Written by Brendan McGibbon
Mr. McGibbon teaches G10 Design Innovation and IB Music. He is also the Activities Director at UWC ISAK Japan.
Our innovative Grade 10 students are midway through a design innovation quest!
If you are not fully aware of the process, Design Innovation is our very own take on ‘Design Thinking’. We utilise the wonderful research of Stanford University’s design program and techniques popularised by our good friends at the design consultancy group IDEO to help students move from awareness of an issue to creative change making. It’s something we do quite well at UWC ISAK Japan.
In my last article, I spoke about how our students have practiced observing different environments in order to uncover insights. They did a marvellous job and so I’m accelerating the program to challenge them some more.
This term we are undertaking a full design cycle to create positive change.
Our teams are focusing creative changes in many areas of the school experience.
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- Designing spaces between buildings for fun, relaxation & play
- Understanding the Ohinata Area & Community
- Enhancing connection with parents & family
- Enriching our CAS experience
- Celebrating Japanese culture on campus
+ many more!
Students have interviewed many community members using an ‘Empathy Map’ process in order to understand some challenges they experience. They have observed the community, researched in an attempt to understand challenges. Students have learned interview techniques and practiced active listening. Our students are currently synthesizing the insights they have collected into ‘How Might We’ (HMW) statements so they can focus their creative imaginings.
Stay tuned as in our next article I will share some of the amazing innovations created through their hard work. I think we will see some innovations that are unprecedented at our school!
