Finding Humanity in Design

Authors

  • Erin Quinn Calgary Board of Education/University of Calgary
  • Stephanie Bartlett Calgary Board of Education/University of Calgary
  • Laurie Alisat Westmount Charter School/University of Calgary
  • Sandra McNeil Calgary Board of Education
  • Kim Miner Calgary Board of Education

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25071/1916-4467.40359

Keywords:

design thinking, human-centred mindset, creative problem solving, wide awakeness, professional learning, curriculum

Abstract

The Calgary Board of Education’s Design the Shift was a radical step away from typical professional development opportunities. It was a year-long collaboration designed for educators to provoke a shift in practice by redefining curriculum through design. Our definition of design evolved from a linear business model to a much more generous movement. As designers of learning, the participants took up “what really [mattered] to them”, with design becoming an intersection of creativity, place, and community (Chambers, 1998, p. 17). We created opportunities for participants to charge up against an experience, causing them to make, unmake, and remake the curriculum of their classrooms. All experiences inspired the participants to stop, notice, listen and awaken, drawing on Maxine Greene’s (1977) wide-awakeness philosophy.

Author Biographies

Erin Quinn, Calgary Board of Education/University of Calgary

Erin Quinn, Stephanie Bartlett, Laurie Alisat, Sandra McNeil, and Kim Miner are educators in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. They are participants and facilitators of Design the Shift, and inspired by: educators who find openness in the topics that they are entrusted to uncover; the moments when teachers and students stop, breathe, and listen together; people engaging deeply in their learning, creating solutions to arising problems; the essential role of curriculum encounters in the awakening of new possibilities.

Stephanie Bartlett, Calgary Board of Education/University of Calgary

Erin Quinn, Stephanie Bartlett, Laurie Alisat, Stephanie Bartlett, Sandra McNeil, and Kim Miner are educators in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. They are participants and facilitators of Design the Shift, and inspired by: educators who find openness in the topics that they are entrusted to uncover; the moments when teachers and students stop, breathe, and listen together; people engaging deeply in their learning, creating solutions to arising problems; the essential role of curriculum encounters in the awakening of new possibilities.

Laurie Alisat, Westmount Charter School/University of Calgary

Erin Quinn, Stephanie Bartlett, Laurie Alisat, Stephanie Bartlett, Sandra McNeil, and Kim Miner are educators in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. They are participants and facilitators of Design the Shift, and inspired by: educators who find openness in the topics that they are entrusted to uncover; the moments when teachers and students stop, breathe, and listen together; people engaging deeply in their learning, creating solutions to arising problems; the essential role of curriculum encounters in the awakening of new possibilities.

Sandra McNeil, Calgary Board of Education

Erin Quinn, Stephanie Bartlett, Laurie Alisat, Stephanie Bartlett, Sandra McNeil, and Kim Miner are educators in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. They are participants and facilitators of Design the Shift, and inspired by: educators who find openness in the topics that they are entrusted to uncover; the moments when teachers and students stop, breathe, and listen together; people engaging deeply in their learning, creating solutions to arising problems; the essential role of curriculum encounters in the awakening of new possibilities.

Kim Miner, Calgary Board of Education

Erin Quinn, Stephanie Bartlett, Laurie Alisat, Stephanie Bartlett, Sandra McNeil, and Kim Miner are educators in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. They are participants and facilitators of Design the Shift, and inspired by: educators who find openness in the topics that they are entrusted to uncover; the moments when teachers and students stop, breathe, and listen together; people engaging deeply in their learning, creating solutions to arising problems; the essential role of curriculum encounters in the awakening of new possibilities.

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Published

31-08-2018

How to Cite

Quinn, E., Bartlett, S., Alisat, L., McNeil, S., & Miner, K. (2018). Finding Humanity in Design. Journal of the Canadian Association for Curriculum Studies, 16(1), 6–22. https://doi.org/10.25071/1916-4467.40359

Issue

Vol. 16 No. 1 (2018): The Arts in Curriculum: Aesthetics, Embodiment and Well-Being

Section

Aesthetics, Embodiment and Well-Being

License

Creative Commons License
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