Hi!

It made more sense to post everything on my professional portfolio page since the attachments were too large for our forum.

Thanks,

Danielle

Morning Routines:

Reflection Part 1:
I thought the process of asking someone else about their morning routine would be awkward. I struggled with who I should ask to be my ‘subject’ because I know how different my morning routine is compared to everyone else I know. I have a partner and a dog. Everyone else I know has a partner, kid(s) and often a pet too. What I am able to do before I leave for work looks quite different in comparison to what others can do (due to personal responsibilities) and I was worried about coming off as judgemental. I then realized that when I use empathy, the judgement piece is no longer a factor. I am not judging my friend, but because the mornings are such a busy time for her she is sensitive to how things might look to an outsider. We cleared that up right away! I told her that I was only here to listen and see if there was something I could do to help, even something that seems silly or “out there”. Empathy for the ‘win’! Removing the judgement and really listening helped to eliminate any awkwardness. If we want to do all the things that make us “feel terrific” then we have to make that a priority. Having a terrific morning often translates to a better day ahead, so we should be trying to do what we can in order to “feel terrific” as often as possible! Helen needs to work on communication and coming up with a plan as a family and I need to be motivated to just get up and get going because that’s when I feel best. I cannot control when the dog gets up and is extra hungry, but I can control how I react to that. Helen cannot control everything and everyone in her household, but she can let others know how the rushed mornings make her feel and develop empathy for each other as a family.

It also helped that both my friend and I have actually used this exact template while doing “Picture Book Engineering” with our grade 3/4 students. We both recognize that the process is beneficial as it gets you thinking about problems, solutions and even problems with solutions, and actually have some fun along the way!

Design Thinking Process: Genius Hour Redesign

*Please see links below for graphics!

Grade 3/4 Genius Hour Redesign

Revised Genius Hour Graphic Organizer (Assignment 5) 

Reflection Part 2:

As I already mentioned I have used this process before, but what I didn’t mention was it has been the only reason I’ve used it. When I l first learned about this specific version of the design process and saw the physical document at a workshop it was for picture book engineering, so naturally that’s what I thought it was for! Nobody really talked about how it could be used for any type of design thinking. 

An area that we’ve “struggled” with at school over the past few years is Genius Hour. Year one: we wanted to do it, but didn’t know where to start…so we didn’t. Year two: we weren’t going to use the same excuse as the previous year so we took the plunge and learned as we went. Year three: We found resources to help track student progress to make them be more accountable. Year four: Well, that’s where this process may be able to help. We are currently thinking about ways to change Genius Hour time in our 3/4 classes in order to enhance the projects/process/learning opportunities/accountability/ for our students. We want to make things better, but need to decide what that even means. We have some planning time as a team coming up at school, this will be a good time to look the Design Thinking Process together. For now I’ve created something that we can start with. The great thing about Genius Hour is that we recognize the benefits of offering choice and voice for our students and are able to keep an open mind about making changes. This resource has helped spark a conversation with my team that we’ve been meaning to get to, but haven’t found the time. For me, going through the process has been helpful to initiate things and will play a role in the future of our Genius Hour projects moving forward.