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.
yes, and I hope you will do this topic again sometime in Feb as I am sure the fast approaching holidays for Teachers may create a light chat tonight #dtk12chat
A1 Experimentation is like abandoning my recipe while cooking because I don't have all the ingredients anyway and I can make some cool substitutions with what I do have #DTk12Chat
A1 Experimentation is like a sand box bc its messy, irritating, fun, unpredictable, & impossible to play for perfection! Plus if you don’t go barefoot, the experiment will follow you for days in your shoes #dtk12chat
I think that experimentation is like a box of chocolates because you never know what you might get--it could be awesome or it could be terrible #dtk12chat
Rapidly Experiment: the ability to quickly generate ideas, whether written, drawn, or built.
Q3: What are some examples of when you’ve been asked to rapidly experiment? #DTK12CHAT
Very much so!
Hey Jill i meant to reply to your tweet on my blog post about loading kilns…(yet can’t find the tweet) I think you are onto something abt drawers & kilns Thank you for reading & responding to the post #dtk12chat
#dtk12chat A3a I’m learning how to grill through a #CUEmasterclass .. gonna be doing some (hopefully) char-less #eduMEAT experiments the next few weeks
Rapidly Experiment: the ability to quickly generate ideas, whether written, drawn, or built.
Q3: What are some examples of when you’ve been asked to rapidly experiment? #DTK12CHAT
nice, had same thought; we had friends over and did our own version of chopped for dessert. Each team picked 3 ingredients for the other team to use #dtk12chat
A1: Experimentation is like going on a road trip without a map because you’ll have some bumps along the way & may not actually arrive at your destination. #dtk12chat
My students definitely struggle with brainstorming and wanting the "correct answer" or the best brainstorm (as if there was one correct answer) #dtk12chat
A4 Rapid experimenting is thwarted by the question (whether it is articulated or internalized): "Is this right?" #dtk12chat self-doubt, fear of criticism or failure, lack of trust in the process
A4: Self-doubt and jumping to worrying about how to actually execute idea rather than embracing possibilities of idea. I've also observed recently the 'yes &' difference as well as the + affects of group brainstorming vs individual #dtk12chat
A3 We find ourselves rapidly experimenting during hands on learning experiences. Though there is planning involved once you get rolling it is hard to stop. Recreating scenes from our lit book using legos and stop motion had us trying new things. #dtk12chat
A3: Everyday as admin at a new campus. I’m currently looking at re-designing a school cafeteria and rethinking how to move from student discipline to student development #help#restorativepractices#dtk12chat
A4 judgment, fear of failure/embarrassment/getting it wrong, Pressure of coming up w/ an answer(any answer), Mind freeze, waste of time 2 come up w/ lots of ideas (Does NOT see value in riffing for volume)
Slow or Reflective Processors do not thrive in time constraints #dtk12chat
A4 Hesitation stems from self doubt stemming from the idea that there is only one right answer and the one generated can't be it. Experimentation is the cultivation of ideas, of possibilities! #dtk12chat
I was working with teacher of entrepreneurship class, she wanted S's to profile successful entrepreneurs... I suggested they tell the story of the person's failures, not successes and use that to prove why it was important to understand their process. S's loved it! #DTK12Chat
To overcome fear: I haven't tried it, but I've read of asking ss to come up with worst ideas in brainstorming to help break ice and get flow going. Also think lots of practice in low-stress situations #dtk12chat
Q5: So with so many things holding us/students back, what types of activities/learning experiences can we do in our classroom/school to support students in learning how rapidly experiment? #DTK12CHAT
Overcoming fear of failure is a hard thing to do especially for Ss. As Ts I think we need to create an atmosphere where failure is seen as a bump in the road, rather than the end. Personally just knowing that failure is an aspect of success has always been hard #ElonEd#dtk12chat
Round-robin brainstorming. Two minutes to add to an idea and then rotate, keep going, then no one and everyone owns the ideas; low-risk, how output #dtk12chat
A4 Some people dont know how 2 brainstorm or have experienced its value- Never shown nor taught. Case in point 2 brainstorm multiple ideas is not viewed as productive or useful #dtk12chat If not practiced/nurtured in culture of school, why try even once! Never gets off the ground
a4: we've been doing alot of work with growth mindset and it's really helped the kids be less stressed about giving a wrong answer or not doing something right #dtk12chat
One way: generate ideas with people who inspire you/you trust/feel most comfortable with. Could also try “low-risk, failure-focused exercises” as a team...that way, everyone is sure to goof up & sees it’s okay! Example: juggle 5 plastic spoons for one minute. #dtk12chat
A5: I read about this game called Pepper in Teach like a Champion by Doug Lemov. The point is to warm call students and keep them on their toes. You're asking them review questions and topics can switch at any moment #ElonEd#dtk12chat
Study rough drafts with students instead of final drafts... like the Declaration of Independence and Picasso paintings and Michelangelo sketches... study the process, not the product #dtk12chat
We (the adults) did a couple of iterations of a fail club--meeting at bar to talk about our most spectacular failures from the week-- trying to set the tone of risk-taking is acceptable & stuff happens #dtk12chat
A4 Embed creative responses & time constraints in other parts of the day. I use a morning mtg format and we get up & move to physically create. From day one we see there is more than 1 right answer & that we can build off of one another's ideas. Not always on paper. #dtk12chat
Love the sound of this idea! Do you think something similar could work for students too? Or would it lead them to only focusing on their failures rather than successes? #ElonEd#dtk12chat
The other day, my colleagues and I had to build a replica of the Statue of Liberty in 1 minute using only binder clips and small post-its. It was pretty hilarious! #dtk12chat
It's all about context... share your worst idea and then let's "yes, and..." until it is the best idea #dtk12chat "worst" idea just means it is the starting point. Only failure if it is also the stopping point.
Love that! I once had the c team of a company stand in a circle, state a failure from last week out loud then take a bow. Always started with “we did...” n I pushed them to say “I..”. The stigma is real. #dtk12chat
I will sometimes stop students 1/2 way to share things they discovered that didn't work; tell them knowing what doesn't work is just as, if not more important; sharing so others can learn from our mistakes is how we support our community #dtk12chat
I think that there is definite value in sharing failures, especially if the teacher is willing to model & participate. I think that ability to laugh at yourself is really important & so sharing ridiculous failures is a great way to break the ice #dtk12chat
In reply to
@zoe_grove16, @GHSTEAMchic, @MsJWhiting
Fail is also often reframed as First Attempt in Learning and so if you focus on the learning with the students (and "what came next") it feels appropriate #dtk12chat
In reply to
@zoe_grove16, @GHSTEAMchic, @MsJWhiting
A5 Set short time spurts 4TCS Think, Create, Show
-Have Prototype materials available
-Let Ss choose their medium/platform 2 create & share work
-Create & Live a Culture of Prototyping. Treat everything as a prototype gives Ss & Ts AirCover 2 try, messup & try again
#dtk12chat
Definitely agree that teacher modeling behaviour is super important -- allows students to model what they see and can help set them up for success #ElonEd#dtk12chat
Yes but I think it’s imp to give them tools to guide them through what happens next. What if ppl laugh at them? If they don’t get the part in the play? Or they don’t do well on test. Fear of failure is often cuz we feel stuck afterwards #dtk12chat
In reply to
@msjlura, @zoe_grove16, @GHSTEAMchic, @MsJWhiting
yes and.. is a teaching technique we've talked about in class before! Love the idea and is something I'm more than excited to implement in my future classroom #ElonEd#dtk12chat
In reply to
@mrehlander, @MsJWhiting, @msjlura, @GHSTEAMchic
True... I show them this:
https://t.co/YIS1pwCkQL
It never gets old. And he failed in front of millions of people at the stadium and watching on TV. #dtk12chat
In reply to
@EmanAboulatta, @msjlura, @zoe_grove16, @GHSTEAMchic
Yes! We tried the Bad Idea Brainstorm w/Ts a few weeks ago...it was a great start, though still really difficult for them to share terrible ideas! I wonder how it would’ve gone had we used a lighter challenge question instead of something heavy..we’ll keep trying! #dtk12chat
It's all about context... share your worst idea and then let's "yes, and..." until it is the best idea #dtk12chat "worst" idea just means it is the starting point. Only failure if it is also the stopping point.
Q6: Rapid experimenting can be generating ideas quickly. Students often struggle with suspending judgement. What types of activities/learning experiences help? #DTK12CHAT
Have to pop out a little early tonight but I've really enjoyed the chat! Lots of great ideas and mindsets going around. Hopefully I can join next Wednesday or sometime soon #ElonEd#dtk12chat
Sometimes I suggest the students draw what it would look like if the problem they were solving went away or never existed... in those drawings they find their ideas for solutions; remove the word failure from the discussion #dtk12chat
Exactly! Repurposing the 5 why’s from DT empathy tools:3 why’s behind failure + 3 things you’ll do to move fwd. also: “keep/toss/learn/work on” reflection on behavior. #dtk12chat
In reply to
@msjlura, @zoe_grove16, @GHSTEAMchic, @MsJWhiting
I love this! I also love reiterating the iterate piece. What will you try to observe now, as you experiment? What new observations, design principles, ideas, and experiments will you discover (because you never know until you try, failure is the best teacher, etc.). #dtk12chat
In reply to
@EmanAboulatta, @msjlura, @zoe_grove16, @GHSTEAMchic, @MsJWhiting
What if students and teachers refrain from using the "F" word for a week? If we stop saying failure, we start thinking differently about process because we are describing it differently. #dtk12chat
Any thoughts on the use of the word "failure" vs "learn" vs "mistake" (fail fast vs learn fast) etc? I tend to not use the world failure w/ students (just with myself :) #dtk12chat
that might be true... our vocabulary is learned and says so much about our culture. It is part of the routines that we internalize unconsciously... change the routine and change the culture/ mindset. Right @dteuber ? #dtk12chat
I think using the word fail and taking away its power is the way to go. Inlife, they’ll be faced with it, n they should have the self efficacy to deal with it. #dtk12chat
#dtk12chat A6 The can start with an idea they have, and change the who, what, when, where, how, how long, how much...A little—or a lot (going crazy on these, like what if it used [insert random word], or what if it took 1second/10years, etc. is what most brainstorming methods do.
I once a heard a really interesting talk by Tom Chi (who used to be the head of google x & has a lot of stuff on prototyping) about research around the word "failure" & how it makes us shut down but haven't ever found anything else on it #dtk12chat
Sharknado shoulda been another phrase for “it ain’t gonna fly".. i heard somewhere that of all the ideas to take off Sharknado had no chance. it’d be a fail. but it didn’t work out that way #dtk12chat
I love this. What if challenges, and taking more than one shot to overcome them, were just accepted the norm in life/school (vs. "failure")—especially when people are stretching themselves in good ways? #dtk12chat
also makes me wonder what is actual context of true 'failure' other than HS courses? In 'real life' if we get fired from a job do we say we 'failed'? We use it comically & w/meme's 'selfie fail'; I frequently use the phrase 'mom fail' w/my kids #dtk12chat
