Measuring effectiveness: In K-12 schools, how do leaders ensure teachers’ instructional practices are supporting diversity in the classroom?
A private school in Jordan has generously approved going through a digital learning design journey. The school leadership team realizes the importance of accommodating a learning environment that serves diverse students and promotes inclusion. However, the leadership team wants to explore ways to ensure their current instructional practices are serving the needs of diverse students, and if not, how can they help teachers do so?
Empathic design centers on the emotions and core needs of users and offers the designer the chance create to compassionate and conscientious digital learning experience. The purpose of my Digital Learning Resource (DLR) is to provide support and examples for teachers to begin to embed diversity and inclusion in their classrooms through content and teaching strategies. Kouprie & Visser (2009) postulate that the empathic approach where the designer relates to the user and understand their situations and why specific experiences are meaningful to them before starting the design is an acknowledged quality of the design process. Therefore, in an attempt to put teachers at the center of the (DLR) design process, I utilized (1) IDEO (2015) practical approach that provides a human-centred design by offering a step-by-step guide to being innovative and creative when designing (2) Brecher Cook and Worsham’s (2018) Empathy Map and mini-manifesto that provides a designer with tools to help them center their design around learners and their goals and develop insight into critical breakthroughs in the learning process.
Designing digital learning resources requires a deliberate shift of focus and should not be seen as a concrete and inflexible approach to design. As I move forward with my DLR design process, I realize the importance of continuously involving stakeholders beyond the empathize and define phase. Kimbell (2012) points out that the design outcomes can be achieved when “stakeholders are co-designers and designers are another kind of stakeholder”(p.143). Therefore, I am looking forward to de-centring my designer role as the main agent intentionally by involving teachers in the ideate, prototype, and test phases.
References
Brecher Cook, D., & Worsham, D. (2018, April). Let’s Build Something! (The Toolkit). A Rapid-Prototyping Instructional Design Workshop. Retrieved from https://ucla.app.box.com/v/build-something-toolkit
IDEO. (2015). Design Kit – Methods. Retrieved from https://www.designkit.org/methods
Kimbell, L. (2012). Rethinking design thinking: Part II. Design and Culture, 4(2), 129-148. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.2752/175470812X13281948975413
Kouprie, M., & Sleeswijk Visser, F. (2009). A framework for empathy in design: stepping into and out of the user’s. Journal of Engineering Design, 20(5), 437-448. DOI: 10.1080/09544820902875033
Attribution
Photo by Margarida Afonso on Unsplash
June 30, 2020 at 3:03 pm
Hello Tala, I enjoyed your post very much. Your mini-manifesto was very nicely designed and I appreciate the larger sized version of your Empathy map. I really like the idea of partnering with teachers to create your digital learning resource. They will be able to provide you with very concrete examples of their work and needs (and further defining obstacles) for creating more diverse classrooms and learning experiences for their students. The DLR can be a means of sharing that work with other teachers beyond the immediate context of the group of teachers you partner with if created as an OER. Great topic and plan of action thus far!
June 30, 2020 at 9:52 pm
Hi Jenni,
Thank you for taking the time to read and comment on my blog. You are absolutely right in regard to using my DLR as an OER. I have so many teacher friends in Jordan that got really excited about this project and I am looking forward to sharing it with them knowing that it can be helpful regardless of the context. The fact that this DLR can serve a community of teachers not only one group is a great responsibility and a motivation at the same time!
Looking forward to continuing this great project.
Cheers,
Tala
July 1, 2020 at 12:42 pm
Hi Tala,
Great post! Your chosen PoP and DLR purpose are so important and timely: ways to increase diversity and inclusion in instructional practices continue to rightly and more loudly demand our attention. Incorporating UDL into these discussions seems like a natural and productive fit. It is fantastic that you have found a school in Jordan that is willing to participate in this digital learning design journey! How exciting. As an educator, I am so very excited to see your DLR when you have completed this journey (or at least reached the point of ‘completion’ whereupon we need to submit our DLR).
Your mini-manifesto, in my opinion, is wonderful for any instructional or learning setting! Love it.
I appreciate and recognize the importance of your statement: “As I move forward with my DLR design process, I realize the importance of continuously involving stakeholders beyond the empathize and define phase.” I too, welcome this vital element of the design thinking process.
So very interested in seeing your DLR and learning from it! 🙂
Best,
Leigh
July 4, 2020 at 11:30 pm
Hi Leigh,
Thank you so much for taking the time to read and comment on my blog.
I was wondering if throughout your journey as a teacher, have you implemented Differentiated Instruction DI or UDL? or maybe both? were they formally incorporated in the classroom? It’s always nice to include my peers as stakeholders as well! I love to hear your opinion about DI and UDL 🙂
July 3, 2020 at 7:33 pm
Hi Tala,
Great post, one that has me reflecting your observations regarding design flexibility. When I think back to my own learning in the past, especially the early years, I was constantly at odds with the journeymen as their approach to instruction always left me confused and struggling. Often this state would manifest itself in substandard work, parts that were not acceptable. No matter how many times I was shown a challenging task the result was the same.
Eventually I came to realize that I was being instructed the task in the same way repeatedly, same data in – same data out. The instruction I was receiving was inflexible due to the old world thinking of the instructors. The classic, “That’s how I was shown” reasoning being provided to justify the circular pattern of failure on my part.
Thankfully I realized this processes was flawed and began a push for change, making a vow to note the challenge points I faced and draw attention to them at every instance when I was tasked with educating the next apprentices. Further my commitment to ensure relevancy of future instruction through the connection to my lived experiences is
“Which current and potential future users, customers, and other stakeholders in which specific cultures should be studied in order to understand a particular design?” (Kimbell, 2012)
Obviously, my example is not design oriented but rather instructional modality, yet the essence is still the same. The identification and careful consideration of the subsequent users as well as an understanding of the importance of flexibility and accommodation.
Thank you for a great post,
Owen
Reference
Kimbell, L. (2012). Rethinking Design Thinking: Part II. Design and Culture, 4(2), 129–148. https://doi.org/10.2752/175470812X13281948975413
July 4, 2020 at 11:37 pm
Hi Owen,
You are absolutely correct. Inflexible instruction is just horrible. One thing that I really think benefits our students now is that when we were students, we actually experienced what is it like to be instructed without flexibility and we KNOW how bad it is for students. Now, I believe instructors are more aware of this fact and they try their best to be better and always enhance their practices, listen for feedback and actually emphasizing with students!
Thank you for taking the time to read and comment on my blog 🙂
Cheers,
Tala