Design Thinking as a Tool for Personalizing Teacher Professional Learning

Purpose & objective

The eMINTS National Center, with funding from a federal Supporting Effective Educator Development grant, has developed a Design through Inquiry model. The model integrates the 5E’s of inquiry (Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, Evaluate) with the additional E – Engineer. This model was developed to help teachers create learning experiences where students identify community problems and offer solutions in a place-based approach. We soon found this model could also be used as a personalized approach to teacher professional learning. Teachers can be provided with a particular topic (for example, formative assessment) or they can use data and empathy strategies to identify issues or desired innovations. They then use the design model to develop practical classroom solutions.

The purpose of this session is to provide participants with the framework, materials, and experience to use Design through Inquiry, a design thinking process, as an effective professional learning approach with their school staff.

Objectives
1. Participants will work in small teams to engage in a design experience where they identify a common issue, need, or innovation and create prototypes that will address these identified areas.
2. Participants will use technology tools such as Google Docs, Jamboard, and Flipgrid to facilitate the design process.
3. Participants will use model formative assessment techniques throughout the experience.
4. Participants will reflect upon the experience from both the participant viewpoint (Teacher Hat) and the facilitator viewpoint (Trainer Hat).
5. Participants will be provided with examples and open-source materials to use with their staff during professional learning experiences.

Evidence of Success
Throughout the session, quick formative assessment practices that determine how participants are progressing will be modeled. Participant teams will make short presentations displaying their team’s work identifying and prototyping a solution. Participant reflections will indicate an understanding of the design process.

Outline

Outline
I.  Introduction and Opener 9 (10 minutes)
a. Team assignments and team builder
II. What is Design Through Inquiry? – (5 minute presentation)
a. Introduction to the eMINTS Design through Inquiry model
b. eMINTS federal SEED grant project background
III. Design Experience (55 minutes)
a. Participates engage in a small group design experience that leads them to identify an educational issue common to the group and begin the design process to create a solution. Technologies such as Google Docs, Jamboard, and Flipgrid will be used to facilitate the process. Where time is short, the thinking behind the curtain technique is used to help participants understand what they cannot experience. (50 minutes)
i. Engage – strategies to identify a common issue, need or innovation
ii. Explore – questioning strategies, identification of data collection and information gathering, empathy-building strategies, Story Share and Capture technique
iii. Engineer – teams use materials provided (aluminum foil, pipe cleaners, paper, markers, etc.) to create a representational prototype
iv. Explain – teams present their issues and solutions in a 1 minute Ignite Talk
v. Elaborate – teams plan for iteration
vi. Evaluate –tools are used throughout the process to model formative assessment (reflection slips, peer feedback, 1,2,3 fingers-up assessment of understanding, etc.). Data collection and analysis tools are shared by facilitators
b. Reflection activity – Teacher hat / Trainer hat – consider the experience from the role of a participant and a facilitator (5 minutes)
IV. Sharing of Resources – participants examine resources and engage in a cooperative activity to share their discoveries (15 minutes)
a. Sample experiences from the field
b. eMINTS open source materials (created with SEED grant funds)
i. Materials contain the design framework and resources for introducing a variety of instructional pedagogy and instructional technology topics that participants can use with their staff.
V. Closing and Wrap Up (5 minutes)

Supporting research

Bryk, A.S., Gormez, A.Z., Grunow, A. & LeMahiew, P.G. (2015) Learning to Improve: How America's Schools Can Get Better at Getting Better. Harvard Education Press, Cambridge, MA .

Ideo. Design Thinking: https://designthinking.ideo.com/

Gerdeman, D., Swanlund, A., Cade, W., Jiang, J., and Duran, A. (2021). Evaluation of the eMINTS Professional Development Program: Interim Findings From the First Year of Implementation in 2019-20. Arlington, VA: American Institutes of Research. Unpublished document: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yduYyUxs8MoPSxDPMK4i-VPw-itHh4xC/view?usp=sharing.

Lesseig, K., Nelson, T. H., Slavit, D., & Seidel, R. A. (2016). Supporting middle school teachers’ implementation of STEM design challenges. School Science and Mathematics, 116(4), 177-188.

Meyers, C., & Brandt, C. (2015). A summary of external program evaluation findings for the eMINTS (enhancing Missouri’s Instructional Networked Teaching Strategies) program from 1999–2015. Naperville, IL: Learning Point Associates. Retrieved from http://www.emints.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/eMINTS-Research-Findings-Summary_updated-04.15.2015.pdf