The Design Thinking Experience

This week I had the unique opportunity to join a group of about 40 other educators at Stanford’s Design School. Our eclectic group represented multiple age ranges, genders, educational organizations, and nationalities. The workshop was a 4 –day whirlwind tour of the Design Thinking process that allowed all of us to grapple with the higher level thinking skills and strategies involved in the problem-solving process.

The Design Thinking process consists of distinct phases. Once a general problem, or problem area, is identified, the process begins. Phase I, Empathy, means gaining knowledge and understanding of the person being impacted by the problem: the end user. We accomplish this through interviews, gathering artifacts, and engaging in authentic research. Then, after synthesizing this material, the designer moves on to Phase II, establishing a point of view that reflects the user’s needs. Next, the designer carefully delineates and defines the problem to be solved. This articulation becomes Phase III. Prototyping is Phase IV. This phase excites imagination and engages creativity. Synergy, through positive group interaction, is at its height. Brainstorming, sketching, and wild ideas are welcome. It is here that construction of a model (e.g. 3-dimensional object, flowchart) to solve the problem occurs. Part of this phase is preliminary testing. This means that a typical user is asked to view and give genuine feedback on the prototype by experiencing the solution in its raw form. The designer takes this feedback critique and reworks the prototype; often moving through several iterations before Phase V, Storytelling, begins. Storytelling, or “pitching,” adds an element of closure to the process. It is the presentation of a 3-minute story in which 1.) articulation of the problem and characteristics of the intended user are imbedded, 2.) the solution (prototype) is shared within the context of the user’s needs, 3.) the impact on a greater picture/audience is acknowledged and explained, and 4.) ends with ideas that are credible, emotional, or unexpected. Ideas that stick in the listeners’ minds. Once the story is told, listeners and users continue to offer feedback so that the prototype is continually refined and/or until a new problem statement is developed.

The cyclical nature of the Design Thinking process we learned this week was aimed at adult learners. It is a lengthy process full of social and emotional aspects having to do with group dynamics, and closely tied to the availability of fluid space, ideation, and access to numerous craft and communications materials. The process we expect to use in 5^th grade will, necessarily, be streamlined to include only 3 of these phases: Empathy, Prototyping, and Feedback. There will be considerable guidance in determining researchable problem statements that are curricular in nature. And we hope to move through one entire process cycle each quarter using our big question as a foundation for inquiry and problem solving. We plan to focus on a single element of the process during one of these cycles. But we will apply the process, as needed, throughout the school year as typical classroom problems arise. A rubric to determine quality of student engagement in the Design Thinking process is being constructed. For more information, you may want to connect with http://dschool.stanford.edu/k12

Parents familiar with education and classroom curricular delivery systems may want to know the difference between Design Thinking and Project/Product-Based Learning (PBL). I see PBL as more teacher-guided; having specific outcomes (information and products) in mind at the very beginning. Although students engaged in PBL do have significant choice in presentation of their learning (e.g. PowerPoint, iMovie, podcasts, wiki posts, written report, musical composition, skit, painting, etc.), the learning is circumscribed within a set of given guidelines and matched to a rubric that evaluates elements of the product. Design Thinking, in contrast, appears to differ in that the outcome of the learning is not known at the outset of the investigation, and the product or solution can be innovative and surprising. We will use both PBL and Design Thinking, as well as direct instruction (DI) and inquiry circles, as means of curriculum delivery this school year.

We are planning a quick 'parent participatory' demonstration of Design Thinking at our Back-to-School Night in September. Hope to see you then.

Resources for Integrated Exploratory Parents

For a better understanding of our new approach to curriculum delivery, you may want to pick up:

• Disrupting Class by Clayton M. Christensen
• A Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink
• One Kid at at Time by Eliot Levine
• The Big Picture by Dennis Littky
• Comprehension & Collaboration by Stephanie Harvey and Harvey Daniels
• Nurture by Nature by Paul Tieger and Barbara Barron-Tieger

or, visit other schools headed in the same direction:

http://www.lgusd.k12.ca.us/tlda/documents/FislerSiteBrief.pdf (Fisler in Fullerton)

http://fsd.k12.ca.us/menus/1to1/index.html

http://www.lgusd.k12.ca.us/tlda/index.php (Los Gatos)

http://www.reedschools.org/millennial.html (Reed in Tiburon)

The "Global Student" and the Importance of Technology

In its vision statement, the Portola valley School District (PVSD) recognizes the development of intellectual curiosity, personal responsibility, and the skills to navigate a diverse and rapidly changing world as fundamental attributes of a “global student.” To that end, the District’s Strategic Plan is unambiguous in its call to provide a world-class education for its students. Components of this initiative, as defined by their 2006 public statement, include the ability of students to understand and value other cultures and perspectives, and to confront challenges by applying critical thinking, problem solving, research, and communication skills. That same document charges the professional staff to identify and implement instructional strategies that effectively meet individual student needs and learning styles by investigating alternative structures for classroom organization and instructional delivery. Proposed changes in the delivery structures in our 4^th and 5^th grade classrooms for the 2009-2010 school year will meet these calls for conscientious restructuring.

Portola Valley is not alone in its quest to provide authentic instructional strategies designed to increase student achievement, student engagement in learning, and accountability by shifting responsibility for learning from teacher to the learner. A smattering of other visionary school districts are heading down this path, knowing the risks, but understanding the consequences of inaction. Education futurists, thinkers, and authors have issued repeated calls to step away from the strictures of the ‘standards movement’ into collaborative classrooms that promote synergy rather than competition. Classrooms that exude the entrepreneurial spirit; that acknowledge individual learning styles, engage multiple pathways to goal achievement, promote connections instead of discreet skill development, provide rich opportunities for higher-level problem solving, and generate an atmosphere where effort and attitude, not necessarily raw intellect, lead to success. This is how our Integrated Exploratory classes are being designed.

This, then, is where the deployment of on-demand computing (i.e technology) becomes critical to the success of our design process. The 2006 PVSD strategic plan states unequivocally that ‘classroom/network infrastructure should promote optimal and innovative teaching and learning.’ During this school year we will turn technology tools from playthings into vehicles for creating knowledge through collaboration. We will employ Web 2.0 applications (e.g. Skype, email, websites, blogs, wikis, social networking sites) to convey ideas, exchange and evaluate data, communicate cultural understandings with local native Spanish speaking peers, publish products or projects, correspond with peers and experts, engage in a web-based national service project, and truly connect with our larger world. In the 5^th grade, during the first weeks of school, we plan to use laptop browser technology and Enterprise level infrastructure to access online resources to:

• investigate aspects of ancient civilizations,
• explore our individual personality types, learning styles, and interests,
• prepare a learning profile on Renzulli
• research current events, and 'The Day in History,’
• prepare and evaluate a peer challenges,
• review and practice mathematics facts,
• post information to topical wikis,
• post daily responses on our limited-access classroom (moderated) blog, and
• provide appropriate images to promote point-of-need background development in all academic content areas.

During the early weeks of the school year we also plan to use standard desktop applications to:

• compose quick writes, prepare and complete reading comprehension notetaking T-charts (Pages, MS Word), and other written work,
• capture images for our first exploration project - Ourselves As a Fundamental Human Resource (PhotoBooth),
• guide our understanding of the landforms of North America (Google Earth),
• record, chart, and interpret frequency data from our wetlands exploratory (Excel),
• prepare a digital portfolio (Mac OS),
• interact with experts and advisors (Skype),
• enhance mathematical concept development (AKEKS),
• listen to and interpret the works of Gustav Holtz, Phillip Glass (iTunes),
• record classroom activities (Garageband and iPhoto), and
• develop lexicological and mathematical skills (dictionary, calculator).

We will learn:

• the ethics of using the Internet appropriately, and
• proper ‘netiquette.’

The above list is but a sampling of the probable uses for on-demand computing in the Integrated Exploratory classes this school year. As the term continues, additional explorations and their requisite presentations/exhibitions using other computer applications (e.g. ActiveBoard, KeyNote, PowerPoint, iWeb, iMovie) will be fully integrated.

On-demand computing will assure that our Integrated Exploratory students develop those 21^st Century competencies that business organizations and multi-national agencies claim many of their young employees lack: collaboration, critical thinking, creativity & curiosity, communication skills, citizenship, cultivation, and competency. On-demand computing will provide digital equity within the ranks of our students. It will revolutionize our classrooms, converting them into interdependent learning ecosystems where just-in-time information will secure knowledge connections for each individual student. On-demand technology will transform our learners into the independent thinkers, the creative and curious, ethical, and risk taking individuals that our global society so acutely demands.

Through technology, the Integrated Exploratory classes will realize their commitment to define[ing], align[ing], implement[ing], assess[ing], and communicate[ing] the structures, curricula, instructional practices, assessments, and professional development needed to produce the Global Student.”1

1 PVSD Strategic Plan 2006-2011, November 28, 2006

Welcome to the Integrated Exploratory Class 2009-2010

Hello Students and Parents.

In case you missed this explanatory letter, I am including it here.

What is this exactly? Integrated Exploratory is exactly what it says it is. Throughout the course of the year your students and I will explore larger topics into which all California State Standards and Frameworks have been integrated. The class will offer a series of open-ended projects centered on Big Questions. This means that your student will be able to engage in quasi self-directed study, searching out answers to questions that have meaning or relevance to him/her. It does not mean that the class will become a “free-for-all” with little or no accountability for content. It does mean that direct instruction will be a part of every day. It also means that your student may not be involved in exactly the same activities, projects, and lessons on the same days, at the same times, or in the same ways as other 5^th grade classes. I expect to complete a long-range plan for the year before the end of June. I will make this basic curriculum plan available to you, and will invite comment at that time.

The Developmental Component: This new structure of curriculum delivery has a significant developmental component. Students who are 10 and 11 years old are moving – at their own pace – from CONCRETE to FORMAL operations. The Concrete Operations phase is characterized by a student’s ability to think abstractly and to make rational judgments about concrete or observable phenomena, which, in the past, he/she needed to manipulate physically to understand. In teaching this child, giving him/her the opportunity to ask questions and to explain things back to you allows him/her to mentally manipulate information. Formal Operations is characterized by no longer requiring concrete objects to make rational judgments. At this point, students are capable of hypothetical and deductive reasoning. Simply put, they are able to see beyond themselves and understand that they can, to some degree, manipulate their world. Instruction for this pre-adolescent can become wide-ranging because he/she will be able to think divergently and consider many possibilities from several perspectives. (See http://honolulu.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/FacDevCom/guidebk/teachtip/piaget.htm for further information.)

Where your student falls on this developmental continuum will play a significant role in his/her ability to participate in this type of study. Although there is very little adults can do to hasten this natural development, it is hoped that all students will be fully engaged in the ‘understand –> observe –> define –> ideate –> create (prototype) and –> test’ cycle that is essential by second semester. This product producing and reflective process will be taught during the first weeks of school. Also during these beginning weeks, considerable time will be given to developing the interpersonal skills necessary to work as a fully contributing member of a team. Interdependence (i.e. if one succeeds, we all succeed; if one fails, we all fail) will become a watchword as we move through the year.

Parent Involvement: There will be many ways in which parents can volunteer their help. These opportunities are:

Title	Description
1. Offsite/Field Trip Procurer & Organizer	Work with teacher to find and book curriculum related field trips that are not part of the regular 5th grade series
2. Grade Level Field Trip Organizer	Work with teacher to organize trips that are part of the regular 5th grade series (Age of Sail, Symphony, etc.)
3. Speakers’ Bureau	Work with teacher to find and book curriculum related speakers and schedule actual (on site) or virtual (Skype) visits
4. Technology – Locate Curriculum Relevant Internet Sites	Work with teacher to find, and post to our website, appropriate curriculum related websites
5. Technology – Manage/Input Student Software Accounts	Work with teacher and IT staff to input student names into specialized software accounts (Renzulii, g-mail, etc.)
6. Technology – Monitor Classroom Blog & Wiki	Work with teacher to read and allow or deny daily blog (and wiki) posts by students
7. Reading Period Monitors	Work with teacher to monitor student reading period so students are engaged in “reading to learn”
8. Secretarial	Work with teacher to keep student files orderly and paper distribution (class to home) flowing
9. Small Group Leader(s)	Work with teacher to engage students in small group instruction or, assist with the management of project task completion
10. Art Consultant	Work with art and classroom teachers and students to integrate artists and artistic genre, as well as artistic techniques/principles into student projects
11. Music Consultant	Work with music and classroom teachers and students to integrate musicians and musical genre, as well as musical techniques/principles into student projects
12. Foreign Language Consultant	Work with classroom and Spanish teachers to coordinate Bi-Lingual Buddies program with Hatch School in Half Moon Bay
13. Global Cultural Consultant	Work with classroom and other foreign language speakers to develop communications (e-pals, Skype conversations) with similar age students in at least 1 other country
14. Math Cnsultant	Work with math and classroom teachers and students to integrate math concepts into student projects (This is not a pull out math program!)
15. Science Consultant	Work with science and classroom teachers and students to integrate scientific principles and concepts into student projects (This is not a pull out math program!)
16. Science Project Assistant(s)	Work with science teacher during direct instruction to distribute materials, check student engagement and thinking, assist with clean up
17. PodCast Technician	Work with classroom teacher and students to integrate well scripted Podcasts into projects, and/or for general broadcast on the website
18. Videographer	Work with classroom teacher and students to integrate well scripted and rehearsed video into projects, and/or for general broadcast on the website
19. Service Learning Coordinator	Work with classroom teacher and community resource managers to develop a meaningful service learning project

As we move through the year, these roles may morph in new and exciting ways, and additional roles for parents may develop as the year progresses. If you see something (above) that strikes a chord, let me know right away (851-1777 X2239 or mbarton@pvsd.net) so I can begin to plot out and schedule our year.

Internet Use: No, we are not the Technology Class, but we will be spending a lot of time online this year! Therefore it is important that your student be permitted to get involved in the Internet in a big way. We will need your permission to have your student access not only classroom approved Internet sites for research, but that he/she begins to understand the broader implications of Internet usage through blogs, wikis, email, and other Web 2.0 technologies. We most certainly will be using Skype to bring in outside experts to answer questions, and we may even find a social networking site helpful in managing local and global connections. The Network Use Policy (NUP) that you signed when your student started at Corte Madera included some but not all of these aspects of Internet use. Therefore we will be asking you to sign an addendum to the current NUP that will cover all school related network/Internet use.

In addition, we will spend some time early in the year teaching Internet ethics (i.e. appropriate citizenship while on line), Internet Safety (i.e. what to watch out for online), and Internet Literacy (i.e. how to tell when information is authentic).

Physical Structure of the Classroom: We expect our classroom to look very different next year. It is a relatively small space to accommodate all that we hope to do, so we will need to keep a streamlined profile. We will have no desks filled with consumable workbooks. Collapsible tables and moveable partitions are being ordered. Students will share ALL materials (sets of textbooks, markers, etc). Personal items will need to be left outside in book bags or at home. There will be ample storage to accommodate project work, and each student will keep a portfolio of completed class work, writings, projects, and evaluations. Students will be responsible for classroom set up and clean up every day.

Authenticity and Accountability: This program will try to approximate, as closely as possible, the higher education and working world into which these students are headed. We wish to make this experience as authentic and relevant as possible for students of this age. So it will be important for your student to “step-up” and take control of his/her academic production and social responsibility. Individual students and/or student teams will, as the year progresses, become completely accountable for project work; and, 95% of student work will be completed in school. Accountability for QUALITY work is one of the hallmarks of this Integrated Exploratory program. Unless there are extenuating circumstances, sloppy or incomplete products will be considered unacceptable and returned for further refinement. Rubrics will be the preferred method of quantitative evaluation. The structure of the 5^th grade report card may also change. But this is an administrative decision that has not yet been made.

Homework: Homework expectations will be different as well. What will be routine are: 1.) responding to a blog post by a student peer or the teacher, and 2.) reading for pleasure. Beyond this, students will determine, based on daily personal reflection, what it is they must do to prepare for their next day. As teacher, I will check day-planners and will authorize each student’s independent choice. Here are some examples: If it is his/her turn to report on a current event, then he/she must locate information and prepare a short talk. If a group presentation is scheduled, he/she should rehearse. If he/she is part of a group delving into a particular topic, he/she should spend time researching the topic. If he/she is having trouble determining the mathematical probability that their model may fail, he/she may need to work with the concept of probability. If he/she can’t remember when to use the homonyms there, their, or they’re, he/she should spend some time thinking about and writing sentences containing the tricky words. If his/her team is constructing a product and needs materials found easily at home, he/she should gather those materials to support his/her team efforts. Students should spend 45 – 60 minutes on relevant homework. And, don’t forget to chat with your student about his/her school day --- every day. As your child’s first teacher, you can offer much in the way of background knowledge, perspective, and guidance.

Communication: It is important that we establish firm lines of communication early on. Having frequent conversation will be essential to the success of this program. To that end, I would like to form an e-mail distribution list of all Integrated Exploratory parents. This list will not be made public and names will never appear in the address line of any email. Please email me at mbarton@pvsd.net so that I can include your name on this most important list.

We have now created this blog, with pages for parents and students. This blog, it is hoped, will provide our special Integrated Exploratory community with a place to exchange ideas and share opinions.