The Independent Day School to Hold “Design Thinking” Competition at Open House Event, Saturday February 4, 2012

Event to Focus on Emerging Education Concept and Feature Guest Speaker Doug Lyons, Director of CT Association of Independent Schools;

MIDDLEFIELD, CT (January 26, 2012) – On Saturday, February 4, the Independent Day School (IDS) located in Middlefield will be hosting a full school Open House – one, however, that is not your average, every-day open house event.   Saturday’s program will feature a “Design Thinking” Competition, as well remarks from the CT Association of Independent Schools DIrector, Doug Lyons.

Design Thinking is an emerging educational concept that is a process for creative – yet practical – problem solving by groups of learners. It is truly an innovative approach to learning that asks students to define challenges, real world problems - and then supports their creative and collaborative efforts to solve them.  It borrows from architecture, advertising and engineering – and engages students to be curious and energetic learners.

For Saturday’s event, IDS lower school students will join in teams to wrestle with a Design Thinking challenge about improving outdoor learning and play areas on the school’s campus. 

“As educators, we are responsible for helping to prepare our students for the challenges they will face as adults,” said IDS Head of School, John Barrengos.  “Students typically leave a Design Thinking experience feeling charged-up by the chance to solve a real problem.  They have often learned, too, about their own talents and interests – and about how to work in teams.  We’re so excited to see what creative and practical designs they generate together on the 21st”

Design Thinking emerged as a new program in learning at The Independent Day School during the school’s strategic planning process in 2009.  Modeled in part on the work of the Nueva School in California, Design Thinking has emerged as a compelling response to the ever-present question of ‘What skills do our students need to practice in order to succeed?”

In addition to the Design Thinking competition, prospective parents and students are invited to tour the facility, meet faculty, experience a middle school lesson with six available mock classrooms, and speak with current students and their parents from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m.

Saturday’s event is a precursor to a larger event that will be hosted at IDS on March 10, 2012 that includes Design Thinking teams from across New England, for a regional Design Thinking Challenge.   During this event, teams will work to solve one another’s school’s top campus and facility challenges – real problems that schools will submit in advance as part of their registration process.  Students will spend the day defining and refining the problems, researching issues surrounding the challenges, building prototypes and exploring alternate solutions.  Finally, they’ll focus and pursue the implementation of one solution.