Design Thinking
“I liked seeing all the Post-Its to combine all the brainstorming from everyone.”
Administrator
Downers Grove North High school
Overview
This project came out of my personal experiences being an art & design educator in the Chicagoland area. I’ve coordinated exhibitions for the State of Illinois for the past 5 years and have had numerous students win awards at the city, state, and national level. Each of these experiences provides an opportunity for students to present their work to their families and communities.
Through this project, I saw a unique opportunity to combine my passion in the field of Education with my newfound passion in design research and strategy in a way has potential to improve the practices in Downers Grove, Illinois. In doing so, I selected a unique group of educators who work together to utilize Lateral Thinking strategies created by Edward de Bono and methods to empathetically understand the student experience through student profiles and mapping the student experience.
The core question we’ll be asking through this workshop is: How can the student experience at art exhibitions be improved at Downers Grove North High School?
Client
Downers Grove North High School
Project Outputs
Project Activity Plan
Warm-Up Activity
Visual Storytelling Activity
Journey Maps
Interviews
Feedback Forms
Client & Community Outcomes
Mindsets
More empathy toward how students experience art exhibitions in the community.
Behaviors
Ask outside artists, teachers, and community members to vote on awards
Create a name tag list of artists and a pamphlet with a map of the exhibit
Advertise the event and provide more awards
Have students record artist statements and have QR codes for audience to hear
Include more certificates and awards with more teachers at the awards ceremony
Display art differently and separate awards ceremony
Make the awards ceremony in a separate space and display art differently
Have school administrators choose artworks for awards, have students vote, and use outside judges
Promote to the greater community, create fliers, and social media advertisements
