Dear Colleagues:
I am writing to you as a teacher of 13 years in the Boston Public Schools. I teach U.S. History to 10th graders. I, together with my colleagues in the history department have been grappling with how to make our curricula more student-centered and project-based for the last several years. We have started incorporating projects in our units with a culminating research paper and project for their final exam at the end of the year. It is quite beautiful to watch and see the students’ progress over the years.
In 2019, I completed a Fulbright Distinguished Award in Teaching in India. As a practitioner, I was able to take the time out of my classroom and research best practices around student-centered and project based learning. I was very fortunate to find Indus International School in Bangalore that uses the Design Thinking Process (DTP) as a teaching pedagogy and methodology in the classroom from Kindergarten to the 12th standard. I was invigorated by this pedagogy and methodology that I saw in elementary grades and middle grades.
I am speaking to all of you as a practitioner and am collaboratively writing this guide with other teachers and professors as a way to think about teaching with a different lens. I have seen over the years so many students feeling that their core content is remote and boring and through the DTP I have watched students come alive and enthusiastic about learning. I alone, did not create this guide. Again, the way DTP works is in groups and through several drafts and iterations, the following is what was produced. The guide is written the way the contributors have thought through this process and how to teach it. Please use what is helpful to you. There are no prescriptions and this is just a guide to help awaken your classroom. Please use it as you wish and what makes sense for you and your school.
A special note to new teachers entering the field of education. You are about to embark or are embarking on a journey of a lifetime. They are a lot of demands asked of teachers that are outside teaching and learning and it sometimes may feel overwhelming to think about adding another “task” to your plate but I would like to make the argument for you to read this guide with an open mind and to NOT get overwhelmed. Rather, I would like you to read this as a way to explore creative methods to reach various learners that you have before you in your classroom. Speaking from experience, using the Design Thinking Method or other student centered project based learning methods has unlocked the potential of many more of my students than ever before. I have come to realize that the old methods of teaching are long gone and we as teachers, in a profession, need to change with the times to help the maximum amount of future generations of students reach their fullest potential. After all, our future is in their hands and we, as teachers, play a HUGE role in shaping our future, their future, and many future generations to follow. On that note, happy reading and reflecting.
My wish is for you to become the best teacher possible for the students before you and that you are able to provide them with the skills necessary to flourish after they leave your classroom. And hopefully along the way, you have fun teaching.
In Unity,
Brinda Tahiliani
Preface
I have been so inspired with the Design Thinking Process (DTP) that I have realized that I completed my own DTP on student-centered, project based learning. It goes to show you how applicable this process is to many many things we encounter in life including education.
Empathized-In order to really understand the education landscape of India:
1. I observed 1 eighth grade class once a week at the Indus International School in Bangalore,
2. I took 2 classes at Azim Premji University's masters of arts in education (Class, Caste, and Gender and Education Governance and Decentralisation),
3. Met weekly with a mentor at the Indus International School in Bangalore
4. Met with a faculty advisor at Azim Premji University in Bangalore
5. Completed an online class through the Interaction Design Foundation in Denmark
6. Read several current articles on the Design Thinking Process and diversify teaching methods to reach more students (see resources below)
7. Read two books on the importance of interactive pedagogy and inquiry based curriculums
8. Visited over 8 schools in Bangalore that ranged from international schools to private schools to government schools to government aided schools.
9. Presented my findings and explored what others thought over 14 times over the course of 6 months.
10. Discussed my ideas and thinking with over 100 people including Professors, students, teachers, administrators, and others interested in teaching.
Defined-Means-Ends Displacement Theory in Education
Currently: The means is for students to do well on a standardized tests so that in the
end the school can remain viable. Flaw in the accountability systems created and how to
measure how much a student has learned. Standard and traditional teaching methods
are not meeting the needs of ALL students that have diverse learning styles.
Change: The means is for students to have the skills necessary so that in the end, they
can be successful beyond high school. Indicators in accountability systems need to be
developed to show how students learning and developing skills. The world is dynamic
and so are the students which call for creative teaching methods.
Missing: The lack of focus on students’ skills to thrive in the 21st Century in
accountability systems. And the lack of widespread pedagogical teaching methods that
foster project based, student centered learning.
Challenge/Point of View/Problem Statement: How to incorporate BOTH the skills
necessary for standardized tests and 21st Century skills equally in the classroom?
Ideated-How to incorporate BOTH the skills necessary for standardized tests and 21st Century skills equally in the classroom? Working with my mentors both at Indus and Azim Premji we came up with several ideas on how to merge the Design Thinking Process in core content. Our ideas were generated through several in person meetings, phone calls, brainstorming, and reflecting sessions. Generally, we used communication and discussions to develop ideas for the prototyping stage.
Prototyping and Testing- I am still in the prototyping and testing stage which to me will be an ever evolving dynamic process. Some pilots I have created are Mini-DTPs, using DTP in a full 4-week unit in a history class, and understanding the importance of accountability systems in education using DTP. Some future prototypes are this guide, using the DTP process to generate projects and research papers for mid and final assessments, and using the DTP process for portfolio reviews.
Rationale and Brief Description of DTP
The Design Thinking Process is a trademark of IDEO. Tim Brown, CEO of IDEO, popularised the use of the term Design Thinking to refer to a specific set of procedures, techniques and methods used to unlock innovation and creativity. The 5-stage Design Thinking Process model (Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, Test) began at the Hasso-Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford (d.school).
Through my extensive research and observations and as a classroom teacher of 13 years, I have concluded that the Design Thinking Process (DTP) is a very valuable pedagogical technique to spark the imaginations of our young folks to actualize their full academic potential. There are 5 practical steps to apply and when incorporated in our lesson plans and curriculums students in turn learn the material in a deeper, richer fashion than the traditional methods.
Research states the following:
Design Thinking Process (DTP)-21st Century Skills Acquired
Leadership
Meeting Facilitation
Critical Thinking
Conflict Resolution
Writing
Teamwork/Collaboration
Public Speaking
Research Methods
Decision Making
Communication
Advocacy
Time Management
Problem Solving
Empathy/Human-Centered
Creative Thinking
Listening
Design Thinking Process (DTP)-Outcomes for Students-Practical Skills
Increased Social Networks
Community Awareness
Improved Self Respect
Trusted and Respectful Relationships with adults
Enhanced Self Efficacy
Empowered to Affect Change in Community
Increased Self Confidence
Awareness of Social Factors Shaping their Lives
Instilled Sense of Civic Responsibility
Increased Self-esteem
5 Stages of the Design Thinking Process and how I have defined it in core content in education
Empathize- To gain empathy towards people one must observe them in their natural environment passively or engage with them in interviews. Through empathy, one should try to imagine themselves in the users’ environment, or “stepping into their shoes” as the saying goes, in order to gain a deeper understanding of their situations.
Empathize in Education-History-empathize with the people the historical event impacted, Science-the effect the scientific process has on people, English-relating to the protagonist, Math-understanding the world around us--Math is everywhere--good for the brain, how to tell time, finances, cooking/baking, problem solving skills
2. Define-During the Define stage, you put together the information you have created and gathered during the Empathize stage. This is where you will analyse your observations and synthesise them in order to define the core problems that you and your team have identified up to this point. You should seek to define the problem as a problem statement in a human-centred manner.
Define in Education-First students create a Point of View (POV) statement and The “How Might We” question purposely maintains a level of ambiguity, and opens up the exploration space to a range of possibilities. This can be applied to any content. Here is an example of a POV and several How Might we statements.
POV: “Teenage girls need... to eat nutritious food... in order to thrive and grow in a healthy way.”
HMW: How Might We make healthy eating appealing to young females?
• How Might We inspire teenage girls towards healthier eating options?
• How Might We make healthy eating something, which teenage girls aspire towards?
• How Might We make nutritious food more affordable?
3. Ideate- This stage is for generating ideas. You’ve grown to understand your situation and people's’ needs in the Empathize stage, and you’ve analysed and synthesised your observations in the Define stage, and ended up with a human-centered problem statement. With this solid background, you and your team members can start to "think outside the box" to identify new solutions to the problem statement you’ve created, and you can start to look for alternative ways of viewing the problem.
Ideate in Education- Ways to solve the problem as it relates to the content you are studying and learning about or ways to interpret, analyze, and express what they are learning in the classroom. In history it maybe ways to decrease the amount of nuclear weapons around the world, in English it may be lessons learned from the protagonist and how to apply it to their own life, in Science it maybe ways to conserve water, and in Math it maybe ways for students to appreciate the math they are learning and why they are learning it.--maybe for math it is not about the topic they are learning but how practicing math helps them with problem solving skills-maybe they need to do research around the purpose of learning math which in turn will motivate them to learn it in class?)
4. Prototype-This is an experimental phase, and the aim is to identify the best possible
solution for each of the problems identified during the first three stages. The solutions are
implemented within the prototypes, and, one by one, they are investigated and either
accepted, improved and re-examined, or rejected on the basis of the users’ experiences.
Prototypes in Education- This maybe solutions to the problem they were researching or
different project formats to showcase their learning on a subject.
5. Test-Designers or evaluators rigorously test the complete product using the best solutions identified during the prototyping phase.
Tests in Education-This maybe the action students take within the community or the final
project that students chose to showcase their learning on a subject.
What is your guiding philosophy that makes you who you are or the overall principles that guide your team? Add a photo or two! Putting your face to your story allows your readers to connect to you. And here’s a little tip from the pros - write in the first person so your readers can relate to you on a more personal level.
Why Design Thinking Process?
Dynamic Learning in the 21st Century
Design thinking is a topic which is set to change the way we work together—and in a fundamental way—so we can investigate, understand and solve real-world problems across a wide spectrum of influence. The 5-stage Design Thinking Process model began at the Hasso-Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford (d.school) and Tim Brown, CEO, IDEO.
The Design Thinking Process can be 1-2 lessons within a unit to 5-10 lessons. In the shorter mini DTPs you may not go through all the stages but use one stage and build up to a larger summative assessments that uses all 5 stages. For summative assessments, in general, it takes up to 5 to 10 lessons using all the 5 stages.
The role of a teacher is to be a facilitator (use the Right Question Institute- https://rightquestion.org/ to help you ask good guiding questions) and guide students when they get stuck. The challenge for teachers is balancing how much assistance they give students to not helping them at all. A teacher needs to think in a workshop model that may look like this:
Warm-Up (5 min.)-usually individual and students are answering a guiding
Question. They need to be ready to share out.
Mini-Lesson (10 min.)-teacher centered and uses this time to give some general
guidelines and content related facts.
Classwork (30 min.)-student centered and they are working in groups to complete
the work and learning from each other.
Wrap-Up (5 min.)- student centered and teacher guided. Students share out their
progress or where they are stuck. This allows for the whole class to help each
Other and can become very powerful.
Homework (2min.) Review what the homework is and when it is due.
Teachers need to trust the process and that self directed learning WILL produce exceptional learners. Trying to impart knowledge on students may work for some but not all and we MUST try to reach all of our students. It may feel hard at first but then gets easier with time. Teachers need to think on their toes and be as dynamic as our world is today. The planning and execution takes time but once you see the benefits it will become fun for everyone.
Students work in groups to work through the learning. The range is usually between 2-4 students. More than 4 becomes hard for every participant to equally share in the tasks and the learning. Teacher may want to create group roles to help facilitate groups. (See Appendix A for example group roles). Additionally, teacher may want to include peer feedback forms as part of the grade. (see Appendix B). It is hard to work in groups but the more that students work in groups the better they get at it and the more they learn. Groups can be created randomly or planned. They should always be in heterogeneous groups. Some teachers have the students work in the same groups all year round. The hardest part of groups is for them to be productive and stay on task. Teachers need to be present and redirect the students that are off task. Students can also receive a grade for working in groups during a class period. Again there is no one size fits all. It is all about trial and error.