What do your peers really think about social media—and how do different platforms shape those opinions?
In this lesson, students gather firsthand data and analyze real content to deepen their understanding of the issue. These insights will help refine their project focus and ensure their solutions are rooted in real experiences and perspectives.
Learning Objectives
Students will:
- Conduct peer surveys to gather initial perceptions related to their topic.
- Compare social media content across platforms to identify trends and biases.
- Identify gaps in their understanding that can be addressed through interviews or observational research.
- Begin completing their empathy map using audience input.
What You’ll Need
Minds-on
Skills for the Future:
- Decision Making
- Growth Mindset
Project Word Wall:
- Inquiry
- Bias
- Feasibility
- Pitch
- Problem statement
Understanding the true impact of social media requires more than just reading articles and analyzing studies; we must also listen directly to the people who live with these experiences every day. In this lesson, you’ll become both a researcher and an investigator, gathering real-world input from your peers and examining how social media platforms shape narratives, trends, and opinions. By collecting survey responses, comparing platform content, and beginning to map your audience’s experiences, you’ll gain valuable insights that will help your team refine your project focus. This hands-on research will ensure your final project is grounded in authentic voices, experiences, and evidence, helping you design solutions that truly matter. Let’s dive in and see what we can uncover together.
In this lesson, students continue the define phase of the design thinking process by collecting authentic, real-world data to better understand their audience. Through peer surveys and platform analysis, they refine their project focus based on lived experiences and emerging insights.
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Standards and Practices
Common Core Standards: Grades 9–10
- RI.9–10.7: Analyze various accounts of a subject in different media formats, noting emphasized details.
- RI.9–10.8: Evaluate arguments and claims in texts, assessing reasoning and supporting evidence.
- W.9–10.7: Conduct short research projects to answer a question or solve a problem.
- SL.9–10.1: Engage in collaborative discussions, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
Common Core Standards: Grades 11–12
- RI.11–12.7: Evaluate multiple sources of information in different media formats to address a problem.
- RI.11–12.8: Evaluate reasoning in research and arguments, considering strengths and weaknesses.
- W.11–12.7: Conduct research to explore a question, synthesizing information from multiple sources.
- W.11–12.8: Collect and assess the credibility of digital and print sources for research projects.
- SL.11–12.1: Effectively engage in discussions on complex topics, clearly articulating ideas.
- SL.11–12.3: Evaluate a speaker’s reasoning, use of evidence, and rhetoric to assess argument strength.
Next Generation Science Standards
- HS-ETS1-1: Analyze a major global challenge to specify qualitative and quantitative criteria and constraints for solutions that account for societal needs and wants.
- HS-ETS1-3: Evaluate a solution to a complex real-world problem based on prioritized criteria and trade-offs that account for a range of constraints, including cost, safety, reliability, aesthetics, and social, cultural, and environmental impacts.
- Science and Engineering Practice: Analyzing and Interpreting Data: Students evaluate the reliability and accuracy of data from different sources, including surveys, media analysis, and expert interviews.
International Society for Technology in Education
- Innovative Designer (4a, 4b, 4c, 4d): Students use a variety of technologies within a design process to solve problems by creating new, useful, or imaginative solutions.
- Knowledge Constructor (3a, 3b, 3c, 3d): Students plan and employ effective research strategies to locate information and other resources.