Identifying challenges and opportunities
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can identify barriers to mental health and wellbeing, and frame them as opportunities for design.
Key learning points
- There are common barriers in mental health and wellbeing that impact on daily tasks.
- Problems can be reframed as design opportunities.
Keywords
Stressor - a situation, event, or pressure that makes someone feel worried or upset
Barrier - something that prevents a person from completing a task or feeling content
Opportunity - a chance to use design to solve a problem or improve a situation
Common misconception
Mental health and wellbeing challenges are too personal or 'invisible' to be designed for.
Designers don’t solve mental health itself, but create supportive products, services, or environments that ease challenges.
Teacher tip
Use relatable school-based scenarios (e.g. stress during exams, noisy environments, poor sleep) to ground discussion before expanding into wider contexts.
Content guidance
Depiction or discussion of mental health issues
Supervision
Adult supervision required
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which of these best describes inclusive design?
Q2.Match each keyword to the correct definition:
the ability of a product or space to adapt to different needs
how comfortable, safe, and healthy a person feels
a person’s emotional and psychological state
Q3.Match the design term to its meaning:
an early version of a product to test ideas
thought or suggestion for solving a problem
opinions from others to improve a design
Q4.Which of the following statements is correct?
Q5.Which product feature best supports wellbeing?
Q6.Designers need to consider the needs of the when designing a product.
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Match the keyword to the correct definition:
something that stops a person from completing a task or being content
a factor that creates pressure or tension
a chance to solve a problem through design
Q2.Which of these is the best example of reframing a barrier into an opportunity?
Q3.Which of the following is the correct order of cause and effect?
Q4.Why do designers study barriers to mental health and wellbeing?
Q5.Match the example to the correct category:
parent feels stressed about balancing work and childcare
a lack of time leads to tiredness and reduced focus
a magnetic wall planner to organise tasks and childcare duties
Q6.Noise, deadlines, and social isolation are examples of .
To help you plan your 10 design and technology lesson on: Identifying challenges and opportunities, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 10 design and technology lesson on: Identifying challenges and opportunities, 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 4 design and technology lessons from the Inclusive Design: Mental Health and Wellbeing unit, dive into the full secondary design and technology curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.