Learning Workshop #diversity #designthinking

On Friday, December 14th, 2018, I went to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.  Tom Thorpe and Paul Kim who teach at Colorado Academy led the workshop with Vanessa Schwartz, a University of Colorado professor.  They started by thinking of teachers as individuals and teachers need to be vulnerable.  Kim had taught in China for some years and realized that Confucius there had taught students not to stand even on your teacher’s shadow, respect your teacher and give them space.

Community Building Norms from NAIS:  1) be present, 2) challenge, 3) lean into discomfort, 4) take risks, make mistakes, 5) be crisp, say whats core, 6) honor confidentiality, and 7) suspend judgement.

Research shows that teachers feel frustrated, overwhelmed and stressed.  Independent teachers feel frustrated, joyful and excited.  Harvard Educator Richard Elmore talks about School culture by stating that it is like a very thick rubber band.  Reforms stretch it out, but sooner or later we snap back to where we were before.  Todd Rose talks in his book “The End of Average” about how no one is average – everyone is just different.  Learning and teaching profiles are jagged, not average.  Harvard President recommends that you “Make your child interesting.”  As always we must unlearn what we have learned.

Activity: clasp your hands, then switch the thumb and fingers.  How does it feel?

Design-Thinking is Human – Centered Design – impact could be similar to that of the scientific method. Stanford even created a “Designing Your Life” class – it quickly became the most popular class there.  DT is not a linear process, always starts with empathy, it is not a one-night stand, it is a relationship.

Activity:  Make a triangle with your hands, look at one object, close your right eye, then open, close your left eye then open.

We must overcome assumptions. We all have different perspectives.  Have a beginners mind, clear your head. Think of Montenashi – Japanese hosting code – always anticipate the guest’s needs.

@KyleSchwarts started #Iwishmyteacherknew . Try to get the student perspective.

DT is a lot of brainstorming.  Try to use Sticky notes because they are small and you can’t put too much on it.

“When we are open to criticism, we hear advice.” by Simon Sinek

Feedback Stems to use:  I like……  I wish….. What if…….

Activity – We played the American Dream Life board game.  It was featured in “I am not a racist, am I?” movie.  You get a name and identity in the game and have to play with those prejudices.

What is culture?  It is our background, our parents, our location, our education, etc..  Use brainstorming because all students come to us with some knowledge and a view of the world.  What do you think about when you hear culture?  nationality, how we celebrate life. Culture is Complex – Shared – interactional, dynamic, identifying, emergent.  Culture is the water we swim in, the things we do, how we do them and the things we use to participate in life.

Books: “Is Everyone Really Equal?” . and “For White Folks that teach in the Hood & the rest of you too.” The Righteous Mind by Haidt. The Wizard and the Prophet by Charles Mann.  Immunity to Change by Robert Kegan. The Self Driven Child. The Dreamkeepers by Gloria Ladson-Billings

ESL students should be called “Emergent Bi-Linguals”.

The Hodja and the Foreigner on Vimeo

Activity: Have a notebook with two lists: “Racist Things I saw today” and “Racist things I thought today”

Big 8 social identifiers:

1. Ability
2. Age
3. Ethnicity
4. Gender
5. Race
6. Religion
7. Sexual Orientation
8. Socio-Economic Status/Class
9. Others: Language/dialect, family composition, geographic background, introversion/extraversion, body image, political identification

Ask yourself: Who am I?  Where do I come from? How does my identify really affect my teaching?

We need to change from a deficit mindset to an asset approach.  Students are not ESL, they are emergent bi-linguals.

DeRay Mckesson was a teacher but went to Ferguson to become an activist.  “Hope is the belief that tomorrows can be better than our todays.”