Design Thinking in the Everyday Classroom (Plus: 10 Tech Tools for the Classroom)
Design Thinking in the Everyday Classroom
Plus: 10 Tech Tools for the Classroom
Learning experiences grounded in Creativity, Collaboration, Critical Thinking and Communication have guided Julia Cagle's ideas for education. With over 15 years of educational experience (9 years classroom, 6 years media center), Julia has taught students grades pre-K to 12th and worked to develop district wide programming in student entrepreneurship. The learning environment should be student driven, allowing imagination to propel the learning process. Students should be free to ask questions and dream big. One of the most important things an educator can give to a student is the freedom to make a tough decision.
Julia holds two Bachelors in Psychology and Sociology, a Masters in Special Education, and an Ed.S. in Instructional Technology. She lives in Dalton, GA with her husband, Mitchell and 3 children, Hayden (16), Leah (14), and Charlotte (4) and 2 dogs, Mandolin and Kaia.
August 12th, 2022
Watch the full webinar in the video above, or read the recap below.
Through creative and authentic learning, the principles of design thinking—inspiration, ideation, and implementation—can provide fresh ways to engage your students with new and different methods. Incorporating these principles may not be attainable in every classroom, every day, but here are a few ways that the mentality of design thinking can help your students learn. Also, read through to the end for ten tech tools to foster design thinking in your classroom.
Mindsets and Skill Sets
Design thinking in a learning environment is rooted in mindsets and skill sets. By “mindsets,” we want students to be empathetic and adaptable, to push them beyond a first draft and persist through challenges, and willing to collaborate with others. With “skill sets,” we want to reignite creativity by having students identify their strengths and weaknesses, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of their peers. Through these mindsets and skill sets, students are given the opportunity to assess who they are and how they can work with others.
This practice of giving students an inventive mindset and a creative skill set becomes vital when considering that “85% of the jobs that will exist in 2030 have not been invented yet,” as noted in the report “The Next Era of Human|Machine Partnerships” by Institute for the Future. Teaching young people to be adaptable will prepare them well for their future careers.
You’re Already Using Design Thinking
For teachers, implementing design thinking into the classroom must align with educational standards. However, looking at the youngest levels of schooling, design thinking is everywhere. Even kindergarteners are expected to work together and produce creative work in writing and art. Practices in mathematics require persistence in problem solving and thinking abstractly. Entrepreneurship is being added to curricula, with the state of Georgia introducing a new Entrepreneurship Framework for students.
Furthermore, the classroom environment can promote design thinking in students through competition. Invention challenges and design competitions by organizations like Bridge Innovate’s own Bright Spark, as well as Pitch DIA and Odyssey of the Mind cultivate entrepreneurship, creativity, and problem solving.
For the Everyday Classroom
There are a multitude of ways you can incorporate design thinking into your classroom today. In Julia’s class, students were presented the opportunity to collaborate with others to design and ultimately paint a mural of Dalton, GA historical figures. This process involved field trips, learning Dalton history, and debating with classmates on who to include. Likewise, look to your own community: what is happening that your students can be a part of?
Engage your students in an activity where they need to be observant and notice their surroundings to fix problems. This can be as simple as a quick reflection time at the end of your class. Ask: what did they learn, what could they have learned better? Have your students iterate on projects and papers, not just submitting one draft. Rather than giving a grade on the first draft at all, have it continuously curated and iterated on for a final product for a grade. Introduce podcasting and videography to students and allow your students to talk about what they want to talk about. By providing them the resources, your students will amaze you. Students will discuss their passion in social justice and animal care, which further builds a mindset of empathy.
Julia’s Top 10 Tech Tools
As a Media Specialist, Julia offered her top ten tech tools to use in the classroom:
Learning Management System (e.g. Canvas, Google Classroom) – Assists in organization, communication, and efficiency.
Google Drive or Microsoft 365 – For efficient document creation, sharing, and collaboration.
Padlet.com – Capture brainstorming and notes, and then implement it into your Learning Management System.
Canva.com – Free, online graphic design program.
Odyssey of the Mind Spontaneous – Five-to-ten-minute challenges for students to teach problem solving.
Bloxels – A manipulative, hands-on creator that can be incorporated into an app, allowing students to create their own video games, characters, and businesses.
Breakout EDU – Breakout learning games for students.
Little Bits – Early circuitry exercises and resources
PBS Design Squad – Design and creation database.
VentureLab – Entrepreneurial learning programs.
Looking for more ways to introduce design thinking to your classroom? Contact us to learn how we can help you introduce these principles to the next generation of innovators through our Bright Spark program.
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