Day 4 of Design Team Boot Camp: Themes and Observations...

Conflict: Blame others, point
fingers, and pass judgement.

Good Day Designers,

      So far, we have covered 3 of the 5 themes of the week.  Those 3 themes are:

Day 1- Ideation
Day 2- Revisit & Review Ideas
Day 3- Selection

      Yesterday's theme was Selection.  What Mr. H and I observed was a little conflict and disagreement as decisions were being made to bring ideas forward.  We also noticed that constraints are becoming apparent when we think about designing a solution to the earthquake/building problem.  As a learning community, we are all engaging and participating.  Engagement and participation are two things that make Design Teams function at high levels.

I-Messages: Describe a
behavior or situation;
not a personal judgement.

      Today, we will be looking at our fourth theme before finishing our week off.  Today's theme is Listening.  There is nothing more important for a Design Team to function and flourish.  Listening is the pivotal skill and it is extremely hard for middle school students to master.


      The activities that Mr. H and I have designed will push you and your Design Teams to the next level.  Differences of opinion, conflicting ideas, disagreements, and frustration are all natural challenges that even the best Design Teams face in the real world.  Adults face these challenges all the time.  Today, lets make listening our driving intention so that tomorrow's final designs demonstrate the best our Design Teams have to offer.

As we head into today, remember to listen to our Design Teams.  Let's have fun and enjoy our Professional Play.


Sincerely,

C & H

P.S.

I-Messages: State and own feelings

From the cluttered mind of C, Teacher
School District of Waukesha
Waukesha STEM Academy

Day 1 of Design Team Boot Camp...

Good Day Design Team,

      Mr. H and myself are extremely happy and proud of the way our first day went.  You are all amazing thinkers with tons of potential.  This boot camp is designed to develop your ability to generate many variations of your ideas as well as combine them with the ideas of others to innovate and create.  In order to do this as a Design Team we have to learn certain habits of mind so that we can practice them with others.

       So far, we have spent time defining teamwork as a group, we have identified challenges that sometimes get in the way of teamwork, and stumbled upon some really great questions that will deepen our understanding as we grow as a Design Team.

How are mistakes and/or failures good things?

All throughout this blog post you will find pictures that log our work, our discussions, our questions, and habits of mind.  Click on some of the questions to see if you can think of any answers we have discovered.  Remember, we have learned:

1. Think alouds
2. Read alouds

How do we share "AIR TIME"?

3. Wizards & Gelflings
4. Reading a Visual Image
5. Turn & Talk (Think-Pair-Share)

How do we make sure everyone is included?

     

Reading a Visual Image

      We are looking forward to the rest of the week.  Enjoy yourselves and be sure to engage.  We love hearing your voices, your ideas, and your enthusiasm.  Our Design Team will only get better because of our work together.

Why is listening sometimes harder than
speaking your thoughts?

Sincerely,

Mr. C & Mr. H

What do you do after you realize a
mistake and you have put a bunch of
time in to your work?