Briarcliff Middle School sixth graders are not afraid of sharks. At least not the students with an entrepreneurial steak.
Recently, as part of a project in English Language Arts class with Ali Mazza, students presented inventions to a group of hungry “sharks” to see if any of them would “bite.”
To help foster a deeper understanding of the human experience and create solutions to make the world kinder, students began a project that involved the Design Thinking Process, Mazza explained.
Their Book Club unit was centered around this essential question: In a world that can be cruel, why does kindness matter?
“Students were reading choice novels featuring protagonists who face disabilities, and this year I worked with Instructional Coach Maggie White to embed the Design Thinking Process into the unit as a way to deepen empathy and problem-solving,” Mazza said. “Students identified real challenges faced by characters in their novels and designed realistic, respectful ideas that could make life easier, fairer, or kinder for those characters or the people around them.”
Before students began developing their own ideas, they first learned the five steps of the framework: empathize, define, ideate, prototype and test.
“We discussed how designers use this process to solve real-world problems in thoughtful, human-centered ways – and how those same principles could apply to the characters and their challenges in literature,” Mazza said.
Students found a challenge that one of their characters was facing and, using the design thinking process, developed an original idea for an invention addressing the challenge.
While students were not required to physically build prototypes, some chose to take their ideas further by creating models, including a few who worked with the district’s tech team to use the high school’s 3D printing services to bring their designs to life.
Next, students tested their ideas in the real world and received feedback from peers, as part of the design thinking process.
“They were required to make at least one thoughtful revision or improvement to their idea based on the peer feedback before presenting it,” Mazza said.
The project culminated with a Shark Tank-Style Pitch Day, where Briarcliff Middle School teachers and staff members were invited to serve as the “sharks.” Each shark could “invest” in one idea by handing out an ELA homework pass.
“Students presented their ideas formally, just like on the television show, answered clarifying questions and justified why their solution deserved investment,” said Mazza, who helped create a real “Shark Tank” atmosphere by adding the theme music from the show as students walked to the front of the classroom to present.
“The ‘sharks’ invested in the idea that they felt best demonstrated creativity and meaningful real-world problem solving. They looked at the following categories: most realistic idea, most creative problem-solving idea and an idea that makes the world a kinder place.
“The result was a powerful combination of literary analysis, empathy, collaboration, revision, and public speaking,” Mazza said. “Students were not only applying what they learned about character and theme but also thinking beyond their novel about how ideas can create a kinder, more accessible world.”
Some ideas were an “Alphabet Soup Can” that was designed to help a protagonist who has dyslexia. It contained individual 3D printed letters, with the vowels having a different texture than the consonants, allowing people to put the letters on a panel outside the can in a multi-sensory experience.
“It was an incredible example of how students moved from close reading and textual analysis to empathy-driven design,” Mazza said.
Two students created a notebook called The Positive Passionate Publication, which has positive affirmations that people can say to one another and to themselves. This is based on some characters from the book “Out of My Mind” who are bullies with a negative mindset. Their challenge was to ensure that people who are struggling with negativity could change, little by little.
The students explained that many people struggle with mental health issues and changing their perspective by being the best version of themselves will help them be more positive and have a better mindset.
Another idea was a pair of shoes that have a magnetic heel strap that can help a protagonist who was born without arms.
“Each of these projects beautifully captured what we hoped students would understand: that literature is not just about analyzing characters – It is about understanding human experiences deeply enough to imagine solutions that make the world more accessible and compassionate,” Mazza said.
Science teacher Bob Iovino, who volunteered to be a shark, agrees.
“All of the students presented their inventions through an empathetic lens,” he said. “They understood the characters in the story and connected it and were able to understand what they needed. I was really impressed with the engineering that they did and the connections to the books.”
“This project turned out to be an incredibly meaningful experience for our students,” Mazza said.
