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.
Welcome to #dtk12chat! I’m happy you’re here. Tonight’s topic is joy! We’re looking forward to exploring the connections between design thinking and joy and optimism tonight. I’m excited to be in the moderator chair tonight! #dtk12chat
Let’s start with intros. Tell us who you are, where you’re from, & what your role is. And answer this: If your mood today was an ice cream flavour, what would you be? #dtk12chat
Welcome to #dtk12chat! I’m happy you’re here. Tonight’s topic is joy! We’re looking forward to exploring the connections between design thinking and joy and optimism tonight. I’m excited to be in the moderator chair tonight! #dtk12chat
Erin from Calgary, AB, Canada. I teach grade 8 Humanities. I think I’d be London Fog today b/c I’ve got a cold and am feeling a bit foggy. But the bergamot flavour of earl grey leaves me hopeful something zesty is on the horizon! #dtk12chat
My role is Exec Dir of Innovation & Design for a K-6 district that is in pursuit of the extraordinary edu experience. My ice cream mood is Skinny Cow Vanilla - I want to eat it all & still be skinny 😊😊 #dtk12chat
We updated our families on changes to the calendar due to school closings...we also asked them for some help. The state of Wisconsin needs help...please...if it was you...do the right thing. Please. #wiwx#gocrickets@WEAU13News@WQOW@fccrickets
A1. Design thinking brings me joy every time I understand an issue a little bit deeper, every time we come up with an unexpected solution, every time we help someone who needs it. #dtk12chat
A1: I'm a newbie in #DesignThinking . From what I understand it's a creative process that helps you find solutions to problems/needs/pains. So, if you succeed - you're happy! IMO It's the success that brings you joy, and not the process itself. #dtk12chat
Genny from Memphis- teach GT grades 3-5 kiddos... a1: We started a new #DesignThinking project with my kids today & they are so excited to help our #ELL students at school! That brings me great joy! #dtk12chat
I love when my students go above and beyond because they are invested in the issue and feel empowered to work to solve issues or problems for others. #dtk12chat
The process brings me joy too! Truly understanding another person's perspective, and thinking up creative ways to help them... there's joy there! #dtk12chat
Some of you touched on this a bit already, but let’s explore this a bit deeper.
Q2: What joy have you noticed in your students as they practice design thinking or associated mindsets? #dtk12chat
I'm going to disagree with this- the process is joy, not the success. The process is the deeper understanding, the community and collaboration, the creativity - success only comes with multiple failures, so you can't rely on that for the joy piece or you might miss out #dtk12chat
Yes. I had a frustrated mom last year that her child didn’t get to experience DT. Hard to explain to her that it isn’t the norm yet in classrooms. #dtk12chat
A2. My FAVOURITE is when my students start adopting an attitude of plussing without me instructing them to. Such joy in such an optimistic stance! #dtk12chat
A2- I think the joy comes from a voice empowered. We underestimate kids every day & to see them realize that they can be active & creative problem solvers that do a better job at empathy than adults is such a joy to behold. You can see their Creative Confidence grow #dtk12chat
Joy derives from #designthinking when students are intrinsically rewarded by meeting someone's needs, that reinforcement grows optimism - combined with empathy, that is a powerful, positive mindset #dtk12chat
A2: Developing their sense of agency... realizing it’s not just adults who can problem solve ... building their voice ... you can see their pride, their joy, in those times #dtk12chat
Some of you touched on this a bit already, but let’s explore this a bit deeper.
Q2: What joy have you noticed in your students as they practice design thinking or associated mindsets? #dtk12chat
#dtk12chat A2) Through #designthinking, students find joy in realizing their ideas and abilities are valued and that they have the capacity to add value to the lives of others.
Absolutely student voice is a huge and important benefit to this way of learning. They get to be in the driver's seat of their own learning. #dtk12chat
I had a 4th grader tell me he was going to be a “yes and” person instead of a “yea but” person. That was a sense of joy and a-ha for that kiddo. Made me proud. #dtk12chat
To me, what you're talking about is empathy and creativity. Would it be different if you were doing a creativity workshop or following the steps of the #DesignThinking process? Maybe I'm missing something here... #dtk12chat
I know a brilliant teacher who had her students ask HMW make immigrants here at our school? Such beautiful ideas came after they interviewed first and second generation Canadians. #dtk12chat
Design thinking is a creative process based on empathy and inquiry to meet the needs of stakeholder. Yes, it is creativity harnessed to solve a problem #dtk12chat
A2 children like to be challenged when can make personal connections & situate meaning/relevance into their own lives. I have seen joy from my ss when they realize learning is life-centered not isolated. DT helps ss see connections & empowers their creative muscles #dtk12chat
A2: I see students becoming much more confident in themselves. DT helps build a pride that comes from accomplishing something challenging, complex, and rewarding. #dtk12chat
@CDMdreamers orchestrated something similar last year - HMW make newcomers to our school feel welcomed? Parents were blown away by the empathy in their designs #dtk12chat
In reply to
@luckybydesign, @Gen_Kilpatrick, @CDMdreamers
Q3: Design thinking can be thought of as a method of abundance: it gives and doesn’t take. How does this abundance play out in your classroom, school, or community? #dtk12chat
I agree - if your success is immediate it's a superficial feeling, and if you failed and learned it's deeper. I just think that the #DesignThinking process is a tool to facilitate these feelings and skills you're talking about. To me, the joy is mastering these skills. #dtk12chat
A3- I think the idea of HMW alone is a theory of abundance. It implies many ways/possibilities and that multiple people working together can create a ripple of empathy and goodness. With that said, we must still have an equity lens as we go about our work #dtk12chat
So I'm part of a group that is going to pitch a "no grades" proposal to some district movers and shakers in 2 weeks - anyone out here in Twitter doing this already? Samples of narrative report cards? Examples of schools pulling it off now? #dtk12chat
In reply to
@LSpencerEdD, @luckybydesign, @MsJWhiting
A3: Well, we know worksheets don’t provide an abundance of anything except tree deaths...
DT connects ppl. Let’s them see the world differently. That vision gives and gives and gives #dtk12chat
Q3: Design thinking can be thought of as a method of abundance: it gives and doesn’t take. How does this abundance play out in your classroom, school, or community? #dtk12chat
A3: Don't know that I can say we are there yet, but my hope is that using DT would inspire Ss to see world through lens of empathy & recognize more when others need help #dtk12chat
A3: Everyone wants to be valued and heard and design thinking feeds that need through a process where everyone contributes and collaborates. #dtk12chat
There's a "Teachers Going Gradeless" community on Facebook that I belong to. Lots of wonderful examples of teachers and schools there who are going gradeless or grading less. #dtk12chat
A3. We approach our learning with an attitude of abundance, being careful to leave each place (literal or theoretical) richer than we found it. DT’s focus on solutions is optimistic and leads us there. Wonderful connections with Indigenous ways of knowing too. #dtk12chat
#dtk12chat A3) It's all about freedom. An abundance of ideas & solutions makes room for becoming comfortable with ambiguity and multiple perspectives. It also leads to questioning institutional structures & systems lacking abundant opportunities for personalization.
Good idea, I hadn't thought of that! We're getting it together for the ReThinking High Schools group, but I don't see why we can't spread the good word! #dtk12chat
In reply to
@dteuber, @LSpencerEdD, @luckybydesign, @MsJWhiting
A3 from a practical standpoint, it leads to abundance of ideas. At a time when ss go 4 quality over quantity & seem to go w/1st idea. DT helps create the conditions for fluency of ideas & flexible thinking. It helps create a brave space for risk-taking #dtk12chat
I totally agree with you on the point that the process is essential. I just believe that the feeling of joy comes when you succeed, after you failed so many times. You feel it when you achieve your goal, not throughout the process. The process is frustrating and messy #dtk12chat
We do "Fail High Fives" - put up one hand and give yourself a high five. No one likes to fail, but we recognize it as important learning for next steps. #dtk12chat
Q4a: Let’s try an experiment now. Let’s use design thinking to help bring more joy to our lives. Tell us time recently in your professional or private life where you could have used a bit of extra joy (think of a time when you were bored, disappointed, or stressed). #dtk12chat
You make a good point - the process is certainly uncomfortable and messy at times, if not most of the time... I think there's joy in there too, but you're right, there's more & it's important to embrace that too in search of success #dtk12chat
You should read Robert Kelly's book "Educating for Creativity." He has a beautiful visual metaphor of a circle that starts to overlap with other circles, leading to an abundance of ideas! #dtk12chat
How would you define success for a school design thinking project? Often times the solutions are shared with an authentic audience but they don't go beyond that. So at that point, did all my students fail? #dtk12chat
Depends on original intent of DT... I think that it’s success if students can articulate how the proposal addresses the problem and if it includes evidence of empathy and a clear definition of the problem. #dtk12chat
I think you might be right. What constitutes success in a design thinking challenge? Is it a new perspective or solution that you created? Is it something that gets implemented? #dtk12chat
The beautiful thing about design thinking, though, is that there are lots and lots of ways to solve the problem. So everyone gets to feel successful. #dtk12chat
I really believe that too. My point is that thinking creatively, and collaborating with people brings you joy. Not specifically the #DesignThinking process. #dtk12chat
Me too. Sometimes solutions can’t be implemented. Even if they are da bomb! Nature of the beast. Doesn’t mean it’s a failure... just that the world isn’t yet ready for that level of awesomeness #dtk12chat
I would love if my students could act upon every one of their ideas beyond designing a prototype and sharing it with an authentic audience. However, I don't know if that's realistic in a school setting. #dtk12chat
Success can be defined in many ways with design thinking and innovation - # of ideas, fast failures, collaboration. Traditional assessment methods don't always work. #dtk12chat
In reply to
@njkraai, @luckybydesign, @supervxn, @AshAusp
I like it when I catch myself in a "ya, but". It can slow down my thinking enough to make space for different perspectives. I like knowing iteration (and re-iteration, and re-iteration) is part of the process - I don't need to get it right the first time. #dtk12chat
When we CAD we don't do so in a vacuum. We do so in the concept of making something better for someone.
Our best innovators take care to mind the details and the empathy of human-centred-design forces them to mind those details. #dtk12chat
Not at all! They went through a tough process and shared their product. I believe they know that the goal was to think creatively and work together. If they did that- they succeeded, and it’s a great feeling, even if people didn’t like your solution. #dtk12chat
I don’t know if that is realistic any time. I think the process is very important for students as a way to develop skills to look at alternate ways to solve problems. #dtk12chat
In reply to
@njkraai, @HayenLA, @supervxn, @AshAusp
@luckybydesign put out a bunch of rubber pencils for the students to "use."... lol.. we play lots of jokes in my class... although broken pencils is no joke #dtk12chat
That’s for sure, cause we’re assessing a process, and improvement of skills. You can’t measure that in a standardized test. It just takes a lot of thought and planning, but there’s a lot of ways to measure these skills we’re talking about. #dtk12chat
In reply to
@dteuber, @njkraai, @luckybydesign, @AshAusp
This isn't me, but you made me think about how one of our retired teachers comes back sporadically and puts candy in every teachers' mailbox in the workroom - it always makes my day to run into him or see that he has visited! #dtk12chat
yes and there is also something about actually seeing the idea for real. I do think it's possible - maybe not every time or every situation but I've made it happen more than once #dtk12chat
In reply to
@kellywchris, @njkraai, @HayenLA, @supervxn, @AshAusp
#dtk12chat A6) This will take some time to answer properly...but thank you for instigating a comapssionate idea that I will certainly implement and will make me better today than yesterday.☺️
I put up posters in our staff washrooms with a question on them, inspired by the bathrooms in the San Francisco @IDEO offices & documented at #carrycuriosity. They're a way to connect and learn about each other. Next one might be asking for ppl to share a spark of joy! #dtk12chat
