Making, tinkering and designing are not new concepts in formal education. From Jean Piaget to Gary Stager, both theorists and practitioners across decades of practice have shown the power of 'learning by doing.' Making and tinkering, two relatively new terms in education, are based on these theories of both learning and instruction. Inspired by the Maker Movement, there is a growing push for educators to incorporate making and tinkering as a part of their practice in order to increase student engagement and deepen understanding through hands-on application of skills and concepts.
While making and tinkering are powerful classroom tools in their own right, it is when they are combined with the design thinking process that their impact can be truly harnessed.
Design thinking is a solution-focused method of developing creative solutions for meeting selected goals. Instead of only looking at a highly specific problem, design thinking will have you exploring the situation in which the problem 'sits' in order to gain a better understanding of the big picture before ideas are generated. From ideas, the designers move to prototyping and testing to gain a yet deeper understanding of the impact of their potential solution.
In education, this approach to problem solving and instructional design ensures that the teacher is focusing on what matters most: the needs of students. It allows you to view the curriculum as a springboard for learning and weave it through tasks that have been created to meet the current needs of students. By gaining empathy through direct communication with your classroom community, instruction will inevitably become more intentional, responsive and flexible.
Hence our name: Design, Make, Learn.
We believe in the power of making, tinkering, and design thinking in education and business. We also believe that we will be able to show you the potential it holds in your school district, school, classroom, or company.
While making and tinkering are powerful classroom tools in their own right, it is when they are combined with the design thinking process that their impact can be truly harnessed.
Design thinking is a solution-focused method of developing creative solutions for meeting selected goals. Instead of only looking at a highly specific problem, design thinking will have you exploring the situation in which the problem 'sits' in order to gain a better understanding of the big picture before ideas are generated. From ideas, the designers move to prototyping and testing to gain a yet deeper understanding of the impact of their potential solution.
In education, this approach to problem solving and instructional design ensures that the teacher is focusing on what matters most: the needs of students. It allows you to view the curriculum as a springboard for learning and weave it through tasks that have been created to meet the current needs of students. By gaining empathy through direct communication with your classroom community, instruction will inevitably become more intentional, responsive and flexible.
Hence our name: Design, Make, Learn.
We believe in the power of making, tinkering, and design thinking in education and business. We also believe that we will be able to show you the potential it holds in your school district, school, classroom, or company.