See how Design Thinking has gone in Brisbane
Hi everyone. It's been a while since we met in Sandvika. After our brief design thinking workshop, some of you had questions left unanswered, questions that I could have answered, third hand, and not very usefully perhaps for you. Instead, and I hope the delay is forgiven (!), I waited until we could grab some of our teachers in Brisbane who've been working on using the design thinking models in their own classrooms (secondary and elementary).
Four schools we were working with made 'pitches' about their work, lasting no more than five minutes or so. They answer some of the key questions, such as:
1. How can we make sure all students cover the curriculum? (the answer is that they cover the curriculum AND some, going beyond what is required of them by age and stage in most cases).
2. How do students react to design thinking process? Are they as frustrated as we were yesterday? (the answer is, yes, they find it challenging, particularly those who've been used to being 'spoon fed' in the past).
3. Have you seen any change in the students' results on tests and exams when using design thinking compared to 'traditional' teaching? (I asked this question of each group and, without any hesitation, they said there were marked improvements in whichever content or skills were being tested. They put this down to much heightened engagement over time).
Have a watch of some of their pitches, or all of them. They might provide an interesting focus for your next staff meeting. Even though three out of the four schools were primary schools, the pedagogical approach remains the same, with just as impressive an impact: