Please join us for a weekly conversation about design thinking in K12 education. We will have a variety of moderators with a wide range and depth of design thinking experiences. Each week, we will connect the dots to the design thinking methodology and how it can and will play a bigger role in today’s K12 educational arena.
Good Evening and welcome to the weekly #dtk12chat hosted each week by a different MOD at 9pm sharp. Tonight I get the honor of hosting our conversation.
Hello #DTK12Chat Jackie from CT; former high school social studies, now library media and thankful for being a local activator for @fdesignschool learn so much from that community and their future skills PD!
#dtk12chat A0. I'm Ela from Cambridge, thankful for my daughter's teacher right now who's been an inspiring educator and great partner in her/our journeys. Hi @TheRealJamCam!
A0 - Chris, trouble Maker in Atlanta. I am thankful for a lot of people but right now I am thinking of a student of mine who is amazing and doesn't realize it fully, yet. great kid, tough on herself, keeps me thinking about how to let herself off the hook #dtk12chat
A1: My superpower is infusing meaningful fun into learning, mainly by working w/teachers to convert standards and content to DT real-world challenges #DTK12chat
A1: Answer Avoider... helps students learn by making them find the answer to their own questions or discovering answers by experimenting & doing #dtk12chat
A1: My superpower is infusing meaningful fun into learning, mainly by working w/teachers to convert standards and content to DT real-world challenges #DTK12chat
#dtk12chat A1. It took a long time to build it, but..letting go. Letting students do it. And letting them explain it. Then telling them what little’s left they didn’t figure out about it—and relishing what they taught me.
When I start a project I always start with the Question Formulation Technique (QFT) from @RightQuestion . So I already know what they want to know. Then I magically produce a lesson plan that "just happens" to cover a topic they listed. #dtk12chat
That's hard for me in my adult interactions. I am a Driver... I want to solve issues/barriers and I need to remind myself that I don't always have the answers #DTK12chat
A1: Answer Avoider... helps students learn by making them find the answer to their own questions or discovering answers by experimenting & doing #dtk12chat
I listened to a student lamenting that self-driving cars might mean he never gets a license and let him lead a discussion on being disrupted by tech https://t.co/IPpIPVTOGF#DTK12chat
That's awesome. Ben Linder at @OlinCollege taught me "always answer questions with questions." Of course the students complain that they like the TA's because they give direct answers...but it's totally the way to go. #dtk12chat
So tonight I hope you can use your superpower to tackle the question around student voice and choice. Maybe not the superpower of Answer Avoider. haha #dtk12chat
Several years ago- frustration; now excitement. Sometimes when I say - I don't know, you should try it - they respond with 'Really?' Excited to have permission to test out their own idea #dtk12chat
That's awesome. And interesting... I'm finding a lot less teens interested in getting their license due to Uber/Lyft. The disruption is hitting from so many angles #DTK12chat
I will be able to retire when my students stop asking permission to wonder, explore, and learn... heartbreaking that they still think they need "permission" to do these things :( #dtk12chat
Student voice: The "product" created shows the audience who the creator was. Student choice: Options are given and considered and selected BY THE STUDENT. #dtk12chat
ohhhh... that's a tough one. Plus there are different types of questions right? Especially when it comes to safety/equipment questions vs content/knowledge/wondering ?'s #dtk12chat
So true. Have you ever been a passenger in a car on a route that you drive often and you suddenly notice landscape you never saw before? I feel like that's the lives of many teens these days. #DTK12chat
A2 By telling stories S's find voice, develop identity & sense of self, find their place in community & can seek connections in wider circles & apply themselves to improving those spaces for the good of everyone #dtk12chat
I have been trying to help them use "ask three" to build a better network. it's not about finding the answer, rather it's finding who to learn more from...who's doing something cool that I want to learn more about #curiosity and #network#dtk12chat
#dtk12chat A2. To @MsJWhiting's point about listening...student voice to me is when students are truly listened to. Student choice is when they're trusted to make their own decisions, believing that the outcomes will be fine either way—and that the trust is what matters most.
Often teachers worry about giving students choice. The key is to give options that the teacher is comfortable with monitoring. As the teacher grows comfortable it becomes easier to give over to the students for choosing what options are available. #dtk12chat
A2: I worry about voice/choice when I hear it thrown around a lot because I see choice whittled down to THIS worksheet or THAT worksheet. Choice needs to include agency and important decision making #DTK12chat
that's a great mindset to have and instill.. makes me think about badge type systems I've read about... these people are 'experts' in these fields. Never tried it though #dtk12chat
#dtk12chat A2. To @MsJWhiting's point about listening...student voice to me is when students are truly listened to. Student choice is when they're trusted to make their own decisions, believing that the outcomes will be fine either way—and that the trust is what matters most.
A2: I worry about voice/choice when I hear it thrown around a lot because I see choice whittled down to THIS worksheet or THAT worksheet. Choice needs to include agency and important decision making #DTK12chat
lately, I'm realizing that Ss don't know how to be curious...beyond what they think is possibly expected of them. #dtk12chat I want to help them find value in their own curiosity and connect it to what is in front of them, regardless of whether they like it or not
And honestly, it's okay if the outcome is NOT fine because we all make mistakes and resilience must be practiced. Dust yourself off, make a different choice, and keep moving forward #DTK12chat
In reply to
@ElaBenUr, @TheRealJamCam, @MsJWhiting
Go one step further... if they don't make mistakes they are only rehearsing what they already know and can do and aren't really learning anything! #dtk12chat
#dtk12chat I believe in giving choices when asking students to demonstrate their learning. Makes them more engaged, motivated, and has them steering the way they learn.
yes, the "beacons" in the room. I also take Ss on a tour of the room to see what might inspire them, if they get stuck...also trying to reprogram the other Ss from thinking that someone is "stealing" their idea #dtk12chat
Agreed, that's the sense I meant: that long-term, they'll be fine whether they learned the "easy" way (success right away) or the "hard" way (through mistakes). As you said, we all learn mostly through the latter! #dtk12chat
In reply to
@LSpencerEdD, @TheRealJamCam, @MsJWhiting
I have 3 Ts gr level "hubs" answering that ?? now. We've researched agency & personalization, made action plans, and trying them now. In 1st mtg, choice = worksheets. By 3d mtg, choice = relationship building, understanding needs, and guiding Ss to make decisions #DTK12chat
I love it and have used it for 4 years now. It gives the students ownership of the learning by addressing their Q's about the topic. [Truth - I always end up adding a Q or 2 that is one I want them to know. With 6 periods I just say "That question came from period 3"} #dtk12chat
We need to model choices for teachers too. Many are stripped of their own agency (predefined curriculum, schedules, PD, etc) so it's hard for them to apply it to Ss. #DTK12chat
Oh yeah! I try to frame it as we are a community of learners and here to inspire each other. Sometimes we'll do gallery walk 1/2 way through to show off, and get ideas or have ss share something that didn't work so others can learn from your mistakes #dtk12chat
#dtk12chat A3. That they develop the motivation and skills to use them (their voices and choices) in ways that make a difference. They feel better about themselves, and make the world a better place.
We need to model choices for teachers too. Many are stripped of their own agency (predefined curriculum, schedules, PD, etc) so it's hard for them to apply it to Ss. #DTK12chat
A3: choice is more than choosing from a predetermined list of project options... it means S's charting their own path through new content, identifying skills needed & developing them. When S's wonder How might we... they are open to all possibilities #dtk12chat
#dtk12chat Hi everyone joining in late A3- Giving Ss voice is when Ss co-create & co-construct, value each others' thinking no biases and all perspectives are acceptable. Giving Ss choice is leadership, ownership of learning.
A2: S voice is the connection Ss make with their learning;
A2a: S choice is opportunity to explore their connection with their learning more deeply #dtk12chat
When teachers start with voice and choice I always talk about giving the students options about how they will present. Then move to options for the product. Then, finally, the product & the presentation. #dtk12chat
A2: For me SS voice is helping guide the direction of learning (content/process); A2A: SS choice is Ss deciding how to show their learning/knowledge of new content/process/skill #dtk12chat
A3 We can't talk about voice without also talking about audience... students need to be empowered to explore their ideas with people who take them seriously and empower them to act #dtk12chat
A3 We can't talk about voice without also talking about audience... students need to be empowered to explore their ideas with people who take them seriously and empower them to act #dtk12chat
A4: When students organically explore content and self-expression independently they are all at different points in their process at different times. Hard to know when everyone is "done" #dtk12chat
I think you need to spend time building empathy - "Who cares and why?" If students can't answer that then maybe they need guidance to change their choice. #dtk12chat
Good Q! My answer is both. We have a pitchfest in my #digitalliteracy class next week. I invited some audience members & the S's can each invite as many people as they want from in and outside of school #dtk12chat
Progress should be documented throughout the process with reflection exploring decisions made, reviewing prototypes and feedback. The end is always in sight even if it is evolving #dtk12chat
A4: When you give students choice they can go too big ("Go big or go home!") or go too small ("Is that all you plan on doing? You have 3 more weeks in this unit.") #dtk12chat
#dtk12chat A4. Supporting student voice and choice is so important—and so easy to slip up. Pitfalls to me are what happens if students voices and decisions aren’t truly respected, or the mistakes that might be made aren’t truly supported.
Encourage moonshot thinking! They can always scale back to first drafts on a time frame; good to keep in mind the question: how can my idea be scaled up? #dtk12chat
Or that they present their ideas to an audience with the intent of making their audience act differently #dtk12chat my 5th gr is working on persuading other grades to stop cutting across forest trails #dtk12chat
A multi-week project designing to solutions to the problems they experience w/ social media while preserving the benefits; iterating on prototypes now and pitching ideas next week https://t.co/E2le3r2uVa#dtk12chat
A4: going to fast too soon; too much freedom or lack of direction in k-5 can lead to floundering; or trying to use a new tool w/o directions #dtk12chat
my 5th grdrs are trying to affect behaviors with coding and microcontrollers #dtk12chat success is determined by whether or not they can change behaviors like piano stairs and stuff
A5 How might we compensate for Nick's unreliability as a narrator? (Essential Question for Gatsby). Students own the process of reading and exploring this text. #dtk12chat
A5: IB Design allowed me to move from core classes & I create my own curriculum. But 8 years of PBL (math) with a few years of added DT allowed me to feel comfortable allowing my students to have more voice and choice as well as answering "why are we doing this?" #dtk12chat
#dtk12chat A5. It enabled the trust teachers need to give students voice and choice—as a meaningful and wise, while open-ended, way for them to express their voice and explore their choices.
I see students empowered to navigate their own challenges, conflicts, projects...
A6: Empathy. Listen without judgment and then help them move forward. Examples, resources, collaboration, model a lesosn, support them when they try and celebrate attempts...each Ts has unique needs. It's not a quick fix. #DTK12Chat
#dtk12chat Voice: Some have no filters or boundaries 🤦🏽♀️🥴 Choice: Some can be overstimulated by choices and/or are perfectionists and afraid of failing at their own choice. 😲
Tomorrow will be last day for our 8th graders creating dioramas of a library redesign for our school. They will (hopefully) be presenting to our head of school and others their ideas for making our library into a learning commons. #dtk12chat
A5- Allowing Ss to be critical thinkers, take ownership, build leadership, be creative and develop perseverance to take & accept challenges. Learning, developing and reflecting on a process of collobarative communitaty action tkaing. #dtk12chat
A6: It is hard to help S's do something many T's are not empowered to do themselves. When T's learn #designthinking as a way to write & implement curriculum, it becomes pedagogy #dtk12chat
A6: Start small. Are you comfortable with students choosing between a poem, a skit, or a claymation that demonstrates the solution (product) for the problem? -OR- have them all present the same way but give them options of how they solve the problem. #dtk12chat
A5: DT helps me help ss find the audience, defines the 'why' and lends it self to ss having voice & choice as they determine and research needs + solutions for audience #dtk12chat
Thank you all for sharing tonight. I selfishly use these opportunities to help me answer questions that keep circulating in my mind. You all have helped me get the thoughts out, collect new thoughts and confirm thoughts #dtk12chat
