Check out the diagram before reading further. This is 'Design Thinking' in a nutshell. (source)
I've been trying to learn a little more about design thinking since it was first introduced to me. I have been involved tangible projects that involved this process, I don't recall doing it from the very beginning, with a local community (empathy) in mind, and an actually building something long-lasting. (the feedback) Maybe I'm wrong - I've been involved in many community-oriented projects in and out of school, but not with this process consciously in my head. The TED Talk below gives a nice anecdote of design thinking in action. (my summary and comments following)
Co Barry begins with a reflection on how she learned - figuring out what the teacher wants and the 'correct answer', but not really learning to deal with complex problems, or take the risks to effectively solve them. She starts with describing a basic part of the process: identify a need and ask questions about it. (and, significantly, Barry points out that after going to the community you may often find that your perceived problem wasn't really the problem at all, but that the problem was deeper)
Empathy - going to the community and learning.
Prototype - looking for the best possible solution.
She makes several comments, but essentially Co Barry points out that this kind of approach to learning leads to higher levels of engagement and overall achievement. The concept she offers that I will adopt fully is that 'we don't know what (future) we're preparing children for, but we can prepare them to deal with complex change and complex challenges'.
What a great way to put it. There is a deeper understanding to design thinking, but this video is a nice start to getting an idea about what design thinking is.
Robert Dillon posted comments and a TED video on an "Ecological vs Industrial" model for eduction, ecological being an extension of our so-called 21st Century Learning. (a term that Grant Litchman, in his TED Talk, notes that he dislikes) So what is an ecological model?
Dillon starts with his views that schools in his community are doing a better job now with looking ahead 5 years in the future, rather than week by week, day by day, etc, and notes the push for emotionally and physically healthy students. The key to his comments that are connected to Litchman's TED presentation is the need for a more "personalized learning environment"; learning in areas that individuals are passionate about. What I also appreciate is that he emphasizes that we also need to specify areas for individual growth. Creating Innovators, by Tony Wagner, echoes this. Both urge schools to provide opportunities for kids to create and innovate. Dillion notes how more and more people are turning their passions (their hobbies) into businesses. Project-based, experimental, integrated (disciplines) learning models.
Here is the blog post, A Principal Speaking / Principally Speaking, that was passed on to us at my school. Definitely worth a short read. Definitely watch the TED Talk video. (I've summarized below the embedded video)
Lichtman begins by explaining how we need to have our students ask more questions than give answers; have more systems rather than academic departments and institutional compartments; and we need to find problems rather than simply solve them. He set off on a tour of 64 schools.
He notes that "the bad" saw schools were large and bureaucratic, had competing interests, and lacked a culture of risk-taking. (moreover, a lack of taking on change due to a fear of taking risks) There was good as well. Model schools were solving problems and recognized that change is hard and uncomfortable for institutions.
Life outside of the 'box of industrial education' means a permeable education, includes being online, off campus, in the community, and global. Subject boundaries are crossed; reflection is done and empathy grows. Litchman lists "Natural Ecosystem Drivers": creative, adaptive, permeable, dynamic, systemic, self-correcting. He adds a new "~sphere" to the world: the "cognitosphere", which he defines as a system of knowledge creation and management. The ecosystem he refers to is global in nature. Considering that education is a knowledge-based industry, we have to get over three things in order to move forward:
1. Get rid of "anchors": the egotistical approach - my classroom, my subject, my (teaching) time. *I interpret this as teacher-centered learning, which is still the norm. (my thoughts)
2. Get rid of "dams": have to shift from college admissions systems and college boards who label kids by content, rather than context. *How may bright kids are turned away from post-secondary education simply because our mass education model didn't fit them? (my thoughts)
3. Breaking down "silos": classrooms, departments, divisions, schools, are all segregating people who otherwise could work together at creating and innovating. *This is tough to shift in terms of the modern world, but remember that even just decades ago we still had one-room schools in which everyone learned together, but not necessarily the same thing at the same time. This would be an interesting comparison.
Finally, Lichtman introduces his term "evolving self-learners". This is his answer to '21st Century Skills', an expression he dislikes simply because he feels the skills are timeless. (tough to argue with that one). In this same sense we need to be self-evolving organizations as well, unafraid to embrace constant change.
So what are my other thoughts?
"Preparing students for their future, not our past." I love it.
I'd like to see more of how Lichtman approached the research he did. (wouldn't it be cool to do something similar here in Japan, or bum around SE Asia with some planned research) The 'cognitoshpere' is a clever concept and the term 'ecosystem' really resonates. Teaching and learning should include the organic and personalized. It'll be a challenge to (continue to?) develop the concept of 'evolving self-learners' in our schools but it's already being done. This shift isn't necessarily tech-centered either. (though no doubt tech helps)
