Project overview
This course was offered to graduate-level Educational Technology M.Ed. students, which focused on using the design thinking process to develop technology implementation solutions for existing problems that the students identified in their own K-12 classroom context. This included empathizing, scoping, conducting research, prototyping, iterating, and socializing insights. Students presented their final projects at a free EdTech professional development conference, which the class planned and hosted as a class.
Impact
Developed and taught a design thinking course, which provided a mentorship structure that enabled 45 teachers to create and refine products and services to solve problems in their schools.
My role
As professor of the course, I developed the curriculum including in-class activities, formative homework assignments, and summative projects. IDEO’s Design Thinking for Educators served as the primary resource, which was modified to guide students through the design thinking process. I facilitated a variety of activities to inspire creative thinking (e.g., 30 circles, word association), brainstorming (e.g., crazy 8s, color coded post its activities, interactive whiteboard discussions), data collection (e.g., interview, focus group, observation, survey), synthesis (e.g., dot voting, affinity mapping), prototyping (e.g., low-fidelity sketches, mid-fidelity mockups), user testing, iteration, and communication to stakeholders (e.g., infographics, slides, videos).
Below you can see examples of curriculum and class activity resources.
Impact
I mentored 45 teachers to create products and improve service designs to solve problems in their schools through leveraging strategies taught in this design thinking course. Examples of students projects include:
- Redesigning a High School AP Physics Course to Increase Engagement and Collaboration
- Developing an Online System to Engage At-Risk Youth in the Power of Math, PBL, and Blended Learning
- Developing a Portuguese Afterschool Program at a Local Community Center
- Developing an Online Portfolio Building Portal for Students to Document Differentiated Mathematics Learning
Shaunna Smith's Portfolio 