Design2Innovate Teacher Professional Development, Day 2

Written by: Matthew Pattison

Now that the first two days of the Design2Innovate Teacher PD are complete, we have the opportunity to look back, celebrate what has been achieved and look forward to get a clear picture of where Design2Innovate is headed.

YRTS, with its new renovations, was an excellent venue and while we didn’t use a lot of tech in the PD itself (besides the iPad Pros for notetaking and sketching), we received positive comments from teachers who were impressed with the technology that we provide in our programs and our hands on approach to learning.

The teachers gained a nuanced understanding of the Design Thinking experience as a learner and the traps and pitfalls likely to be experienced as a teacher facilitating the design thinking process.

There were great discussions about the Empathy stage of Design Thinking. We considered the use of alternative or simplified vocabulary that is easier for students to relate to and explored the difference between empathy and sympathy. Teachers were exposed to a varied menu of Design Thinking techniques especially relating to the ideation stage, and further discussions uncovered additional valuable techniques.

At the end, teachers had the opportunity to develop a Design Thinking activity that they will run at their school between now and our next session on July 8^th. This was an important aspect of the way the program has been designed, to encourage definitive school-based outcomes that can be celebrated with the participants. We look forward to learning from each other’s experiences and celebrating the teachers’ successes on July 8.