I’ve been teaching many design thinking workshops this year for NYSAIS, helping faculty and administration understand how this creative problem solving process can be used in education. Most schools still follow a 19th century industrial model – the observation followed by a proposal to try some unproven system with the idea of preparing students for the 21st century. Design Thinking on the other hand is used as a problem solving methodology in many 21st century organizations. It’s always great to hear what people do with this creative problem solving process after they leave my workshop and head back to their schools to apply what they’ve  learned. Part of the Kildonan’s School curriculum is The Independent Project –  an inquiry-based, self-directed approach to learning. Here’s a great example of design thinking applied to engage students and deepen their learning:

Sandy  from the  Kildonan School relayed the following to me:

I got a lot out of your presentation and took one aspect of the work you did with us back to a program I initiated at my school.  It’s called the Independent Project, and students in the program drive their own course of learning with faculty as support systems, not teachers.  That has been an amazing experience for the kids because for the first time, they feel empowered by their minds and choices.  As to be expected, they also ran into “problems” being the at the helm of their own ships.  Using your template, I posed the ‘draw your problem‘ to them, and the results were remarkable and quite moving.

The conversations between students and faculty as a result of their drawings were far more revealing and complex than verbal communication alone.  Their images brought depth to their understanding of their problems and opened up better pathways for verbal communication.  One student commented on the importance of recognizing, confronting, and grabbling with her problem.  She felt without that process, she would not be able to move forward and grow in meaningful ways.  In some respects, it’s a new form of educational therapy!

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