Imagine this; you are in a room with school board members, administration, teachers, parents, and students. The topic is a new school policy changing for the next school year that is designated to target cell phones in the classroom. The policy has been shared with the public and even made the news. The mock debate voiced concerns from all perspectives, online and at the school board meeting.
Well, this QuickFire activity was called to session where my classmates and I were assigned roles of various members of the Prescott, Arkansas, community and discussed this hot topic. Our spontaneous roles were given to us at random with little information about our new identity, but even more a lack of information on their recent change. After a given time to research, we "dialed" in our thoughts and began a respectful conversation.
My role in the activity was school board president.
While researching, I dove into the interweb to find information from all perspectives. I knew I had to translate my thinking away from my real-life role as an educator, but this was not as hard as I thought it would be. I had to think about my running questions and thoughts and then decide on the goal. The design thinking process, with its five phases, is where we organize our ideas into a path towards a solution (Plattner, H. (n.d.)). That solution would be an agreement about the policy between students, parents, teachers, administrations, and the school board.
I thought about how I should organize my ideas during the research process. Even though I was playing a role, I knew my background in education as a teacher and a student would help me narrow my search and process. Bransford describes how students bring in prior knowledge, and teachers must dive deeper into those concepts while giving real-life examples (Bransford et al., 2000, p. 16). As I researched and discussed throughout the session, I provided examples from multiple perspectives and how we could dive deeper into the solutions to help benefit all members of the community.
The conversations began as we discussed the problems and addressed potential solutions for everyone affected by the change in policy. From my perspective in my role, I knew there wasn't a one-size-fits-all solution to this policy. I had to find a "happy medium," which was challenging.
As the conversations in the room progressed, my thought process changed. A More Beautiful Question reminded me and the ideas of "What if" and "How" questioning (Berger, 2014). These thoughtful conversations were helpful as I determined my language to direct the conversions towards possible solutions after discussing the vast array of concerns. But ultimately, are we asking the "right" questions to find this solution?
For instance, this small rural community faces financial difficulties (Boyd, 2022). With the cost being 10 dollars for every phone violation, how could we work together to find a way to combat this problem? An easy solution would be to remove the fee, but how would students access technology in the classroom? As school board president, I proposed looking at grants for assistance to help purchase Chromebooks for the classrooms. This idea was met with hesitancy due to the financial logistics, but it helped narrow down a solution for all.
Looking at the entirety of this MAET QuickFire, there wasn't going to be a perfect solution for everyone. The conversions about the concerns and affordances of the policy brought everyone into the meeting. But this activity allowed my classroom and I to think on our toes and find information as quickly as possible. I was able to learn more from this experience rather than from a lecture about the new policy.
Any QuickFire intends to have constructive constraints that help one think under pressure (MAET, 2021). The experience pushes you to "think outside the box" because you aren't graded on it and are more willing to take a risk. You can think in more creative ways.
This particular QuickFire allowed me to organize my thoughts quickly to realize my role and audience. I did not have time to overthink it. Like other QuickFire activities, technology has played a role in the process. Whether researching information or designing a slide, it is vital because it can elevate and enhance the process. If I hadn't had the opportunity to reach that day, the outcome of the activity might have been different.
Creativity within lessons and experiences is vital because it leads to more meaningful learning experiences. QuickFires do more than put you under pressure; they allow you to think for yourself and light up your imagination.
References
Boyd, S. (2022, July 25). New Prescott school policies strike controversy. KARK.com. https://www.kark.com/news/education/new-prescott-school-policies-strike-controversy/
Dillman, B. (2022). Quickfire: We are Prescott - Participant [PowerPoint Slides]. Google Slides. https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/17rZyL4KWOnqJRtUdZg8tM8VEC-gqiYSiOow8_AH8uD0/edit#slide=id.p
Hale-Shelton, D. (2022, July 29). Get-tough policy on school restroom use, cellphones goes viral in Prescott. Arkansas Times. https://arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2022/07/29/get-tough-policy-on-school-restroom-use-cellphones-goes-viral-in-prescott
MAET Blog. (2021, July 13). MAET Quickfire. MAET Blog. https://education.msu.edu/maet/2021/07/13/maet-quickfire/
Plattner, H. (n.d.). An Introduction to Design Thinking Process Guide. Institute Design at Stanford. https://web.stanford.edu/~mshanks/MichaelShanks/files/509554.pdf
Terrar, D. (2018). What is Design Thinking?. Agile Thinking.
http://www.theagileelephant.com/what-is-design-thinking/
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