The NAIS Conference: Play, Passion and Purpose
Posted March 21, 2012
The NAIS Conference: Play, Passion and Purpose
“I am not sure where I am going. I’ll lead!” -Emmanuelle Heymen
“Stop waiting for the map. Life rewards those who draw the maps not those who follow them.” -Seth Godin
“If you don’t know where you are going, any map will do." -Lewis Carroll - Alice in Wonderland
The 2012 NAIS Conference in Seattle Washington was all about innovation and charting new instructional opportunities in the classroom for play, passion and purpose. While the landscape for design thinking is gaining familiarity, the guiding map is still muddy. There is general agreement that a guiding map is needed, but what view are we looking for? For some, the mile high view suffices, but other practitioners are cruising down uncharted highways at a slightly tighter scale. We all aim towards innovation, but what is the direction?
Innovation is a basic human impulse to shape our world in new ways- to serve our needs and give greater utility and significance to the world around us. Innovation is an aptitude of the whole brain, but it is more than simply a function of the mind. Design thinking is equal parts inspiration and creativity, as it is the behaviors of crafting and testing. Innovation is a habit of the mind as well as practiced behaviors. Habits are our default behaviors, so design thinking will take lots of practice and opportunities for students to participate in the authentic processes. Defining that process is part of the map making.
If design education is the instructional opportunity used to solve problems and take initial ideas to fully realized products, models or conceptions, than whatever the guiding philosophy or the time and space we occupy during the process, our ultimate goal will be to employ content, numbers, language and images in an iterative process. The fundamental design process has been mapped a thousand different ways. Jeff Dyer encourages us to think about another.
In his book, The Innovator’s DNA, Jeff Dyer writes about how the United States Air Force created a mnemonic device (called the OODA Loop ) for fighter pilots to remember vital training elements. The OODA Loop describes the behaviors that are the result of a strong, practiced mindset. John Boyd created the OODA Loop for pilots to remember the words, “observe, orient, decide, act,” Though not as life saving as the OODA Loop, the design process can be summarized. Here is one way- Define, Design and Defend.
Define
Understand (There is a problem to solve)
Investigate related ideas (Ideas are always connected to other ideas)
Brainstorm solutions (Two heads may be better than one)
Design
Craft a solution. (Make what your brain creates)
Experiment and test (This is where the science of design is applied)
Redesign the solution. (If you do not succeed try again and again)
Defend
Share (Give and get ideas from others)
Evaluate (Does the process begin again?)
Like the OODA Look, Design is more than merely a mindset. It is a set of behaviors that are sometimes spontaneous and sometimes planned. In order to behave differently we must think differently. To do both is to access highly innovative and impactful habits. Design practice is largely uncharted territory in our schools and classrooms. NAIS showed me that across the country folks are seeing the future. The secret is that they are willing to be slightly off course or wrong, because failure allows them to reach a bigger goal and larger lessons. We can either wait for the map or shape the way. Here we go!
