Tuesday, January 30, 2018

Design Thinking: Spring 18: Class 3: How Might We & the Power of Possibilities

Welcome to Class 3!  Where we use empathy to transition ourselves into the world of possibilities and the omnipresent question, "How might we . . . ?"

What does, "How might we  . . . ?"  mean.  It's a way of framing possibility.  Take a look at this link to Google's Design Sprint Kit page on "How Might We?"  (Note: Something we will keep hammering this semester -- the skills you are learning in this class are the same one's used by super powerful multinational companies like Google and by small businesses just starting up.  Design thinking is used everywhere.)

Here's a very short video from IDEO.org, the non-profit arm of IDEO -- one of the most influential design firms in the world.  This video captures the thinking about HMW very well.

How Might We from IDEO.org on Vimeo.

This week, we'll be participating in a few different activities, having a few different conversations, creating a few different pieces of evidence to show our understanding 'How Might We . . ." as well as its relationship to empathy and point of view.

We'll start with a conversation about language.  Compare and contrast the words below, considering their denotations as well as their connotations.  (Here's a video to help.)

FLVS English 3- Denotation and Connotation (Lesson 1.04) from Mr. Falzone on Vimeo.


How _____ we . . . ?

SHOULD

WOULD 

CAN

WILL

DO

MIGHT

Let's put it into context, though.  Get into teams of four.  You have a task.  Retrieve a zip snip from the Success & Innovation Center and bring it back here in less than 10 minutes.

Here are the creative constraints.

Teams of Three or Four

One team member covers their eyes.

One team member covers their mouth.

One team member covers their ears.

One team member keeps their hands behind their back.

5 minutes to brainstorm a plan. 

3 minutes to select a course of action.

GO.  When you return, we will examine your degrees of success, your strategies, and how you went about the task.

FIRST MAJOR WRITING ASSESSMENT

After the debrief, we will assign your first major writing assessment: A Design Story of Empathy.   Storytelling is a

Creative Constraints and Expectation.

Prompt: Tell the story of an individual using empathy to solve a problem.

Show the conflicts this individual faces in the problem.

Demonstrate the extent to which you understand empathy as a tool for meaningful problem solving.

The story may be a piece of fiction of any genre or creative non-fiction about you or someone you know.  The goal is to tell a great story.

Use one or more of the following storytelling elements/devices to enhance your piece

  • Dialogue
  • Point of View
  • Symbolism
1st Submission Draft for Feedback:  Due FRIDAY, FEB 9.


A rubric is on its way in time for  Class 4. 

Class 4 we will be having our first collaborative conversation (listening and speaking; language standard assessment), watching part of a documentary about Nike shoe design, and then having a writer's workshop to help you with your story.