Sketch Model: A Model for Education
It both seems like yesterday and forever ago. I walked into the first session of my design thinking and innovation class and sat down at the table. The students waited for me to begin. There was this sense of anticipation and a bit of wondering as it took me a bit of time to get settled.
“Today, we’re going to do something different. Your first challenge of this class is to design this room.” They all looked at me as if I had three heads. “You may move any piece of furniture in this room and use any piece of furniture from the patio, and layout this space in a way that you feel helps you best to learn. Now, go!”
What happened next was fascinating. There was a childlike excitement with a new found freedom and agency, and a playfulness in the air. Students talked, partnered together, lifted, pushed, spun, and negotiated. They flurry of activity was contagious and invigorating, but when the dust settled, something remarkable happened.
Students had brought in the outdoor seating sectional to create a collaboration space in the classroom. L’s inspire discussion and collaboration, ic case you hadn’t heard, but they arrived at this solution quite intuitively and without any academic or theoretical rhetoric. Others created work table configurations, and yet others pulled tables outside to have quiet and reflective space to think and work independently. Each student or group students were able to express and articulate their modes of preferred working and created that space for themselves.
This experience was a small example of what’s possible when we pivot the hierarchy of the. classroom back to students and take their lead — and it just works.
My practicum was centered on STEM and Technology in our curriculum and where we might improve the student experience to better connect with students authentically. It’s a big topic, with a lot of moving parts, nuances of faculty growth and pedagogy, and a lesson in curricular evolution and adoption.
In support of this topic, I listened to the podcast, Sketch Model, produced by Sarah Hendren and the Olin College of Engineering. To say it was impactful is an understatement. As someone who began is life as an artist and then transitioned to technology and education, the work and ethos of learning at the college were inspiring.
Sketch Model, Olin College of Engineering
Students and faculty were interviewed and they talked about the intersection of the humanities, arts, technology, and engineering. They talked about how revelatory it had been to rethink, unthinkable, and transform their mindsets from siloed schools of thought to an interwoven fabric of learning where anything is possible, and everything is game.
I think about my class and what we do in there weekly, the opportunity to stretch our minds and get us outside of the box. Unfortunately, it’s a rare opportunity, but there is room for growth. In addition, this mindset of interdisciplinary thinking can help us further innovate and align our curriculum to the real world in relevant ways. Multimodal approaches are common among students in their approaches to life, their classrooms should reflect the same. How can we inspire teachers to collaborate more and “cross the streams” of their curricula? How can we foster a more open model of thinking among students, teachers, and even parents? What if every classroom felt like a DaVinci studio and creativity along with invention were part of the daily academic rigor?