In this episode of the Getting Smart podcast, Tom interviews Sam Seidel, the Director of K12 Strategy and Research at the Stanford d.school, to discuss how he and his team are teaching design thinking in order to hack school and prep youth for complexity.

They talk about Sam's early education and whether or not he had any experiences that resembled design thinking, what the K12 lab at Stanford d.school does, about his previous work at the Business Innovation Factory (BIF), and his (and d.school's) definition on design thinking. They also discuss the importance of maintaining flexibility when it comes to using design thinking, some of the cool projects that d.school has launched in K12 in the last few years, the "shadow a student" challenge, what the deeper learning puzzle bus is, and what a school that fully incorporates design thinking might look like.

Key Takeaways:

[:49] About Sam's early education.

[5:12] Did Sam have any experiences in high school or college that resembled design thinking?

[7:06] Sam talks about the work he did at the Business Innovation Factory (BIF).

[12:00] What the K12 lab at the Stanford d.school does.

[13:02] Sam explains d.school's "crash course" on design thinking (from their Discover Design Thinking workshop).

[15:36] D.School's definition of design thinking — is it a mindset or methodology?

[17:40] The importance of maintaining flexibility when it comes to teaching/using design thinking.

[18:48] Sam speaks about their proposed equity-centered design framework.

[20:43] Sam talks about one of the cool projects that d.school has launched in K12 in the last few years: 'School Retool'.

[26:36] About the "shadow a student" challenge.

[29:22] About the active shooter drill Sam experienced while shadowing a student in a classroom.

[31:37] What is a deeper learning puzzle bus?

[35:35] Sam describes what a school that fully incorporates design thinking might look like.

[38:38] How Sam thinks about design thinking in writing, as an English teacher.

[40:00] Areas that Sam is thinking about, going forward, in the K12 lab at the d.school.

Mentioned in This Episode:

Stanford d.school

Business Innovation Factory

Gates Foundation

High Tech High

Getting Smart episode: "Apple Exec on Rewiring Education"

Digital Promise Association for High School Innovation (AHSI)

Rhode Island Department of Education

Next Generation Learning Challenges (NGLC)

360 High School

Edutopia

School Retool

Discover Design Thinking

Olin College

Hewlett

Einhorn Family Charitable Fund

4.0 Schools

Shadow a Student Challenge

Tom's article on Getting Smart: "32 Ways AI is Improving Education"

If you're excited about design thinking and its impact on education, take a look at these resources on GettingSmart.com:

Building Transferable Skills: Design Tech High at Oracle Campus

What's Up With All the Design-Focused Schools?

Design Thinking as Pedagogy For Students and Educators

Design Thinking and its Impact on Education Innovation

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