Most of a design session will be spent doing small group design work. Working with the entirety of the group tends to make it difficult for everyone to have their voices represented. What we have found works well is to introduce the design question of the day to the whole group, then to break into smaller groups for the bulk of the design work using various design techniques, and finally to come back and have each small group present their ideas to the whole group. This has the added benefit generally of producing more design ideas than in one large group.
- Small groups should be small enough that all voices can be heard, but large enough for there to be multiple ideas and voices contributing to the design. An ideal size for small groups is about 4-5 members.
- Ideally there would be 2+ adults and 2+ children in each group. If there is only one adult and multiple children, it can introduce a “teacher” dynamic where the default is that the adult would lead and teach. If there is only one child in a group, it can create a situation where that child feels as though they are being observed, questioned, and expected to produce answers.
- While working in small groups, each team will employ the technique that has been planned to address the design question for the session.
- During small group work, the best-case scenario is that one solution emerges from the group. Sometimes, even small groups will sub-faction and start to work individually or in pairs. In these cases, all ideas should be honored, and group members should be encouraged to bring their ideas together into one idea to present to the whole group.
- During small group work, one adult team member should try to take notes on the ideas or pictures of the artifacts that are emerging and being created. This notetaking should be done in a manner that does not disrupt the design, nor make anyone in the group feel that they are being “observed.” Being sure to capture ideas that might not make it into the small group design is important as these ideas may also ultimately be useful in the final design.
- When presenting the small group idea to the whole design team, it can be an adult or child co-designer who presents the idea.
