This month our NEXTschool Innopod designers were challenged to suspend their disbelief and embrace ambiguity – a key mindset in the design thinking process.  Participants collated the results of the Inquiry phase and extracted the insights to nurture their creativity as they entered the Imagine stage. 

A discussion about how and when we are at our most creative was helpful to incite a playful, imaginative atmosphere where our diverse group of designers were given permission to “dreamstorm”.  Co-facilitators Lise Palmer , Kate Woolhouse  and Don De Guerre fostered non-judgemental ideation by encouraging participants to explore possibilities – to “go wide and go wild” and utilize the “Yes, And” improv protocol, where each participant builds on the ideas of their co-designers.

Equipped with playdough, post-it notes and a range of colourful materials, each of the STARC sub-system groups worked towards finding provocative solutions to the NEXTschool guiding question: What will High School look like when it’s at its best at engaging students and preparing them for the world ahead?”   

Some interesting preliminary themes arose:

Spatial:  purposeful space – design spaces with intention
Temporal:  a personalized schedule – beyond flexible
Andragogical:  defining the rituals of communication to change culture
Relational:  teacher as coach; redefining roles of students, teachers and parents
Communal:  student-initiated, community-driven projects; teacher as facilitator;

‘Doing the shuffle’ to mix up the groups throughout the day facilitated ongoing divergent thinking yet ensured continuity, and by the end of the day, each design team had an initial prototype – a visual or symbolic model to express the concepts of their provocative solution –  along with a storyboard! 


And this is just the beginning.  Over the next few weeks, our designers will continue to reflect on their conversations and prototypes and enrich their understanding of the provocative solutions. When they come back together next month, they will create new iterations of their work – refining, questioning, seeking feedback and ‘learning forward’ in the spirit of continuous improvement. 

It will be exciting to see the evolution of the prototypes and how they overlap, interact and come together to advance the design of the High School for the Future.

Stay tuned, and don’t hesitate to contact us at nextschool@learnquebec.ca  with questions, suggestions and/or comments!

 

lizfalcoNEXTschoolThis month our NEXTschool Innopod designers were challenged to suspend their disbelief and embrace ambiguity – a key mindset in the design thinking process.  Participants collated the results of the Inquiry phase and extracted the insights to nurture their creativity as they entered the Imagine stage.  A discussion about how...