"Schools Bring Design Thinking to Students: New learning theory being introduced at two North County campuses"
|
Both of the following schools combine Design Thinking with an emphasis on using technology in innovative ways that will prepare students for the future.
Vista Innovation and Design Academy (VIDA)Last year VIDA was a different school. Called Washington Middle School, it was a school with challenges: 99% hispanic, 30% homeless, 95% participating in free/reduced lunch program.* There were gang issues, many suspensions and behavior problems, and police were frequently on-site. Over the summer, the school recreated itself as a design-based magnet school that has a dress code and insists on hard work and commitment. The curriculum is more student-centred and interdisciplinary, with a focus on project-based inquiry learning. Students and staff had a choice last fall to return to the new school, or to go elsewhere. Most stayed.
In the few months that the new school has been operating, there have been no police on campus, only one student has been suspended, students are excited, and attendance is almost 100%. Eric Chagala, principal of VIDA, believes that this is due to the engaging nature of the design-thinking process, as well as an increase in students' ability to collaborate and communicate that is translating out to the playground and beyond. "Students want to come now," he says. *"Rapid Progress at Vista Innovation Design Academy" - Grant Lichtman (www.grantlichtman.com/blog) VIDA emphasizes the appropriate use of new technology, implementing it into the process of learning through: student take-home iPads, design labs, research methods, teacher tools, a digital fabrication lab, and more. Though students are well-versed in current technology, there is also an emphasis on group work, face-to-face collaboration, discussion, and empathy.
Some of the things that set VIDA apart from other schools:
|
Design39CampusSince I was already touring VIDA, I thought I'd see if I could tour the other design-thinking school I'd heard about in San Diego - Design39Campus. I managed to squeak into the last spot on a tour for San Diego educators, led by the principal Sonia Wrisley.
Arriving at Design39, you have to pinch yourself. You are not on the Google Campus, but you'd swear you were. Coloured glass, steel, large open spaces with child-sized office furniture that looks like it was designed in Sweden. All furniture was bought or designed to be multi-purpose...tables can be flipped up and used as whiteboards. Stairs are also bleachers. Shelves can also be used as art tables. As she led the tour, Sonia kept emphasizing that the focus was on kids, not on teachers - all teachers had been asked to get rid of their teacher paraphernalia upon joining the school. There is no "teacher stuff" in classrooms, no teacher posters on walls. Student classrooms are organized in pods, with approximately 3 grades per pod (160 students). Each pod also has a creative maker space, several multi-use open areas with no permanent furniture, and a tiny collaboration room for teachers with a table, whiteboards, and a small locker for each person's personal belongings. Result? The learning spaces are wiiide open. My first instinct was that it was impersonal and business-like. However, the goal is for students to be able to rearrange furniture and space depending on what is being done. Teachers do not stand in a hierarchical position at the front of the class. There is room to spread out, to make groupings, to do large activities.
Guiding principles at D39C:
- design-thinking - inquiry-driven - a culture of curiosity - collaboration and communication - personalization - students learn at own speed in own way - growth mindset - seek challenge; use courage and persistance - technology - goal is digital literacy; students are creators of digital media from K up - creative confidence - connect globally - integrated global studies perspective develops empathy |