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, #dtk12chat! Tonight we will be sailing the 7Cs - that is, exploring how design thinking might connect with competencies for deeper learning in our schools. I’ll be your skipper tonight, but first mates @ElaBenUr and @knowKMD sparked the topic and Qs for our chat.
Let’s start with some introductions, #dtk12chat! Tell us who you are, where you’re from, and in keeping with our metaphor tonight, where in the world you’d like to sail to tonight (post a pic, if you can!). #dtk12chat
Hi Mike!!!! It was so cool meeting you at @hightechhigh—I was one of those folks for whom you're a superstar thanks to #mostlikelytosucceed! (of course you're a superstar to everyone who knows you :). #dtk12chat
In reply to
@MrStrong3rd, @hightechhigh, @hightechhigh
Though there are lots of different definitions of competencies for deeper learning, tonight we will be referencing those from @c21canhttps://t.co/afWSPA3KIs. It takes the typical 4 you’re probably used to and adds another 3 for your consideration. #dtk12chat
Though there are lots of different definitions of competencies for deeper learning, tonight we will be referencing those from @c21canhttps://t.co/afWSPA3KIs. It takes the typical 4 you’re probably used to and adds another 3 for your consideration. #dtk12chat
Q0. Take a moment now to have a look at the 7Cs. Depending on our time, we may not have time to explore all 7. Which of these competencies is your “anchor,” the place you feel most at home? Which competency is a “lighthouse” for you, s/t you might like to aspire to? #dtk12chat
A0 you mean which we feel most comfortable supporting students in, or our own personal competency? If former:
Anchor = creativity and innovation
Lighthouse = culture & ethical citizenship
#dtk12chat
Let’s start with some introductions, #dtk12chat! Tell us who you are, where you’re from, and in keeping with our metaphor tonight, where in the world you’d like to sail to tonight (post a pic, if you can!). #dtk12chat
Good evening, #dtk12chat! Tonight we will be sailing the 7Cs - that is, exploring how design thinking might connect with competencies for deeper learning in our schools. I’ll be your skipper tonight, but first mates @ElaBenUr and @knowKMD sparked the topic and Qs for our chat.
A0 I have to say Collaboration is my anchor. I always love the idea of working with a team. Although I struggle with the vulnerability at times. #dtk12chat
Q0: My anchor would probably be creativity and innovation and my lighthouse would probably be either communication or culture & ethical citizenship. #dtk12chat
A0: For me personally, my anchor is creativity and innovation, it's where I thrive, interesting realization for me this year; Lighthouse is tough, feel like I want to get better at all and all have broad defn and applications #dtk12chat
Q1. How does creativity & innovation show up in design thinking? For all questions tonight, feel free to explore how design thinking helps build the competency, and also how the competency lifts design thinking. #dtk12chat
A1. For me, the point of design thinking is to practice and get better at creativity & innovation. It's one way we can develop our creative capacity. #dtk12chat
#dtk12chat A1. I feel creativity's in every part of DT. Creative ways of looking at the world & asking questions. Creative ways of framing challenges & understanding the tension that needs work. Of course, creative ideas. And, finding creative, resourceful ways to test them.
Design thinking provides creative constraints and tools that help us come up with new ideas and make new connections. I think DT fosters creativity and innovation which is why it’s such a powerful tool in k12edu. #dtk12chat
Q1. How does creativity & innovation show up in design thinking? For all questions tonight, feel free to explore how design thinking helps build the competency, and also how the competency lifts design thinking. #dtk12chat
A1 I think of creativity as the bridge between the phases of the design process and innovation is what comes from these intentional connections. #dtk12chat
a1 by its very nature design thinking encourages Creativity & Innovation, after you develop the Empathy. It should push you to think outside of the box and create something new or build on that which exists #dtk12chat
A1) DT gives us some great frameworks for exploring outside of the “obvious” ideas. Highlights creativity isn’t only in art class. Pushes us to think critically about our immediate surroundings, which I think we’re habitually the *least* innovative in our day to day. #dtk12chat
Since @LindseyOwn brought up critical thinking... Q2. How does critical thinking show up in design thinking? #dtk12chat
Thanks to Vincent Guth for making this photo available freely on @unsplashhttps://t.co/iQK5Hcqm2a
A1: Agree w/@TheRealJamCam; after empathy creativity can help you prototype, test and refine; I guess creativity can also play a role in empathy as well if you/Ss consider creative Q's to uncover unspoken needs #dtk12chat
I recall seeing the men build a boat by steaming hand milled planks controlling the fire, adding the water. They would take the steam & bend them into a shape to form the skeleton of the fishing boat. Every thinking 'mindset' creates the framework for creativity. 1/ #dtk12chat
A2. I think there's an element of analysis in design thinking. You need to take stock of where you are to know where you need to know next. At some point, you have to converge. #dtk12chat
#dtk12chat A2. I feel like critical thinking comes throughout—especially when we go from "flaring" to "focusing" and deciding when to move on. Whether that's looking critically at the observations, problem statement/principles, ideas, or experimental questions we've got.
In reply to
@luckybydesign, @LindseyOwn, @unsplash
A2: Design thinking helps us move between divergent and convergent ideas-generating new ideas and narrowing down. Critical and creative thinking both working together #dtk12chat
Since @LindseyOwn brought up critical thinking... Q2. How does critical thinking show up in design thinking? #dtk12chat
Thanks to Vincent Guth for making this photo available freely on @unsplashhttps://t.co/iQK5Hcqm2a
Yes. The most exciting time is when you can feel that divergent-convergent pulse, where you're flipping between the two modes quickly and effortlessly. #dtk12chat
a2 I see critical thinking coming in when you are unpacking an interview and trying to figure out what you may be solving. Developing solutions based upon the unpacking of interviews #dtk12chat
So if your mindsets are not framed up around the keel well, you will be fighting for 'creative moments' or expending more energy. In DT, that is defining an empathetic human-centered challenge. #dtk12chat
The cycles of flare and focus are pretty much my favorite aspect of DT. All of our work should be about generating huge ideas, then critically analyzing and specifying. #dtk12chat
We need to teach thinking. Sending newbies off on the high seas of creative or critical thinking will only see them overwhelmed with all of the ideas or just using familiar thinking. #dtk12chat
A2 I think the initial spark of critical thinking comes when one elects to take deep dive w/design process. Then it is used throughout the entire process... if there is passion & purpose behind it. If you use dt in class w/no ss agency, will ss use crustal thinking? #dtk12chat
Hrm I wondering if there’s alignment between the “unpacking” metaphor and the “flare/focus” metaphor...
When we unpack a thought/event/observation, are we “flaring”? Then what would be the “focus” of the unpacking process? Defining the underlying kernel? #dtk12chat
LOVE it.. Have to say I've never heard the phrase 'flare and focus' until tonight.. going to have to find a way to work it into a lesson tomorrow! #dtk12chat
In reply to
@LindseyOwn, @ElaBenUr, @luckybydesign, @unsplash
Without student agency, I think any idea they come up with won't be particularly fresh or new, probably. Because they'd think it's pointless. #dtk12chat
Design thinking requires us to think about problems through the perspective of the user. It helps us understand others which in turn helps us be better collaborators. #dtk12chat
For me, critical thinking shows up in 'self-in-relation' & the relationships between things, people, ways of knowing and ways of not knowing. What are the patterns in the water that may ground your boat or keep you going? What is the intention? #dtk12chat
I almost see it like focusing and unfocusing a camera lens. Unfocusing lets you see the big picture. Focusing lets you zoom in on something more closely. #dtk12chat
#dtk12chat A3. Clearly collaboration is critical—for understanding, building on ideas, being able to do more.... And it's a dance. I find we're hoping to maximize our collective potential. We're finding ways to pull out each individual's creativity as well as the group's.
A3. I'll be bold and say that design thinking is impossible without collaboration. The tricky part is supporting students in this, when they are so used to hierarchical and competitive school environments. #dtk12chat
I never thought of it that way before but I can see the flare & focus connection. I think the focus is once you identify that kernel that you want to dig deeper into. #dtk12chat
Hrm I wondering if there’s alignment between the “unpacking” metaphor and the “flare/focus” metaphor...
When we unpack a thought/event/observation, are we “flaring”? Then what would be the “focus” of the unpacking process? Defining the underlying kernel? #dtk12chat
I think collaboration is essential to dt. It’s like @stevenbjohnson talks about in “where good ideas come from” letting hunches collide between various thinkers. Cognitive diversity helps see multiple sides of a problem. Seeing 360 view can happen only in collaboration #dtk12chat
A3: There is a difference between consulting, collaboration & consensus. They have different levels of agency, power structures, and ethnographic orientation. #dtk12chat
a3 Collaboration can come into play when you see the user, not as the user or person you are solving for but you are partnering with them. They can provide clarity and greater insights. #dtk12chat
I teach and emphasize collaboration with my students every day and still get kids blaming each other if someone isn't pulling their weight in a group. It's such an art, designing collaboration so everyone feels useful and like they're contributing. #dtk12chat
Ooooh, and the need for S's to have agency so they'll apply their critical thinking! In an @OlinCollege DT course we found that S's would come up with incredible frameworks if we didn't tell them they had to try certain kinds of frameworks. #dtk12chat
I love this. Love this. And in many design situations I'm a part of now (no longer in a consultancy), there's often no distinction—people are a part of the challenges they're working to solve. #dtk12chat
I remember following game trails, barefoot. The loamy soft soil felt like pillows. When we change how we travel through a landscape, we might miss things. The challenge is to figure out the strategies that will let us 'see' the most & create a topography of thinking #dtk12chat
a4 You must listen listen listen for understanding. Asking the right questions to generate storytelling. Receiving Feedback and applying the feedback #dtk12chat
#dtk12chat A4. For me this is *the* most make-or-break part of challenges. I find it's often what's hardest for folks (me too!)—being courageous and curious in connecting with other people. Finding shared language with which to share and embrace different perspectives and ideas.
I knew we'd run out of time!
Q5. Choose one of these three competencies: character, culture & ethical citizenship, or computer & digital technologies. How does this competency show up in design thinking? #dtk12chat
Love this! We've been so fortunate to have our girls in a Reggio-inspired preschool and this languages of children has really touched and inspired us—and changed how we listen. #dtk12chat
A3: Collaboration is key, in most of my work Ss are partnered or in groups of 3, we spend a LOT of time talking about compromise as a part of collaboration. We also talk about HOW to decide - voting means someone loses #dtk12chat
For me, in my model of #designthinking the important piece is culture & ethical understandings. The actual product at the end is not as important as the process. I am still struggling with the assessment part. #dtk12chat
Character deserves its own chat. Design thinking has so much to do with building character. We become better people by thinking empathetically about others. #dtk12chat
Love it - thanks for the resource. I know I have many of @scitechyEDU pages bookmarked waiting for the perfect storm of a kid free day to dig in #dtk12chat
In reply to
@luckybydesign, @scitechyEDU, @scitechyEDU
#dtk12chat A5. Design thinking & Character I'm personally so grateful to design thinking for shaping me as a person over the last 20 years—the challenges we've worked on and faced, and experiences I've had, with people I've designed for and with.
a5 culture & ethical citizenship connection to DT - you can't enter an environment and bring your preconceived baggage. you need to be aware of the culture you are entering and strive to make decisions consistent with cultural norms. #dtk12chat
I knew we'd run out of time!
Q5. Choose one of these three competencies: character, culture & ethical citizenship, or computer & digital technologies. How does this competency show up in design thinking? #dtk12chat
