A little over a decade ago, I read Mindset by Carol Dweck and it had a profound influence on my life. It affirmed something I knew as a teacher. Students show up to school with fixed and growth mindsets. As a teacher, I can do…
About a decade ago, I had a group of students who had a great concept. They would make a paper mural. It would be shaped like the U.S.-Mexico border and it would have a picture of the Statue of Liberty in the middle with a…
A few years ago, my daughter entered kindergarten. She came in knowing letters but that was about it. By the end of the year, she could put together entire words. She viewed language as a playground and reading as a chance to explore a whole…
I’m going to start sharing each video prompt I create on YouTube. If you like these prompts, please consider subscribing to my channel. This one is designed for younger students, though I could totally see secondary students running with this as a chance to practice…
This article is part of a larger series on design thinking. Students begin with Look, Listen, and Learn, which is all about awareness and empathy. They move into Ask Tons of Questions, an inquiry phase. This leads to research in the Understanding the Process or…
Design thinking is a human-centered, empathy-driven process for creative work. The LAUNCH framework is a student-friendly design thinking framework you can use in your classroom. It includes three critical elements for creative work: structure, interdependency, and student ownership. As a teacher, you can use design…
This article is part of a longer series on design thinking, a flexible framework for empathy-driven creative work. Previous articles addressed awareness, inquiry, research, and prototyping. This article is about the Highlight and Fix stage, where students revise their work. The Critical Role of Revision I…
Last year over 100,000 students from four different continents participated in our second annual Global Day of Design. The hashtag went viral as students and teachers shared and launched their creative projects all day long around the globe. This year, we are doing it again, and we…
This article is part of a longer series on design thinking, a flexible framework for empathy-driven creative work. The Power of Prototyping A few days ago, I got the opportunity to do a keynote in Boyertown, Pennsylvania. One of my highlights was the student display area,…
This article is part of a longer series on design thinking, a flexible framework for empathy-driven creative work. You might want to check out other articles in the series first. Students begin with a state of awareness in the Look, Listen, and Learn phase. Next, they move…
I’m a professor and a maker. Sometimes I make things. Sometimes I make a difference. On a good day, I get to do both.
© 2019 John Spencer
