Author: jimschooldesign

#DesignThinking (2.0) — Author of Data & Team Building in the Middle — Consultant for school design, data, assessments and team building — ❤️AZ
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Distance Leaning Changed Affordances and Signifiers that Students use to Navigate Their Learning.

Design For How Students Think 🤔 I’m teaching at one of the few schools around the world that went to distance learning and returned to on-campus teaching — all in Spring 2020 due to COVID-19. Having done so was a great chance to reflect on the modalities students are using in both learning environments. As it turns out, design language concepts like affordances and signifiers … Continue reading Distance Leaning Changed Affordances and Signifiers that Students use to Navigate Their Learning.

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#ECISLeadership 2020 Design Thinking to Maximize Outcomes

I was lucky enough to continue working with the good folks of ECIS, even in the middle of a pandemic. Below you will find my slideshow from my talk. Soon, I hope to include a series of videos to go along with the actual slideshow. Until then, enjoy the highlight and included video resources that I use most often when consulting and facilitating around the … Continue reading #ECISLeadership 2020 Design Thinking to Maximize Outcomes

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Front End and Back End Design Thinking for School Improvement

I recently had the chance to talk to a colleague in another international school in another country where they have a part-time role with the title Community Experience Architect. What a title and what a statement about that school in their desire to be a forward thinking school. Let’s break down the title for a moment. Architect is sometimes shorthand for someone who has designed … Continue reading Front End and Back End Design Thinking for School Improvement

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Sticky post
Design Thinking 2.0

A Recipe to Exceed your Design Thinking Expectations (a story from Mumbai, India)

Ingredients for Design Thinking with Your School: One teacher “spur/cheerleader” One outside “design guru” One teacher “unstoppable force” A pile of middle school kiddos A well-stocked design studio One and only one main goal A pinch of luck This is the story about how ASB Mumbai middle school students were able to make a mobile library in only one week. This is how a principal … Continue reading A Recipe to Exceed your Design Thinking Expectations (a story from Mumbai, India)

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Design Thinking 2.0, Teacher Life

Asking “Why” At Your School Can Be Dangerous. (Lean on a Design Process)

Forget simply trying to deal with Cow Paths, the sacristy of time and resources makes many schools an act-now-ask-questions-never environment. Schools have limited time for teachers work with peers as much of a teacher’s time is with students, rightly, but that creates an issue, “Is our teacher/peer time a place to consider and study our problems or a place to act quickly?” Sadly, organizing teacher … Continue reading Asking “Why” At Your School Can Be Dangerous. (Lean on a Design Process)

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When to say “Why Not‽” To Be Daring On Your Campus with Design Thinking

This is Part II of the blog post “Asking Why? at you School Can be Dangerous” Daring to do something doesn’t mean knowing what to do Doubt is something real to contend with and feeling uncomfortable is part of knowing you might be onto something important. Still, many of us remain silent in the face of an issue we all know isn’t okay. Take the … Continue reading When to say “Why Not‽” To Be Daring On Your Campus with Design Thinking

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Design Thinking 2.0

The “Cow Paths” of School Improvement & Maintenance – Design Thinking

“Society’s institutions change at a slow pace.” Bud Selig – “For the Good of the Game” Cows, deer, and other large animals carve a path in grass and earth from one point to another though repeated use. Should an obstacle appear along that path such as a tree falling across it, the cows will carve a bend in the path around the tree. This is … Continue reading The “Cow Paths” of School Improvement & Maintenance – Design Thinking

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Data & Team Building, Design Thinking 2.0

Design Assessments to Leverage Cognitive Bias

A group of middle school students are reading well below grade level, different schools take different approaches: School A: Baised and imprecise – These teachers love the latest unproven brain research, they want to train for brain balance, train vision one eye at a time, some want to meditate still a few others want to train brain stamina with reading. A theme exists, but is … Continue reading Design Assessments to Leverage Cognitive Bias

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Teacher Life

100% Female Names for My Tests Next Year

I can’t remember where I saw it but the fact that math books portray way more men than women in the problems offered seems like a real truth that I had simply never given any thought to. I knew instantly that I would be digging into this problem and doing something about it. What I didn’t know was the statement that I decided to make. … Continue reading 100% Female Names for My Tests Next Year

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Teacher Life

Give Your Student a Pencil – Ultimate Guide Why We Give Pencils, One Tweet at a Time

If you are reading edu-twitter, I’ll bet that you have seen a slow-burning debate over pencils or even this article from tolerace.org. More precisely, “Should teachers unconditionally give a student a pencil in class?” I have collected more than 100 Tweets and have curated the conversation with some amazing responses for you to enjoy. To create this article, I decided we must reside in one … Continue reading Give Your Student a Pencil – Ultimate Guide Why We Give Pencils, One Tweet at a Time

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