All School Design Challenge at Moses Brown in Providence, RI

On October 18th, we spent a delightful midday at Moses Brown School in Providence, RI.  I am in the middle of a design project with Moses Brown, collaborating with Cannon Design, TTT, to design a new Early Childhood Center.  On the 18th we were there see the whole school in action in a final phase of what they called the MB Challenge. Throughout the school, all the students were engaged with different problems to solve through design.  The faculty had adapted a version of Design Thinking to give the process a creative structure.  As we walked around, we saw 60 different groups, 3 year olds to high school seniors, working on their final phase of an experiment or an installation.

Each group documented their process in different ways, yet each mirrored the same design thinking process.  Below is a rough composition of a middle school challenge: How can we redesign the English classroom to better meet student needs?

From their research, the group resolved that The English classroom needs space for a variety of “stations,” more permanently installed technology, and more comfortable functional furniture in order to improve the learning experience for students and teachers.  Next, the group “multiplied” their ideas through brainstorming.  They came up with over 70 ideas.  Then, they reviewed all their ideas to discern which, or which combinations, had the most possibility and then worked to put them into place.

The kindergarteners decided to design and build an ideal play space for our hamster.  They divided into two groups, and each group built a separate “playground.”  Their shop teacher, Randy, was a great help to each group.  They kept their designs secret from each other.  Below you see them at the “unveiling” of their respective playgrounds.  They connected them with a “hamster tube.”

Moses Brown has just published a new “manifesto” of sorts, entitled MB BELIEVES, a vision for learning, people and place.   Among many enlightened declarations is...a school-wide commitment to cross disciplinary team-teaching.  Their MB Challenge was a clear demonstration of action to grow this great idea.

Visiting Schools in St. Louis

This week we have been in St. Louis working with schools that we love.  We worked with the educators in these schools for 20 years, hosted many conferences and events with them, wrote articles and book chapters with them and learned much of what we understand now about education alongside them.

What a pleasure it is to be back on our home  turf!  We collaborated with The College School, Clayton Schools' Family Center and The St. Michael School to plan a program to host visitors from St. Mary's Child Center in Indianapolis, Winnetka Public Nursery School outside of Chicago, one educator in a Ph.D. Program at St. Louis University and another from Hutchison School in Memphis.

We all viewed such high quality learning environments and student and teacher work while we were together.  We spent a good deal of time observing in the schools and interacting with teachers in dialogue.  Ashley and Louise led workshops for the visitors in  documentation and curriculum design.  All of our visitors appreciated  learning together and witnessing schools that could inform and inspire their own work.

We are grateful to these places and to these educators for their wonderful work and their open doors.  Thank you to all of our educator friends and colleagues in St. Louis for continuing to inspire all of us.  Ashley and I will continue to return to St. Louis and to work with our home schools whenever we can.  In the meantime, if you are interested in visiting, please contact them.