Having a sub during a challenge

As all teachers know having a "day off" is not what it sounds like. For many teachers it is easier to be in the classroom then it is to be out because you know your routines, the students know your expectations, and there is no one that you have to explain what you need them to do (and you hope the have the skills to do). Design thinking is no exception.

During my last design challenge I had to be a district training. I spend the few days before having the students start their prototype. I had to make an important decision, to allow the students and the sub to keep prototyping, or to have the students stop their progress and work on something different. Here were the pros and cons that I came up with for each option:

Allowing the students to continue their prototype construction

Pros:   The students were in a really great flow of ideas

           The time was needed no matter what and allowing them to work would not push my schedule

Cons:  The students were using hot melt glue guns and box cutters which meant potential injuries

           The sub is not familiar with the design process and I am not sure if the students will work as needed

Giving the students an alternative work

Pros:   It is easy to have a sub have them work on math problems, research, or notes

Cons:  Students will interrupt the flow of progress

           The assigned work has little meaning if not in context and comes out of the blue

After looking at all options I decided to give my students and the sub a chance to complete the prototypes. To ensure that students were safe I went over the safety rules for glue guns and box cutters with all students the day before. I made sure that they understood my expectations and that any violation in any class by any student would result in disqualification and the end of the challenge. I also made sure to give my sub the same rules and regulations.

After sitting through the meeting fearful of what I would find when I got back, I was pleased to see that there were no injured from the glue guns and box cutters. ONE student cut them-self with a pair of children safety scissors. Overall it was a success and I learned that taking the time to set expectations with both the students and the sub meant that the students could be successful!

Attempt #2...

So the first challenge was fun and the kids REALLY enjoyed it. I on the other hand saw a lot of areas where I needed to improve. I was not as organized nor did I get the results I was looking for from the kids. So time to go through the design thinking process myself. I first started with problem finding. I had to look and reflect on the previous challenge to see where the process can be improved and find the problem(s). Here is what I came up with:

1. The students needed to take more time finding a problem which requires research
2. The ideate stage was not done well enough and not a lot of ideas were generated
3. More accountability is needed for the students to make sure the science is being connected properly.

I then had to empathize with putting myself in their shoes (making sure it was engaging and fun) and also in the shoes of other teachers trying this. Here was what I came up with after interviewing students:

1. They needed more guidance on finding problems but loved using the computer to help them
2. They liked a hands on way to ideate maybe even an electronic way to ideate
3. Needed specific questions to answer in their presentation and a personal option not just a group option for explaining what they learned.

I then ideated and came up with the following ways to help solve the problems...

1. I created a livebinder to help the students though the process (see the link to help you understand my use)
2. I would use scraps of paper, tape, and cardboard to create team ideation boards (see image below)
3. I would have students create digital portfolios to document what they learned and how they applied the science to their design.

Overall the students seemed to do better with this challenge. They felt comfortable with the process. I did not see the creativity I was hoping for. The explanations of the science was also still very weak. I really need to find a way to ensure students are taking it seriously and putting creativity and effort into the process.

Images and Videos:

Ideation Board:

Bobsled Example

My first design challenge

Being a science teacher it seemed easy enough to try out what the design thinking world calls design challenges. I found a great resource with ready made challenge called http://www.thetech.org/educator-resources/design-challenge-learning. These were a great place for me to start. The challenge was how to I make sure that these challenges would connect to what I needed my students to learn.

I just started my unit on forces and motion. There is a design challenge entitled Free the Ketchup. This was perfect. It focused on Newton's first law of motion which is where I was starting. I was determined to make this the first opportunity my students had to explore design thinking. The real challenge was how long am I going to take for this challenge and how am I going to introduce this brand new way of thinking?

I started with introducing the process of design thinking with YouTube videos and a discussion on each step. I had the students take notes in their interactive notebooks about each step. I then introduced the challenge itself (see the link above entitled Free the Ketchup for what the challenge is).

At first I had the students just focus on empathy by writing questions they want to ask a kindergartner. This helped the students see and understand what empathy is. The students really struggled to understand that they were not designing a solution for themselves, but a little kid. Some of the questions were really great and would have helped them with the design, and others really needed guidance and help. I really wish I was able to connect with the elementary school on our campus and get actual kindergarten or first grade students in my classroom so the kids could interview them or even have the kids go into their classroom.

After the kids focused on the empathy stage I had them focus on the ideate or brainstorm phase. I had the students do individual sketches in their notebooks and then share them with their team. This was not as successful as I hoped. I really need to come up with a better way for the students to ideate. It is the most important step there is in the process and the students seemed to just breeze through it. There was not as much creativity as I would have liked.

After the students complete the ideate phase (1 day) I have them start their prototypes. I provided common materials like string, Popsicle sticks, pipe cleaners, foam, cardboard, rulers, and even some duck tape. The issue with these challenges is that they can get expensive as a teacher. I really tried to have the students find materials they had at home or would throw away to help them prototype. Many did not bring in supplies for this challenge but watched teams that did be more successful. I gave them three days to build their prototype.

After the prototypes were complete I had them present their design. The students were give a rubric (see this link for the rubric) that I used to grade them. Overall for their first challenge they did pretty well. Many groups did not go far enough into how their design used the concept of Newton's first law. This is where I really need to work with the students to help them understand the importance of explaining the science AND HOW they used it. Hopefully on the next challenge they realize that their presentation is in place of a test and they really need to explain the how they applied the concepts and what they are.

Video of complete challenge:

Welcome to the beginning of my adventure

Welcome to my crazy and fun adventure of becoming a design thinking teacher. My goal is to blog the good, bad, ugly and amazing time of design thinking.

Before I start... a little background on me and why I have taken on this adventure.

My name is Darlene Painter. I currently teach 8th grade physical science in Vista, CA. This is my second year at this middle school. Previous to this teaching assignment I taught for five years at a charter school in Riverside County. When I made the leap to the public school system I thought it was going to be easy. What I ended up with was something much more challenging and exciting.

The school I am at is going through a transition. At the end of this current school year (2013-2014) the doors to the school will permanently close. In it' place a new magnet school will open. If you are not familiar with a magnet school, it is a school of choice that is still public and part of the district. It has a theme or specialty that it offers students. The main reason that Vista choose to open the school as a magnet is to offer students more choice and options in their education and to help diversify the school.

To get the theme of the school the district put together a committee of teachers, administrators, parents and students. They did polls of the community to see what they wanted in a new school. In the end the data showed us that design and innovation was the direction we wanted to go. After the board approved the theme the real work began. For many teachers and staff we had never heard of design thinking. We had to first learn what it was before we could begin starting to use it. To help with the transition a steering committee was formed. This committee's job is to help make the administration make important decision. I was lucky enough to be chosen to be part of the committee. This is where my real journey began.

You will now hear all about my adventure on both the committee and in the classroom as I pilot and try design thinking as part of my curriculum and focus for learning. I hope you enjoy this journey with me.