Phase One: Discover & Define

In Classroom

What’s happening in and out of the classroom?

• Students were waiting for either for me to give them information and not asking their peers, they were not reading the board for instructions
• Students work were not up to standards and needed more scaffolding and direction or examples of what would be the outcome.
• Students did not know the design thinking process, needed more time in each design thinking stage to write down their thoughts and to create better products which needed a reflection at each stage.

Outside Classroom

• Outside I was part of a team whose main focus was the Design Thinking Process. We wanted to know if as a whole (the faculty) was using the 5D’s to its fullest potential.
• We researched and read articles about the thinking process especially:  Design Thinking Past, Present, and Possible Future, looked at students work and had instructional rounds that helped us create our Problem of Practice.
•  Our first POL presentation was based on Engagement and Rigor. We wanted to know if engagement with a performance task was improved by utilizing the 5Ds more consistently, leading to students asking and answering questions to further their own learning.

 

In Classroom

Which aspects did I like in and out of the classroom?

• Students using the online classroom management system (Google Classroom) to receive classwork, homework, and announcements about what was going on in the classroom
• Students using popcorn protocol to further discussions amongst themselves and post-it technique to capture peer to peer feedback.

Outside Classroom

• Our inquiry team created norms for the group which allowed us to collaborate effectively.
• Deciding that we needed descriptions for each stage of the design thinking process in order for us to be successful in using the 5D’s in the classroom.
• Creating activities during our POL’s that allowed us to test our thinking process with colleagues: 5D’s Snapshots Activity, Activities for 5Ds, and Activities for 5Ds completed by staff.

In Classroom

What areas needed more definition?

• Students needed clarified assessments and directions to main performance task.
• Created examples of the finished webpage site and included tutorial videos to help them succeed during the design thinking process and finished product.

Outside Classroom

• Participation in inquiry rounds was key in developing our descriptors for the 5D’s, revamping the design thinking poster, and creating forms that would be consistent in all of our classes.
• As a group, we had to describe, analyze, and predict from low inference observations of our peers to identify the emerging and common patterns that related to our school’s problem of practice.
• Also, we wanted to create a Teacher Toolkit (website) that would include resources for activities, worksheets, and handouts that helped with creating lessons surrounding the design thinking process.