Lesson 3: Designing Your Action Solution — He Aha tō Mahi Hāpai?
Moving from problem to solution — using design thinking to prototype a realistic community action, learning from failure fast, and ensuring your solution addresses the actual root cause.
🎯 Ngā Whāinga Akoranga | Learning Intentions
Design thinking process (empathise, define, ideate, prototype, test); how to distinguish between addressing symptoms vs. root causes; how Māori problem-solving through wānanga and collective intelligence avoids individual-hero solutions.
Generate solution concepts; use the Design Thinking Canvas to evaluate feasibility vs. impact; produce an action prototype.
🎥 Media Anchor & Inquiry Scaffold
Community Action & Project-Based Learning in Aotearoa
Watch the full clip — 2:29. Source: Common Unity Project Aotearoa. Rangatahi designing and running a real project in their own community — note what they built, and who decided what to build.
🧠 1. Before Viewing (Launch the Inquiry)
You've identified the problem and consulted the community. Now: what can you actually DO that would make a real difference — not just raise awareness, but create genuine change? What is in your control?
👁️ 2. During Viewing (Critical Inquiry Points)
- Early in the clip: What is the difference between 'raising awareness' (a weak action) and 'creating change' (a strong action)? Why do so many student projects end at awareness when they could go further?
- Midway: Design thinking says: prototype quickly and learn fast. How does this differ from how schools typically approach projects? Why might fast prototyping produce better results?
- Later in the clip: How does the Māori principle of whanaungatanga (relationships) shape the design of community solutions — and why is a solution designed WITH the community better than one designed FOR them?
🗣️ 3. After Viewing & Kaiako Facilitation
Kaiako Move: Run a rapid ideation session: give groups 10 minutes to generate 20 possible solutions without evaluating. Then apply the feasibility/impact matrix to select the top candidates.
Task: Solution Design: Using the Design Thinking Canvas, document your chosen solution: What exactly will you create? Who does it reach? What change will it create? What resources do you need? What could go wrong?
⚡ Whakaoho | Do Now: Project Hook (5 mins)
Crazy Eight Sprint: fold a sheet of paper into 8 boxes. In 4 minutes (30 seconds per box), sketch 8 quick, diverse solution ideas to your community problem. Volume and creativity matter more than neatness.
🌱 Activity 1: Collaborative Inquiry (25 mins)
Feasibility-Impact Matrix: On your Design Thinking Canvas, plot your top five ideas on the 2×2 matrix (high/low feasibility × high/low impact). Identify which ideas fall into the high-impact, high-feasibility sweet spot.
✍️ Activity 2: Documentation & Reflection (20 mins)
Prototype build: Create a first prototype of your solution — this could be a plan document, a physical model, a draft policy, a mock webpage, a script, or a visual map. Complete the prototype brief on the Design Thinking Canvas to prepare for peer testing.
🏫 Kaiako Planning & Pedagogy Notes
Curriculum Alignment: Te Mātaiaho Phase 4 (Years 9–10) — Integrated Social Sciences & Technology (Hangarau). Students develop and refine solutions through iterative design, applying design thinking in authentic social contexts.
Cultural Integration: Use wānanga processes throughout — shared inquiry, collective voice, relational knowledge. Invite community mentors to support groups where possible.
Assessment: This unit uses portfolio-based, process-focused assessment against the Assessment Rubric. The Design Thinking Canvas and Action Log form core evidence for the solution design phase.