, and cultural values.
Aronga Mātauranga Māori
Māori artistic traditions — tā moko, kōwhaiwhai, tukutuku, whakairo, and kapa haka — are not simply aesthetic expressions: they are knowledge systems that encode whakapapa, tribal history, and cultural values in visual and performative form. The design choices made in Māori art are deliberate and meaningful, and the knowledge required to "read" them correctly is part of the mātauranga held by each iwi. When students engage with artistic design, they are participating in a form of communication that Māori practitioners have developed over centuries. Designing with cultural awareness means understanding that images, patterns, and forms carry obligations — especially when they draw on traditions that belong to others.
Tuhia ōu whakaaro · Write Your Thoughts
Reflect on your learning. What was the most important idea? What question do you still have?
Ngā Rauemi Tautoko · Support Materials
This handout is designed to be used alongside the broader unit resources available at Te Kete Ako handouts library. Related resources from the same unit are linked in the unit planner. All resources are provided — no additional preparation is required to use this handout in your classroom.
📋 Teacher Planning Snapshot
Ngā Whāinga Ako — Learning Intentions
Students will engage with design thinking as a creative and cultural practice, drawing on toi Māori — the arts as an expression of whakapapa, identity, and community values — to develop innovative solutions to real-world challenges. Students will explore how Māori artistic traditions embody sophisticated design thinking rooted in tikanga and te ao Māori.
Ngā Paearu Angitū — Success Criteria
- ✅ I can apply the design thinking process (empathise, define, ideate, prototype, test) to a creative challenge.
- ✅ I can identify how Māori visual arts traditions reflect design principles and cultural values.
- ✅ I can evaluate my design process and explain how I incorporated feedback to improve my work.
Differentiation & Inclusion
Scaffold support: Provide step-by-step design thinking templates for entry-level access. Offer extension tasks requiring students to independently identify a community need and develop a prototype solution, integrating cultural design principles.
ELL / ESOL: Pre-teach design vocabulary (prototype, iteration, empathy, ideation). Allow students to sketch ideas before writing. Visual communication is a valid mode of expression in arts and design contexts.
Inclusion: Offer choice in materials and media to ensure access for all learners. Neurodiverse learners benefit from clear task structure, visual exemplars, and the tactile nature of prototyping. Ensure the classroom environment supports creative risk-taking without judgment.
Mātauranga Māori lens: Connect design thinking to toi Māori — the mauri (life force) in creative work, the role of whakapapa in informing aesthetic choices, and the principle that great design serves the wellbeing of the collective (whanaungatanga). Explore how Māori weaving, carving, and tā moko embody iterative design processes refined over generations.
Prior knowledge: No specialist prior knowledge required. Best positioned after foundational arts exploration.
Curriculum alignment
- Visual Arts — Achievement Objective: Students investigate visual ideas in response to a variety of motivations, observations, and experiences.