University Academy | MECA Methods 1.0
The Challenge:
How might we individually (personally or professionally) thrive going into the 2021-2022 school year?
In July, our Education team partnered with University Academy to offer a three-day MECA Methods workshop: a program for educators to explore the design thinking process so that they’re able to bring their students through similar learning experiences.
Below is a capture of the week:
The Design Thinking Process
“Design Thinking seems to incorporate some pretty universal ideas that I was familiar with. Like ‘begin with the end in mind’, ‘reverse engineering’, etc. But I had never heard of the particular phrase ‘Design Thinking’.”
— Educator, Middle School
“I decided to partake in this opportunity as I am a continuous learner and want to be able to pass on useable information to our students. I am hoping to continue to gain information that I can take and share with our staff and students as we implement RWL in our MS classes.”
— Administrator, Middle School
“The biggest takeaway I am leaving with is the impact that prioritizing design thinking in the classroom will have. It is worth taking the time to structure these opportunities into my class.”
— Educator, Upper School
“I believe that Design Thinking would allow students the opportunity to tap into their creative side to come up with out of the box solutions to solve a problem.”
Administrator, Middle School
The Next Phase
Make It Real
Educators will be taking the projects they developed over the course of the week, and expanding it further as the year goes on. Utilizing what they’ve learned through design thinking - and the help of our resources - they’ll think through barriers, potential partners, and how to reach their project’s optimal potential.
After this experience:
100% of educators said they were committed to using design thinking in the classroom.
over 80% of educators believe that all kids are innate creators and starters.
over 80% of educators said that real-world learning experiences are fundamental in closing the opportunity gap.
“Design thinking will offer my students another way to think about the subject matter in my classroom. I'm hoping it will open their minds and help them to understand that math is more accessible than they might think.”
- Mallory Skinner, Educator at University Academy
