THE FRANCIS PARKER SCHOOL DESIGN THINKING JOURNEY. Laurynn Evans and Parker Thomas

Transcription

1 THE FRANCIS PARKER SCHOOL DESIGN THINKING JOURNEY Laurynn Evans and Parker Thomas

2 Introductions

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4 Why Design Thinking? Research literature - perseverance, resilience, self-regulation, empathy/compassion Employers - creativity, collaboration, problemsolving skills College/Universities - critical thinking, communication skills, community

5 The Charge Strategic Plan Adopted September 2013 Among other items, specific call-out for: STEAM Program Design Lab But what does it mean?

6 And so... If we build it, they will come. Focus on building a design lab space on site for Upper and Middle School Visits to schools with design labs by faculty, board, leadership Visit to the dschool at Stanford

7 Meanwhile... I visited approximately 15 schools who were pursuing innovation, making, and design thinking in 2013 with a former employer. If we build it, they will come met with limited success in many schools. In spring 2014, I am hired by Francis Parker.

8 Wait a Second! July 2015: I arrive and begin asking questions What do you know about design thinking? What is our vision for design thinking (design lab) at Parker? If we build a lab, will people really use it? Chicken or egg - what comes first?

9 How Might We implement DT? Create and engage a faculty steering group to determine our plan and process Start with cultivating a vision and obtaining a shared definition of design thinking Use Design Thinking to plan and create our vision for design thinking at Parker Parker the Person for Parker the School

10 Begin at the Beginning! Realization: We discovered it made better sense to get folks on board with the vision and implementation of design thinking BEFORE we built a lab space. As such, we literally put the brakes on the physical design lab

11 August days - steering group Experience design thinking Stakeholder needs Student experience (skills, knowledge and habits) What is DT at Parker? Create the vision Plan for the year

12 Parker-izing Design Thinking

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14 The Plan For World Domination

15 Faculty Update Pre-Service Week in August Wows and Wonders Raw Data No pressure! Wows and Wonders Aggregated Data

16 What We Heard I m sorry - what??? Oh great. This is just the version of PBL for this year. We're getting rid of education It's really happening Parker is taking a chance! Failure is an opportunity for learning. I think that is a very strong message for the students to learn.

17 Underpinnings for Year One Book Study: Creative Confidence - monthly Learning Together Year concept - invitational Individual/team consultation on lessons STEERING COMMITTEE: Open door, all faculty who wish to drive the bus invited to participate - meets monthly.

18 October 2015 Inservice

19 October 2015 inservice, cont Three goals: 1. Hands-on experience with the process 2. Pragmatic application of design thinking into lesson(s) participants brought - use of collaborative team environment to do this 3. Develop in-house teacher leaders (champions) of design thinking Creation of our Playbook

20 Early wins...

21 Lower School Leads Why Side effects

22 And then hiccup Initiative overwhelm Mis-step with advisory 15 announced departures Fun / Threat balance Sense that design thinking was not intellectual enough for our teachers and learners

23 A Turnaround at Lighthouse Making provides deep conceptual learning Young ages can use tools safely and make amazing things New technologies: Hummingbird, MakeyMakey, Tinkercad, 3D printers Assessments built into the project Intellectual elements Many ways to define success Quality integration takes time and intentional focus

24 Regroup, Recharge, Charge Individual consultation Message tailored to divisions Department discussions Focus on celebrating efforts Incremental gains

25 What We ve Learned No proverbial silver bullet - you have to find the right way for YOUR school Faculty have to be ready - if they aren t Look for natural overlaps with what is already happening in classrooms Living in ambiguity is harder than we thought Kids of all ages LOVE design thinking

26 Questions We Still Have Relationship of design thinking and assessment Appropriate leveling of design thinking for our learners (and our faculty) Do we have to have clear cut lines and definitions for everything? Time and balance: core knowledge, student centered design experiences

27 What s Next? Continue steps to infuse design thinking organically Lower School - lesson study approach, design center capital project planning Middle School - faculty sharing approach Upper School - seeking understanding approach Pursuing a grant and matching donor funds Collaborative approach to creating physical lab space Investigate Design Lab Director position options

28 Feel Free to Contact Us BLOG: Design Playbook - Parker - Laurynn

29 Suggested Resources Invent to Learn - Stager & Martinez Creative Confidence - Tom & David Kelley Mindstorms - Papert Make Space - Doorley & Witthoft Zero to Maker - David Lang The Maker Movement Manifesto - Mark Hatch Disrupting Class - Clayton Christensen