1. EDjewCON 5772.0
April 30, 2012
REINVENTING SCHOOL: APPLYING DESIGN THINKING
Jonathan Woocher
070511SMR © JESNA 2011

2. Jewish Education in a Time of Change
• Success of assimilation
• Diversity
• Hybrid, fluid identities
• The “sovereign self”
• Prosumerism
• Declining loyalty to institutions
• Simultaneous divergent developments
• The pace of life and the rapidity of change
• Technology as an accelerant
070511SMR © JESNA 2011

3. Design Thinking for Educators*
Design thinking is a mindset for creating new solutions that
is:
• Human-Centered
• Collaborative
• Experimental
• Optimistic
REAL VALUE = mix of tangible problem solving and abstract thinking
* Based on IDEO Design Thinking for Educators Toolkit. IDEO is a global design firm with a human-
centered design-based approach to help organizations in public & private sectors innovate & grow.
070511SMR © JESNA 2011

4. The Design Process
• Discovery
– I have a challenge. How do I approach it?
• Interpretation
– I learned something. How do I interpret it?
• Ideation
– I have an opportunity. What do I create?
• Experimentation
– I have an idea. How do I build it?
• Evolution
– I tried something new. How do I evaluate it?
070511SMR © JESNA 2011

5. Putting the Approach to Work
Discovery:
– What is a major learning challenge that your school faces
today?
Interpretation:
– Describe your challenge from the perspective of
– Students
– Teachers
– Parents
– School administration
– School leadership
– The wider community
– Summarize and organize your insights about the challenge
– Frame opportunities: “How might we…?”
070511SMR © JESNA 2011

6. Putting the Approach to Work
Ideation:
• Brainstorm ideas
– Defer judgment.
– Encourage wild ideas.
– Build on the ideas of others.
– Stay focused on topic.
– One conversation at a time.
– Be visual.
– Go for quantity.
• Select, imagine, and describe: what does your idea look
like in practice?
– A drawing, a mock-up, a role-play – then a concise description
070511SMR © JESNA 2011

7. Putting the Approach to Work
• Experimentation:
– Prototype
– Test the idea in the real world
– Get feedback
• Evolution:
– Continued testing, refinement, development
070511SMR © JESNA 2011

8. Lessons and Implications
• Put learners and learning at the center
– How does your school fit in their lives (observation)?
– What are their needs, aspirations, constraints (empathy)?
– Invite learners (and families) to be co-creators
• Understand the ecosystem
– Where does your school fit into the larger communal
framework?
– What value exchanges will you need in order to be successful?
• Cultivate an experimental mindset
– There are no once-and-for-all solutions
– Cultivate feedback
– Be willing to “fail forward”
070511SMR © JESNA 2011

9. Guiding Principles for 21st c. Learning
Lippman Kanfer Charlie Schwartz & New American
Institute Russel Neiss Academy
• Learner-centered • Open • Empowering
• Relationship- • Remixable • Collaborative
infused • Meaningful and • Transparent
• Life-relevant relevant • Reflective
• Community-
building
070511SMR © JESNA 2011