Collaborative Design Project

Year Level

Years 4, 5 and 6

Duration

50 minutes

Class Size

30 students

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Lesson Title

Collaborative Design Project and Presentation

Lesson Description

In this lesson, students will work collaboratively in groups to plan and present a sustainable design project that addresses a community need. They will outline their project using provided templates tailored to be dyslexia-friendly, create a digital presentation, and showcase their ideas to the class. The lesson emphasises cooperative learning, sustainability principles, and digital literacy aligned with the Australian Curriculum (v9).

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WALT (We Are Learning To)

• Plan a collaborative sustainable design project addressing a real community need.
• Use digital tools to create and present a project outline and proposal.
• Present confidently and respond to peers' questions about the project.

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Success Criteria

Students will be able to:

• Collaboratively develop a project outline incorporating sustainability considerations.
• Use provided digital templates with clear, simplified language to guide planning and presentation.
• Deliver a clear, confident presentation addressing the community need and sustainability aspects.
• Respond thoughtfully to questions from classmates demonstrating understanding of the project.

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Curriculum Links

Design and Technologies (Years 4-6)

• AC9TDE6P05: Develop project plans that include consideration of resources to individually and collaboratively make designed solutions.
• AC9TDE6P01: Investigate needs or opportunities for designing, and the materials, components, tools, equipment and processes needed to create designed solutions.
• AC9TDE6K01: Explain how people in design and technologies occupations consider competing factors including sustainability in the design of products, services and environments.
• AC9TDE6P03: Select and use suitable materials, components, tools, equipment and techniques to safely make designed solutions.
• AC9TDI4P07 (Years 3-4): Use the core features of common digital tools to share content, plan tasks, and collaborate following agreed behaviours.

Cross-curriculum priority: Sustainability

• Understanding sustainable design principles by responding to community needs.
• Encouraging responsible use of resources and environmental consideration in design choices.

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Resources Needed

• Digital devices (laptops or tablets) with presentation software (e.g., PowerPoint, Google Slides)
• Project outline template with simplified language (dyslexia-friendly fonts and clear headings)
• Presentation checklist (simplified and visual)
• Examples of real-world sustainable design projects for extension
• Access to cloud-based collaborative tools (e.g., shared folders or documents)
• Whiteboard or screen for group sharing
• Timer for presentations and Q&A

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Lesson Structure

1. Introduction (5 minutes)

• Briefly recap sustainable design concepts learned in previous lessons.
• Introduce today's task: collaboratively plan a sustainable design project addressing a community need, then present it.
• Explain the success criteria and how the provided templates and checklist support their work, including dyslexia-friendly features.

2. Group Project Planning (20 minutes)

• Divide the class into groups of 4-5 students.
• Each group selects or is assigned a community need to address.
• Groups use the project outline template to organise their ideas, focusing on:
• Description of the community need
• Sustainable design solution concept
• Materials and tools required (consider environmental impact)
• Roles within the group and steps for development
• Teacher circulates to support groups, clarifying language or guiding digital tool use.
• Encourage groups to assign roles (e.g., presenter, researcher, designer).

3. Creating Digital Presentations (10 minutes)

• Groups transfer their outline into a digital presentation using simple slides.
• Templates include slide headings and prompts with simplified language.
• Incorporate images or icons to illustrate ideas (accessible for visual learners).
• Teacher provides dyslexia-friendly tips (e.g., using bullet points, short sentences).

4. Presentation and Q&A (12 minutes)

• Each group presents their sustainable project outline to the class (2-3 minutes per group).
• Use the presentation checklist to self-assess clarity, presentation skills, and completeness.
• After each presentation, allow 1-2 minutes for classmates to ask questions.
• Encourage respectful listening and constructive feedback.

5. Conclusion and Extension (3 minutes)

• Highlight key learnings about sustainability and collaboration.
• Offer an extension task for advanced learners: research a real-world sustainable design project and integrate it into their presentation or future design work.
• Remind students of the importance of clarity in communication and inclusive cooperation.

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Differentiation Strategies

Learner Type	Strategies
Diverse learners (including dyslexia)	Provide dyslexia-friendly templates with simplified language and visuals; allow verbal explanations; provide structured sentence starters.
Advanced learners	Encourage independent research and inclusion of real-world examples; suggest deeper analysis of sustainability impacts.
Students needing support	Group work with peer mentoring; scaffold with checklists and clear task breakdown; use of digital reading tools.

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Assessment

• Observe group collaboration and participation during planning and presentation.
• Review project outlines and digital presentations for inclusion of sustainability principles and clear organisation.
• Use a simple rubric aligned with success criteria: clarity, sustainability integration, teamwork, presentation skills.
• Note students’ ability to answer questions about their project.

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Teacher Notes

• Emphasise safe, responsible, and cooperative group interactions.
• Use technology to facilitate collaboration and shared work (e.g., online documents).
• Maintain a positive, supportive environment to encourage confidence in presenting.
• Adjust timing if needed to allow all groups to present comfortably.
• Use formative feedback during group work to guide improvement.

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