What a great time it was to visit the Digital Learning Loft. During this hour, we learned about design terms and concepts and discussed how we might be able to use design language to further our goals in education. Teachers, leaders, aids, involved parents are all designers. We are designers of student spaces, of their learning program, we design how we provide formal and informal … Continue reading IS Luxembourg Design Thinking Conversation
On November 10th, 2020 I was proud to debut new work on the topic of designing access for student learning along with my good friend and consultant, Mark Overmeyer. In considering how we both increase and inhibit access to student learning from a design frame we look at what design/education terms exist and we explore Micro Moments, where what we say and do in the … Continue reading ECIS Webinar – Access to Learning & Literacy
Every classroom in the world has changed in some way during these last six months. Disinfectant wipes, spaced out desks and furniture removed just to name a few of those changes. But those examples aren’t how we change school operations to become COVID compliant. For months now, we have needed to re-evaluate how we operate our schools to be COVID compliant and we will need … Continue reading Your Normal School Structure & Mode of Operating Isn’t COVID-19 Compliant
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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)
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)
“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
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
A student raising their hand to request permission to use the bathroom or to get a drink of water is so common practice, most of us who teach haven’t thought to challenge it’s wisdom or utility. I am lucky that I teach in a private international school, so challenging that wisdom should be easy. Except, it wasn’t. Well, it wasn’t until the challenge to that … Continue reading Design For: Student Privacy
Educators and schools are awash in too many good ideas flowing in at all times and it is hard to be in a position to know what good ideas to choose. Not every good idea will work in every classroom or school Too many good ideas being implemented will fragment a school program, a faculty and fragments student participating in a course or school, “a … Continue reading The “Too Many Good Ideas” Problem
Two day for four year of plans. Decent value right? If you need to have a road-map for your school that lasts well into the future and is grounded in a hard self-study, just give yourself two days. School leaders, you all know how hard it is to find two days, but the value of having an extended road-map and deliverables established is so critical. … Continue reading Take Two Days to Plan Your School’s Next Four Years
Skhooldesign with Jim Ellis 