“Ms., I need at least four more motors.”
“Sorry R., I only have the one motor that I already gave you.”
“But Ms., I can’t make it work without at least four more motors, five would be better.”
“You’re just going to have to figure out how to make it work with one R.; I know you can do it.”
I had challenged my 6th grade TIDE (Technology, Innovation, Design and Engineering) students to design, engineer & showcase something that would inspire and/or impact another person. Individually or in small groups, they had come up with some great ideas including light-up slime, a website to help people find and donate to credible charities and R.’s idea that involved designing and building a moving vehicle that younger kids could experiment and play with.
The students, using design thinking, began by empathizing with the end user of the product they had decided to create. After ideating and zeroing in one idea, they were now building their first prototypes and R. was struggling. In all of our design challenges, there are criteria and constraints. I believe that constraint begets creativity and innovation. In this particular challenge, because so many ideas were being pursued, the primary constraint I gave the students was that they needed to create their prototype/s using things that they could find in our room. I had one motor in the classroom, this was R.’s sticking point.
In his daily productivity logs, R. let me know again and again that he would not be able to successfully create the moving vehicle that he had envisioned unless he had many more motors.
Four days into the challenge, I almost gave in but then I reminded myself of what happens when we have constraints. We are forced to get creative. We are compelled to get innovative. We are pushed to think more deeply. And as a result, we often create/develop something that is better, or at least really different, than we originally intended. I stood strong and kept encouraging him. Day 6 - Breakthrough!
“Ms., I was thinking about what I could do since you won’t give me more motors and I remembered those littleBits that we worked with last month. I was thinking that I might be able to use them to solve the problem I’ve been having with the wheels on my car…”
“Of course, R., they are in the room.”
After being stuck for 6 days, R. figured out a solution. He spent the next 5 days tweaking and testing and tweaking and testing his prototype until he was satisfied. When he showcased his work, his smile stretched from ear to ear. He was so proud that he, on his own, persevered through his struggles and was able to create a final product that met his original criteria.
Merriam-Webster defines a constraint as “the state of being checked, restricted, or compelled to avoid or perform some action”. Constraints, at least in the mind of my middle school learners, are often perceived as a negative; things to avoid if at all possible. After a year of many design challenges, each with their own criteria and constraints, I have a deeper understanding of the power of constraints. Constraints can be an avenue to help learners open their minds, get their creative juices flowing and think differently and deeper. When paired with choice, constraints push learners to be innovative. Constraints are uncomfortable though and can be met with resistance. As the learning facilitator, it is critical to create an environment where learners are free to take risks while receiving encouragement, support, time and in some cases, scaffolding, to break through their self imposed walls and become problem solving innovators. Constraints, then, become the wings that let a learner fly.
I’d love to hear how others embed and entwine constraints into learning opportunities. How do your students respond? What challenges have you faced? What success have you seen?
