Explore contexts and empathise
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can explore contexts and empathise with users.
Key learning points
- Designers show empathy when exploring contexts.
- Empathy is having the ability to understand and share the feelings, thoughts, or experiences of another person.
- Showing empathy supports designing because it helps designers better understand what users really need, feel and want.
- A user journey map can support showing empathy with users.
- Exploring experiences can give designers insight into the needs and wants of users.
Keywords
User - who you are designing for
Needs - basic requirements that are essential for an individual's survival, health, and well-being
Wants - desires or wishes for non-essential items or experiences
Empathy - the ability to understand and share the feelings, thoughts, or experiences of another person
Common misconception
Exploring the context should happen quickly so that you can get to the most important phase of designing.
Designing is an important phase. However, taking the time to really explore the context and understand the users needs and wants will provide solid foundations for successful designing.
Teacher tip
Giving pupils the oppoutunity to talk to real people about individual situations and contexts will reinforce empthy and understanding, which will inform designing.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.What is the correct definition of product development?
Q2.Put the stages of the design process in the correct order.
Q3.User Centred Design (UCD) is all about putting the user .
Q4.Product evolution originates from which two reasons?
Q5.The situation where something happens or exists is ...
Q6.What does exploring mean in relation to the design process
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Complete the sentence. A user is you are designing for.
Q2.A user's needs are basic requirements that are for an individual's survival, health, and well-being.
Q3.What are user wants?
Q4.Why is showing empathy important when designing?
Q5.Which of the following best explains why exploring the context is a critical part of the design process?
Q6.What is user journey mapping?
To help you plan your 9 design and technology lesson on: Explore contexts and empathise, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 9 design and technology lesson on: Explore contexts and empathise, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 3 design and technology lessons from the Developments in new materials: supporting new parents unit, dive into the full secondary design and technology curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.