In
September of 2017, Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico as well as the U.S.
Virgin Islands, and Dominica. It was regarded as the worst natural disaster on
record to affect the islands and the deadliest Atlantic hurricane since 2004:
over 3,000 fatalities.
This
event hit home as some of our students had family on the islands and for me
personally as I have friends that live in San Juan.
So
what does this have to do with education?
Mrs.
Jao, Spanish teacher at Lee-Davis, collaborated with our Instructional
Technology Resource Teacher, Mrs. Calder, on a unit using the design thinking
process for her Spanish III classes. Design thinking is a design methodology that provides a solution-based approach to solving
problems. At the heart of design thinking is empathy. According to the
Institute of Design at Stanford University, empathy is also the foundation of a
human-centered design process; by deeply understanding people we are better able
to design for them.
One
of the thematic units in the Spanish III curriculum addresses the environment
and the community. In the curriculum, students are expected to recognize,
discuss, and talk about environmental issues and eco-friendly solutions in the
target language. They chose Hurricane Maria as the focal point for this unit
and used the design thinking principles of empathize, define, ideate,
prototype, and test for the assignment: What can we do for Puerto Rico?
The
Design Thinking Process
Empathy:
To
start, the students were immersed in a hurricane simulation of Hurricane Maria,
which was rated as category 5. They turned off the lights for several minutes,
played strong hurricane winds for sound effect and projected images of the
island after the storm to immerse the students as much as possible. Students were not allowed to use cell phones either as they would have
been unusable during and after the storm. Using Spanish vocabulary and tenses
they learned, the students shared their feelings and emotions after the
experience. According to the teachers, it was quite emotional experience for
some students.
Define:
After
this discussion, they collaborated in small groups to define the problem area
they wanted to address. They had to keep in mind the original assignment: What
can we do for Puerto Rico? Two of the primary areas the groups addressed
were housing and nutrition.
Ideate:
The
assignment was open-ended and students could choose to develop any product or
service they desired to fill the need they defined. The students researched
essential information, available resources, and discussed ideas to others
before developing their product or service. They used concept maps to draw out
their thoughts and ideas. Throughout this process students spoke using the
targeted language and used vocabulary and tenses from this unit.
Prototype:
During this
phase of the process, students began creating their product or service. There
were a wide range of products created to provide assistance for the people of
Puerto Rico: a 3-D model of a solar powered generator, a vegetarian survival
kit, waterproof pillows, various forms of temporary housing like a bunker
inside a mountain to shield people from the elements.
To
incorporate more use of the language, students also had to create a video
advertisement and bilingual brochure to promote or sell their products.
Test: The final phase of
the process was to present or test the usefulness and practicality of the
products. The student audience could ask questions of the product or offer
suggestions for improvement.
When
reflecting with the students, every single student gave a thumbs up on the
experience and indicated they want more learning experiences such as this. As
one senior stated, “I actually like things like this. I have to figure out
something that could actually help someone.”
This
greatest takeaway from the teachers was how immersed the students were in this
assignment. This went beyond engagement. Their learning and application of that
learning had a purpose beyond a grade. This experience gave them an opportunity
to not only empathize with other people, but to put that empathy into action.
The assignment became more than a project, it became a mission.
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