Teachers as Designers

All of my teaching career I have spent my Sundays completing my lesson plans for the week. I could complete complete well crafted lesson plans in my sleep. But a teacher as a designer? This is a new concept to me. How is planning different from designing? Well this past week I learned that planning is anything that involves a sequence. While I was in the classroom, every year I would plan some version of the same lesson. I might tweak here or there depending on the demographics of my class. Most lessons would go as planned, when you teach first grade, not much can go wrong- I mean you’re only laying the foundational groundwork and skills they need to be successful throughout the rest of their schooling. Nonetheless my classroom functioned like a well-oiled machine. 

Now throw in the concept of design. Designers start by identifying real problems. They analyze and find solutions. This is a different approach than what I was taught back in my teacher prep program in college and requires a paradigm shift. In my new role as an IFT, I can see myself wearing more of the designer hat. I am responsible for working with teachers to analyze data and offer support within their classroom. I can help guide and facilitate conversations that will help teachers identify problems within their practice and help them to create solutions. By facilitating these types of conversations, I can help staff members become designers within their own classrooms. An element to the design process that I thought was really meaningful and would create a lot of impact is for teachers to listen to their students. Interview them, observe them, empathize with them. Giving students a voice is a very powerful tool that can help you to identify a problem of practice and can be a part of creating a solution.