Easter Break Week 2: First Draft of the Proposal

Key Terms/ glossary

Learning Diversity/ learning styles. diversity in how people think- and therefore learn.

creative literacy. Student Engagement.

Introduction

Definition of problem- original how might we statement/ research question. Theory: Topic

Education isn’t educating NZ kids. Students are disengaged, stressed, angry, and many are even willing to ‘cheat the system’ by credit counting. NCEA is flawed, and it’s about damn time someone did something about it.

How to educate creativity? How to educate creatively?

I started this project wanting to combine my interests with the physical arts/ crafts, and my interest of UX and Service Design. That began as a research project into creativity with youth, however the more I looked, the more I found, that suggested a much more pressing issue was at hand. On paper, students aren’t as ‘creative’ as they used to be, but that’s not entirely true. Children are inherently creative, with curious and experimental natures, it’s instinctual. The ‘lack of creativity’ that is being seen amongst current students is rather a lack of engagement. Students aren’t passionate about what they’re working on, they’re not inspired, and therefore aren’t reaching their potential. So the problem isn’t a lack of creativity, or a lack of ability, but rather no purpose or drive to use it.

"High school is where creativity drops off." Nimue Strivens

Why is this? What is holding the future leaders of the world back? Research is pointing to the conclusion that it’s the entire system. Which unfortunately means it won’t be an easy- or simple- fix. For this research project I’ve explored what the (cumulative) issues are affecting student engagement, what caused them, and which are the most pivotal areas of change that could be targeted with design in order to create a more positive study culture amongst NZ high schools.

"What makes a child gifted and talented may not always be good grades in school, but a different way of looking at the world and learning." Chuck Grassley.

Background

Why is it a problem- context- history on history- use quotes on industry, growth of education, potential

"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." Nelson Mandela

So what exactly are these ‘cumulative issues’ I’m talking about? I've summarised key findings into what I believe are the core faults of the current NZ education system:

1. Societal and ministry attitudes towards 'higher education'. Why do kids go to school? To learn right? To learn life skills, career skills, general knowledge that will prepare them to be informed, capable, and confident contributing members to society. Yet the majority of what students are taught is for the purpose of preparing them for university. I acknowledge that for many- this is the end goal, and the school system is built for these students. However there is very little in public schools for students who want to go into trades, or even right into the workforce. There needs to be a balance.
2. Societal attitudes to how we see different talents/ skills/ aptitudes. NCEA misses a lot of the 'soft skills'. There's not a lot of emphasis or importance placed on creative thinking, leadership, communication or confidence. But it’s not just NCEA, many people don’t place value on on skills they believe too ‘common’. But often it’s these skills which become the glue of society, and in order for them to become as important in the curriculum as STEM, they need to be valued by society as a whole.
3. Student attitudes towards school. To be frank, most kids don’t give a f*ck about school. Blame it on hormones, blame it on the system, blame it on parenting, blame it on the kids themselves… blaming isn’t going to change anything, and in order to improve student engagement, someone needs to find a way to get kids to give a f*ck, because deep down, many do. Kids do care about themselves, they do care about their futures, but somehow all that’s gotten lost in translation along the line and we’ve ended up with a disgruntled student culture.
4. Education -> workforce navigation. A key point that kept coming up in research, was confusion, parents, teachers, and students have all said that at some point there was a blurred line between what they learn/ teach/ were taught and the real world application. There seems to be little apparent connection between what’s taught in class and what’s required in the workforce.
5. How classes are divided/ taught (learning styles). There’s diversity in how people think- and therefore learn. NCEA is quite a 'one size fits all' style curriculum, and so for many students, it just doesn't work. We need to distill the teaching objectives/ criteria that is theoretically being met by each subject, and find a way to weave these into different classes/ learning scenarios. For example; for students who learn physically- how could literacy be taught in an active environment? Or, for students who learn visually- how could science be taught artistically? The conventional education environment needs to be challenged, and changed.
6. Subject prejudice (STEM). Propose idea of making credits achievable through different avenues, IE, you have to get x literacy, x numeracy, x arts, x life skills (could be problem solving, could be ) x physical health, x specified... this could be a more advanced version of any subject, to encourage excelling in a field of your choice.
7. Testing methods + purpose. Students and teachers are stressed by the overload of assessment, both internal and external. Teachers are saying they don't have enough time to actually teach, because they're drowning in paperwork. This is a clear issue with an apparently simple fix. Stop so much testing? Why are we teaching to test, we should be testing to teach? Have tests at the start of the year, with clear apparent learning goals, then repeat those tests (with different content) at the end of the year, while allowing teachers to test throughout the year as they see fit. (Provide recommended internal testing frequency periods.) This will allow teachers to adapt the class structures to fit their own individual teaching styles, and better adjust for the learning diversity of their own students. No student is the same, no class will be the same. We need to give teachers time to teach, that's what they're here to do.
8. Education seems to be designed with the purpose of testing. Students aren't learning relevant content that will actually benefit their futures in the workforce- their time is being wasted ticking boxes to meet standards. We need predictive education, not retrospective. We need to be testing students to find out what they need to be taught, not teaching them to get them ready for a test. This could include testing to find out how students need to be taught. School teaches you for tests. Life tests you to teach.
9. Legislative change of curriculum. Currently students are 'beating the system' by choosing easier subjects to get the required credits to pass. Avoiding classes that are considered hard, even though they may be more useful to the students future career path. Instead of making the 'hard' classes easier, why aren't we considering making the 'easy' classes harder in order to fix this imbalance? Multiple teachers who've taught overseas through curriculums like Cambridge are saying that NZ students are "2 years behind" because less content is being taught here and at a lower level. We want to be raising the next generation to be leaders amongst their global peers. But by allowing them an easier path now, we're actually setting them up for failure in the long run.
10. Recognition and support for teachers. Teachers are the drivers of classroom atmosphere. When you talk to anyone about their education, and why they love(ed) or hate(ed) a certain subject, most of the time teacher’s name will come up- for better or worse. And yet many within this profession feel undervalued, unrespected, overworked, underpaid, and overall unhappy. So how can we expect teachers to be building positive and inclusive classroom atmosphere’s when they’re feeling like this? It's our responsibility as a country to show our respect and support for this profession.

So how did this flawed education system come about?

NCEA is built around an age old educational structure that epitomises Universities as success. Further education is the goal, that's what high school students are being taught for. But is that even relevant anymore? Curriculums are being designed for 'University Entrance' but what about those who want to jump straight into the workforce? What skills are they being taught? And content aside, are the methods they're being taught by even effective? (Given that these methods are styled to prepare for 'higher education'.)

The type of resources teachers use changes substantially between age groups. Once kids reach high school, the standards go up, NCEA comes in, and all of a sudden the paint gets pushed aside and textbooks get piled up. Of course, from a career perspective this is the time to knuckle down and get serious with learning right? But is ‘knuckling down, and getting serious’ the most effective way to learn?

Before the passing of the Education Act in 1877, all NZ education was privatised, meaning the majority of the population was considered uneducated. In the mid 1800’s, 25% couldn’t read or write, with another 14% only being able to read. Most of these were lower class, keeping the poor poor, and helping the rich get richer. Today, everyone in NZ is educated to secondary level or above. So what will education look like in the next hundred years? The world is changing, and schools need to change with it.

Nancy Swarbrick, 'Country schooling - Getting an education: 1800s', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/country-schooling/page-1

"We design for the future, we don't design for the then or now." - Karl Kane (Conversation).

Precedents

Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities- do + map of market, where they are, where I am.

What is already out there to create better education options for our country's youth? Cost: private/ public/ scale

Venture Up: S- Quick time frame, cost. W- limited availability, restricted locations. O- scalable, huge growth potential.

Young Enterprise: S- well established, ‘local’, cost (charity). W- restricted locations, cost

Subscription based learning packs: S- convenience, individualised. W- cost. O- Scale out to work in with schools.

Game of Awesome: S- availability, W- targeted design, limited content. O- scalable model, could use a similar technique for another subject.

Montessori Schools: S- scale, reputation. W- cost, O- working example, validation that alternate systems do work, and work well.

So what do I want to do- where do I want to sit? I want to be public, easily accessible and easily affordable, potentially working in with the govt/ Ministry of Education, a scalable product/ service that grows with it’s users.

There’s plenty of resources already out there, education is a hot pool of change, but is the stream heading in the right direction? Are there enough people willing to swim upstream, to go against the current and challenge

Method/ Exploration

My research journey- post-it note wall- research methods used, annotate + pics- talk about anya and speaker events/ networking.

My research journey has been a bit of a messy one…. Add pic of scrambled line going back on itself.

Primary research techniques

Networking- going to speaker panels and networking events

Surveys

Interviews

Secondary research techniques

Interviews- multiple opinion pieces online

Government surveys- NCEA review

Precedents research- other education systems

Similar issues from other fields

History- philosophical speakers to gain a contextual understanding of the area

Research from a design context

Central Proposition

New how might we statement- solution- design context- what type of design, how and why, experience and empathetic- manifesto/ establish core design values,

How might we use Visual Communication Design to improve the lack of student engagement in NZ classrooms by empowering students and teachers alike.The different viewpoints of teachers and students will be key in the development of my ideas, empathy on both sides of the classroom could influence a more positive learning space for everyone.

I went to a seminar by MK Haley, Professor of UCLA, and representative of Disney (experience design.) 'Innovation in the Experience Economy." She talked about how creating experiences can be an important part of any sales, business, or marketing strategy. I've been inspired by her guidelines; guides (POV), gossip (stories), and games (interactivity) which respectively becomes; 'make me aware, make me care, call to action'. These three key points are what's needed to build a great experience, and are also the key values I want to use for this project.

Aim/ Proposal

Primary and secondary audiences

"Our world is changing so fast, we all feel it. To prepare today’s learners for tomorrow’s world, our systems need to evolve. Innovation in education requires the courage and creativity to take leaps at some of the most entrenched 'truths' we hold — the very premise of how our institutions are designed. The curriculum, spaces, tools, roles, infrastructure all offer an immense opportunity for design to make a difference." -SANDY SPEICHER

PARTNER AND MANAGING DIRECTOR, IDEO SAN FRANCISCO

Intention

Direction/ concepts/ prototypes 1,2- where who what customised dialogue sustainable- design plan- inclusive design process, involve all parties- add timeline

These concepts were some sort of teaching/ educational resource- which might be used in schools, or a stand alone business/ parenting tool.

Do I design something to help youth to learn more effectively, or do I tackle the larger problem of a flawed educational system? Or is there a way to bring them both together?

References/ Illustrations/ Bibliography

Ethics forms- get Nim to sign

School is preparing our children for bright and successful futures… is it though/ or at least it should be? Student engagement is at an all time low, students feel x and x, x% of teachers feel x. NZ education is failing it’s students by not failing it’s students. This is a good school, personal anecdote? Not their fault, labouring under a system of requirements and restrictions. A one-size-fits-all model with very little elasticity for those who aren’t the ‘model student’.

Overlaps:

Support beyond schooling, I.E life skills and workforce preparation.

Structural change of curriculum.

New, more diverse teaching resources.

Support for teachers and students to change attitudes.

Stopping abuse of the credit system, getting the purpose back to learning, not passing.

Differences:

Focus on individual learning styles/ specific class teaching approaches.

Subject prejudice (STEM)

"If you can light the spark of curiosity in a child, they will learn without any further assistance." Sir Ken Robinson (3). Students learn better when they're engaged in what they study, or in the words of Sir Ken Robinson, when they're curious.