← Back to Designing for Integrity

Tomorrow Ready · Designing for Integrity

Select the Evidence Before the Making Starts: Evidence Lock for Technology Years 1 to 3

Subject adaptation · Years 1 to 3 · Technology · Field-Based STEM · Tony Jones

When young learners can begin making without selecting evidence first, the making is disconnected from thinking. Evidence Lock gives the thinking somewhere to happen before the hands get busy.

Select
Choose evidence pieces
Explain
Why each matters
Lock
Before making begins
Show
Evidence travels with work

The Strategy

Evidence Lock gives young designers a thinking record before any making begins. Two or three evidence pieces, one sentence of explanation each: the lock happens before tools are picked up, ensuring that the finished work is connected to decisions the student can speak to.

  1. Before any design, making, or tool use begins, students select two to three pieces of evidence: images, materials, examples, or sources they will use in their design.
  2. Students write or dictate one sentence per piece explaining why it matters for their specific design task.
  3. The teacher collects all selections and explanations before any making begins. Making does not start until the lock is received.
  4. The evidence anchors travel with the finished work at submission. The teacher checks that the finished work connects to the locked evidence set.

In Practice

Years 1 to 2

Teacher pre-selects four or five evidence options. Students choose two and draw or dictate their explanation. Teacher scribes the justification sentence using the student's spoken words. Making begins only after the teacher has recorded all choices.

Year 3

Students select from a class-approved set independently and write their justification sentence with teacher support as needed. The locked set is attached to their design plan before making begins.

Implementation

Decision Checkpoint

If a student's finished design uses materials or ideas not in their locked evidence set, ask one question before marking: "Show me where this came from." A student who can explain a new source has demonstrated genuine design thinking.

Teacher Judgement Note

At Years 1 to 3, the locked evidence set is a scaffold for design thinking, not an integrity mechanism. Keep the language framed around "here is your plan" rather than "here is your commitment."

Related Frameworks

Boundary Card · Verification Slip · Trace Map

Tony Jones · Founder, Field-Based STEM · Tomorrow Ready Resources · Free to use and share