Blog - Page 25 of 47 - John Spencer

Apr 28 2019

The Power of a Launch (Why Students Should Share Their Work)

By John Spencer Design Thinking, Podcast One Comment

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…

Apr 25 2019

Download the Free Design Thinking Toolkit for Teachers

By John Spencer Creativity 4 Comments

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrNvgyvs1GU 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…

Apr 23 2019

Helping Students Embrace Revision in Design Thinking

By John Spencer Design Thinking One Comment

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…

Apr 19 2019

Making Is Magic

By John Spencer Creativity, Design Thinking 3 Comments

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,…

Apr 17 2019

Moving from Recipes to Projects

By John Spencer Creativity, Design Thinking 3 Comments

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…

Apr 14 2019

Join the Launch Book Club

By John Spencer Design Thinking 2 Comments

If you've been enjoying this design thinking series, you might want to take a deeper dive by checking out Launch: Using Design Thinking to Boost Creativity and Bring Out the Maker in Every Student. You might also be interested in joining a Launch book club. I'm a…

Apr 12 2019

Research Is Critical for Student Design Projects

By John Spencer Creativity, Project-Based Learning One Comment

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. The Importance of Research in Design Thinking The LAUNCH process starts with awareness, where students…

Apr 11 2019

Spark Curiosity and Help Students Ask Better Questions

By John Spencer Creativity One Comment

In the previous article, we explored the Look, Listen, and Learn phase of the LAUNCH process for design thinking. In this article, we explore the second phase, Ask Tons of Questions. When students are able to ask their own questions, they can chase their curiosity…

Apr 08 2019

Great Design Can Begin Anywhere (6 Starting Places for Design Thinking)

By John Spencer Creativity, Design Thinking 2 Comments

A few years ago, our yard was canvased by a thick sheet of snow -- well, thick for a southwestern guy who has just moved to the northwest. I'm pretty sure my friends in Michigan would have called it a "dusting." However, my kids spent…

Apr 06 2019

What Is Design Thinking?

By John Spencer Design Thinking 4 Comments

The term “design thinking” is often attached to maker spaces and STEM labs. However, design thinking is bigger than STEM. It begins with the premise of tapping into student curiosity and allowing them to create, test and re-create until they eventually ship what they made…