Where Next? What to Do?The task of figuring out what to do for my capstone has been difficult and at times impossible. As I rattled around the different 'rabbit holes' the possibilities were piling up, making the impossible decision that much more difficult to make. So for a moment in time, I was stuck, for I was drawn to the idea of doing a design-based research project; however, time would make this difficult to accomplish. I needed to ensure that what ever I undertook wasn't so impossible that it would become unachievable. As I thought about all the possibilities, I knew I had to ensure that the whatever I did incorporated thinking Design Thinking Framework, for my passions kept drawing me to this topic. Focusing on Design Thinking would allow me to build off of BC's ADST (Applied Design Skills & Technology) Curriculum and all the work I had done this year. As I rattled around the 'rabbit holes' I realized I needed to continue to build from the knowledge and experiences of this year. Through my initial research into design, I have come across many examples of teachers and researchers using the Design Thinking Framework to engage students in interdisciplinary activities. In addition, my recent experience with co-developing and implementing an ADST project at my school called Exhibition of Wonder reinforced my desire to ensure that my final capstone was empowering for students and that it incorporated Design Thinking. It was through the research and the success of Exhibition of Wonder I started to get clarity on the possibilities!
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Draft 1 Topic and Thesis for Capstone |
Thesis Draft 1: I believe that the Design Thinking Framework, with the built in iteration process, entices middle-schoolers to take ownership of their learning.
Still figuring out whether I need the word interdisciplinary woven into the title, the thesis, or both . . .
Still figuring out whether I need the word interdisciplinary woven into the title, the thesis, or both . . .
Exhibition of Wonder: What is It?
This past year, my colleague, Jon, and I have been working to implement a new ADST project with all the Grade 8's in my school. Just recently, all of our hard work, and of course the student's hard work culminated in the first Exhibition of Wonder at our school.
The purpose of the Exhibition of Wonder is to provide an opportunity for students to showcase their middle school journey through the ADST curriculum, while utilizing personal passions as the driving force. One of the key foci being on the process, not the product. Therefore, incorporating the ADST (Applied Design Skills & Technology) curriculum to help build resiliency and a growth mindset in our students. |
A student prototype: Explaining Exhibition of Wonder |
In the early stages of formulating our idea, we began discussions with our classes at the time, asking our students for their thoughts on the direction we should take with ADST at the school. Several students provided us with their input around the need for any project to be based around student driven ideas for there to be greater buy-in from the students. They also expressed that they would need to access the Exploration spaces, i.e. the wood shop, in order to not limit their ideas to what could be done in only a classroom.
In the spring of 2018, we approached our administration with our collaboration idea. We knew at that point that teachers could work with student through the define and ideate process, and that students could prototype at home or outside of school hours; however, to make their final product, they would need time in the timetable to access Exploration spaces, basically they would need ‘Make’ days. Under this premise, we asked our administration if we could adjust timetable of the school for the spring of 2019 to allow Grade 8’s to access the Exploration teachers to assist them in executing their passion-based project. A fourth day would be added for students to ‘Share’ their final projects at the Exhibition of Wonder. Our administrative team was very supportive and the change to scheduling was made. As a result, three days at the beginning of June of 2019 were scheduled as official ‘Make’ days for the students.
With administrative approval and support in place, we were then tasked with developing both a framework for the project, as well as getting our teams on board. We began the fall of 2018 by approaching both of our teams with our concept of The Exhibition of Wonder. The project was presented to both of our teams as our own ADST project, where the entire process for year one would be treated as a prototype year. All of the Grade 8 teachers and Explorations teachers would be learning as we go, all for the benefit of the over 350 Grade 8’s who would get to participate. We then began the process of developing a framework, in the form of a booklet, to support students and teachers through the process. Hours of collaboration with each other, students, administration, and consultation meetings with both of our teams present, resulted in the first prototype vision of what we would have the students participate in. The framework built in opportunities for students to prototype, test and retry. In addition, reflection on their learning was deliberately build in throughout the process. The purpose of the booklet was to ensure that students were recording parts of their journey, because the goal was to highlight the journey equally with the final product. This booklet would be shared alongside their final product on the ‘Share’ day – The Exhibition of Wonder.
We launched The Exhibition of Wonder process in an assembly for all of our Grade 8 students. At the assembly, we started by drawing connections to similar learning experiences many of them have participated in before, including Genius Hour, Project Based Learning, and Inquiry Explorations. In addition, Jon demonstrated the process by walking students through his own passion project, a mini-house for his wife, and his prototyping process for the stairs.
The launch assembly was followed up with the students completing a passion bracket (adapted from Launch by Juliani and Spencer), that was then used to help them brainstorm potential project ideas. We believe that tying the process to their passions was an essential component to promote ownership and resiliency. It would also result in student’s participating in a wide variety of learning opportunities, not just doing the same thing as everybody else.
Part of the process is for every student to find a sponsor teacher / ‘expert’, who would help guide them through the project. The sponsor teacher and the student would collaborate over best steps, prototyping, and the sponsor teacher would be a mentor for the student throughout the three ‘Make’ days. Students and homeroom teachers collaborated to decide which sponsor teacher would be the best fit, based on both need and personality. For example, if a student wanted to bake and decorate a cake, they would go to one of the three food trained teachers and present their initial plan. They would then collaborate with each other to refine the student’s initial vision. The whole process encourages students to develop relationships with teachers, who they may not have had as much time with before. It provides one more mentor for them in the building, who they can trust and rely on. It is also a unique opportunity in our building for the student to be the driving force of their learning, asking teachers for support in the vision they wish to execute.
In the spring of 2018, we approached our administration with our collaboration idea. We knew at that point that teachers could work with student through the define and ideate process, and that students could prototype at home or outside of school hours; however, to make their final product, they would need time in the timetable to access Exploration spaces, basically they would need ‘Make’ days. Under this premise, we asked our administration if we could adjust timetable of the school for the spring of 2019 to allow Grade 8’s to access the Exploration teachers to assist them in executing their passion-based project. A fourth day would be added for students to ‘Share’ their final projects at the Exhibition of Wonder. Our administrative team was very supportive and the change to scheduling was made. As a result, three days at the beginning of June of 2019 were scheduled as official ‘Make’ days for the students.
With administrative approval and support in place, we were then tasked with developing both a framework for the project, as well as getting our teams on board. We began the fall of 2018 by approaching both of our teams with our concept of The Exhibition of Wonder. The project was presented to both of our teams as our own ADST project, where the entire process for year one would be treated as a prototype year. All of the Grade 8 teachers and Explorations teachers would be learning as we go, all for the benefit of the over 350 Grade 8’s who would get to participate. We then began the process of developing a framework, in the form of a booklet, to support students and teachers through the process. Hours of collaboration with each other, students, administration, and consultation meetings with both of our teams present, resulted in the first prototype vision of what we would have the students participate in. The framework built in opportunities for students to prototype, test and retry. In addition, reflection on their learning was deliberately build in throughout the process. The purpose of the booklet was to ensure that students were recording parts of their journey, because the goal was to highlight the journey equally with the final product. This booklet would be shared alongside their final product on the ‘Share’ day – The Exhibition of Wonder.
We launched The Exhibition of Wonder process in an assembly for all of our Grade 8 students. At the assembly, we started by drawing connections to similar learning experiences many of them have participated in before, including Genius Hour, Project Based Learning, and Inquiry Explorations. In addition, Jon demonstrated the process by walking students through his own passion project, a mini-house for his wife, and his prototyping process for the stairs.
The launch assembly was followed up with the students completing a passion bracket (adapted from Launch by Juliani and Spencer), that was then used to help them brainstorm potential project ideas. We believe that tying the process to their passions was an essential component to promote ownership and resiliency. It would also result in student’s participating in a wide variety of learning opportunities, not just doing the same thing as everybody else.
Part of the process is for every student to find a sponsor teacher / ‘expert’, who would help guide them through the project. The sponsor teacher and the student would collaborate over best steps, prototyping, and the sponsor teacher would be a mentor for the student throughout the three ‘Make’ days. Students and homeroom teachers collaborated to decide which sponsor teacher would be the best fit, based on both need and personality. For example, if a student wanted to bake and decorate a cake, they would go to one of the three food trained teachers and present their initial plan. They would then collaborate with each other to refine the student’s initial vision. The whole process encourages students to develop relationships with teachers, who they may not have had as much time with before. It provides one more mentor for them in the building, who they can trust and rely on. It is also a unique opportunity in our building for the student to be the driving force of their learning, asking teachers for support in the vision they wish to execute.