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STAKEHOLDER DESIGN WORKSHOPSetting out to build a user-centered school requires involving users from the start! This entry will provide an overview of the process. A follow-up entry will touch on reflections from this set of events. After the high school fair, I began reaching out to high schools and student organizations to participate in the research and design process. Without knowing where the school would be located, I reached out to a range of high schools that would capture lots of different student perspectives. I spoke with students at neighborhood high schools and a city-wide admission school to inform and recruit students for the project. I also reached out to the most influential student organizations in the city to participate. Additionally, I began reaching out to the 31 parents/guardians that expressed interest in the project at the high school fair. I also set out to inform the City Wide Home and School Council to ensure that they were aware of the effort. The PlanMy plan was to create a participatory stakeholder research and design initiative. Together stakeholders, representing students, parents/guardians and educators, would work in groups of three to tackle design challenges viscerally experienced by all participants. Additionally, University of the Arts Masters of Industrial Design program pledged graduate students to help facilitate. I secured 30 stakeholders (10 from each group, which is tough to get 30 people to commit to do), finished the guide (inspired by the IDEOs toolkit and Design Thinking for Educators site, but tailored for this endeavor) created for the session and was ready to go! Unfortunately, the region was threatened with a large snowfall, and after getting some cold responses from all parties we decided to postpone (it really didn't end up snowing! Grrr! We wouldn't be able to launch the effort until after the holiday break). ... Fast forward a month. Session 1Agenda. Set the tone. Create a culture of collaboration amongst complete strangers, and unite teams in their desire to improve how schools could work. Headlines + SummaryHeadlines-
Summary- This was the initial Stakeholder Design Workshop session. Fifteen (actually 14, one of the students did not attend) and one Master’s of Industrial Design student moved through the agenda set for the day. The goal was to provide a solid overview of the grant initiative, immerse in design-like atmosphere, select a challenge, discuss their assumptions about one another, and create a research action plan. Everyone left with their Session 2Agenda. Continue to build community. Have stakeholders analyze data, dream up solutions and begin prototyping. headlines + SummaryHeadlines-
Summary- Stakeholders all brought their data to this session! They turned 5 assumptions into 225 pieces of data! The design of the session was structured around practicing steps 2-4 of the process (Analysis/Synthesis, Ideation, and Prototyping). I supplied groups with twenty pieces of sample data from the High School Fair collection for the practice. The teams created their first prototype! Session 3Agenda. Reflect on stakeholder feedback of designs. Refine and reiterate based upon feedback. Reflect on the entire process. Push harder on the implementation. Headlines + SummaryHeadlines-
Summary- Participants walk away with mixed emotions. Many would like to continue, but the pace and demand of the participation are great (12 hours over 4 weekends). People said that the sessions were hard. People felt the diversity of the group was a challenge and a strength. The session ends with a group reflection on the process and some feedback for future implementation. reflections about the workshop to come...9/14ths of participants14 amazing Philadelphians participated in the workshop. Below are nine of the participants.
The journey to develop a new high school model started at the Philly High School Fair in November. From the beginning we sought to create with, not for. In this series, the methods of stakeholder involvement will be shared in more detail. 1. the high school fairOur first proactive method of capturing stakeholder needs and feelings took place at the 2013 Philly High School Fair. We set up a table and set out to engage future high school students and their parents/guardians in articulating important elements of secondary the climate and instructional program. The goal of the effort was to succinctly capture stakeholder perceptions and hope about their vision for high school. After vetting a series of statements, we settled on two for both students and parents/guardians:
Responses The responses were organized into three categories: instructional core, organizational culture and student support. Instructional core refers to the interconnected relationship between the content, educator and learner. Organizational culture embodies the methods by which mission, vision and values manifest themselves in a school. This area includes but is not limited to safety, the ways that discipline is carried out, and other important school-based policies and procedures. Student support represents the elements of a school dedicated to assisting any needs and support in addition to the regular instructional and cultural programming. Transitioning students to high school, Special Education services (SPED), English Language Learners (ELL) and career/college transitions embody examples of student needs. Parent/Guardian Responses One hundred and fifty parents completed the two statements. The patterns of the parent/guardian responses provided a window into the elements of school they value. They also illustrate that parents know more about factors of success than schools and school systems give them credit for. Climate and Safety Safety represents a baseline desire for parents. In conversation, parents expressed significant concerns about school climate and safety. Rightfully so, the physical well-being of their children minimizes a level of stress and must constitute the foundation of a social contract between schools and stakeholders. Once the parents/guardians “envisioned” what they want from high school for their child, the responses changed significantly. While nearly 30% of responses related to safety, they included more sophisticated feelings such as “emotionally safe,” “tolerance” as opposed to ones that refer specifically to physical violence. They reflect a nuanced view of safety as an integral aspect of the organizational culture of the school. Parents/Guardians place significant value in the learning process and learning outcomes (nearly 60%). Responses such as “prepared,” “more interesting,” “hands-on,” “developing critical thinking,” and “collaborative” speak to the great concerns and deep understanding that parents/guardians possess about about the important elements and skills that likely lead to success. Parent/Guardian responses to the second statement (I wish schools would teach students how to…) show that they have a concern for socio-emotional health, cognitive and perseverance skills as a means to prepare youth for their futures. Parents understand the importance of developing character and socio-emotional cognizance. They want schools to help students, “get along better and stop judging each other so much,” “express their thoughts and feelings in a healthy manner,” “be productive citizens,” “cultural awareness and acceptance,” “respect and teamwork with one another,” and “communicate and work out problems” among others. Parents also value the development of the skills and practices that will enable youth success in college and careers. They value schools teaching students, “time management,” “critical thinking,” “persevere no matter what,” “think critically and utilize their youthful energy to the utmost,” “think creatively,” “deal with problems,” and “become more independent.” National thought leaders such as Angela Duckworth, Carol Dweck and Paul Tough built careers studying mindsets, grit and self-control to understand their impact on longitudinal student outcomes. Student Responses Over two hundred students responded to the two statements at the high school fair. For youth, they responded emphatically that they would like school to be “fun.” This speaks to both the organizational culture and instructional core of the school. Students want class and school to be “exciting,” “interesting,” and “memorable.” The fact that students are saying it is not shocking, adolescents are a difficult group to please, and have ever shifting tastes and sensibilities. We asked the same students, “I wish schools would teach students how to…” which revealed the depth of understanding they possess about learning. These sometimes rambunctious and uncertain young people might know more than adults give them credit for. Their responses represent their beliefs, needs and wants, and therefore, what is “fun” and “interesting.” They vary from strictly academic responses such as, “read and do basic math,” to desires to “get ready for the real world.” Students expressed a strong desire to learn how to build community and collaborate, while developing their own person. They would like to learn how to: “be ourselves and don’t follow,” “open to ideas,” “love themselves even though they are different,” “be the best they can,” “work together,” “stay true,” “be a better person,” “express feelings and adjust to things,” and interact with other people.” Many responses illustrate a strong desire to build their own learning experiences. Students want to: “have self-respect and responsibility,” create their own activities,” “discover science and math,” “achieve their goals,” “make things,” “turn ideas into a business,” “do more project-based learning,” and “learn what they want, not get spoon fed.” As a result of the conversations at the High School Fair, many (nearly 40) parents/guardians and youth expressed interest in further participating in discussions about model development. Below are the responses collected as a Wordle (the top two are parent/guardian responses, and bottom two student responses to the statements above.) 2. The Visioning ExerciseIn late January, the School Design Leaders of the LINC and U School sent a "Visioning Activity" to educators across the city. We sought to engage more students and educators in a dialogue about their visionary schools. The design of the activity allowed for teachers to capture students’ vision of a high school experience that truly met their needs. A series of emails were sent to educators across the city with a short visioning activity attached. Students drew pictures depicting the components of a high school environment that fostered academic success.
Elementary, Middle and High School students from district and charter schools participated. We received over 350 artifacts from all over the city. Below is a sample of some of the artifacts created by students. They are a wonderful example of the supportive, healthy, challenging and dynamic possibilities. They also wrote poems, created wordles, and wrote essays that captured the key elements they want and need from school. In reviewing the narrative artifacts, some key themes emerged across the students’ work. Positive relationships, valuing multiple perspectives as a way to build a healthy school community, the need to personalize learning for each students, access to help and support, fostering growth habits of mind and teachers as mentors and facilitators of the learning experience were themes evident throughout the narrative artifacts. Below you will find a random sampling of some of the artifacts created by students from across the city. The individual visions communicate a visceral desire to experience the best that we have to offer one another. Stakeholder, but particularly student, dreams represent essential building blocks for our schools! We will be a place to facilitate dream-making (the alignment of school systems with passion and purpose). Thanks to the AWESOME educators and students that participated! The School Design Leaders of each of the new schools made a commitment to the 11 zip codes (19120, 19121, 19122, 19123, 19124 19125, 19130, 19132, 19133, 19134, 19140) surrounding the new school sites. There are 52 schools with 8th graders in those zip codes, and we have reached out to each one to schedule in-person presentations.
Students, parents/guardians and school staff have been very excited about this opportunity. There are lots of great stories to share, but there is one in particular that stands out. Late last week I received three calls and a message from the same number. When I returned the call, the father said that after a presentation made at his daughter's school she was so excited about going to the U School. He said, "we live near the school and it usually takes her about 20 minutes or so to get home from school every day." He continued, "Yesterday, she and three of her friends kicked down our door at 3:10, one minute after school gets out. She ran in and said, "Daddy, daddy, I know where I want to go to school! You have to get in touch with the man about getting into the school." The father said, "I have never seen her so enthusiastic about something, it made me feel so great, that I had to call you." I expressed excitement to the father, and began to explain the application process, and he quickly informed me that she was in the 7th grade, and they wanted to know what could be done for next year. That was one anecdote of hundreds that we have had out in the field. Creating excitement and enthusiasm is the easy part. Sustaining that energy and excitement is the challenge of the school moving forward. |
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