Design Thinking is a fantastic idea. I was struck during the activity by how often I already do this in my teaching. When my final assessment projects include things like, "design and build an impenetrable castle," after we have been discussing the evolution of medieval castle architecture and design, I guess my class has already been engaged in design thinking to some extent. A lot of what we discussed today is inherent in what and how we teach as teachers.
I think the best thing I learned today, though, is "desire lines." I love this concept! Afterall, why work against the needs of the community, or in our case, the needs of the students. I am going to try to figure out how to recognize, address, and celebrate "desire lines" in my classroom this year. Thanks, team, for introducing this concept!
So glad you liked the "desire lines" concept! I always try to look for them now - in the way people carry their bags, to how they work around a poorly designed tech device to how they use one kitchen utensil for something it wasn't designed for at all.
ReplyDeleteAn interesting, short post on desire lines in education: http://neilatkin.com/tech-and-education/