1. Purpose

       Mini-DTPs help infuse the method of thinking along the lines of empathy, define, ideate, prototype, and test 
      within several units of inquiry to continually reaffirm that this mindset should become a subconscious action. In
      some ways it gives relevance to the content the students’ are learning and allows them to connect to the world
      they live in.

 

   2. How to incorporate into curriculum

        Mini-DTPs can be incorporated in every unit and does not necessarily have to go
         through all the 5 stages. The idea is to continually use the DTP language to help build this terminology
         subconsciously. 

 

   3. Teacher Role

       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 (2 min.) 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.

 

    4. Student Role

        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.

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    5. Example Mini-DTPs in Core Content

        Click on the below buttons to see examples of Mini-DTPs

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