Design Thinking Workshop for Upward Bound

This project took place during the Spring of 2023. The second cohort of the University Innovation Fellows at the University of Cincinnati designed this project to help improve UC’s innovation ecosystem. Through surveying the UC student body, testing prototypes, and refining their goals, the team was able to collaborate and produce an effective workshop.

The Goal

Introduce and educate high school students on design thinking methodology, while demonstrating the transformative impact it can have on their lives.

Basics of teaching

First round of interviews:

Focus on understanding the best practices of teaching secondary education students. Other conversations can be about best ways to integrate new teaching topics and their thoughts on design thinking in education. We want to gain the expert knowledge on how to create the most effective workshop for secondary students

With no teaching experience on the team, they enlisted the help of education majors at UC for user interviews.

The team spoke to both undergrad and graduate students and asked about their experience in the classroom. Questions ranging from effective teaching methodologies to classroom management were asked.

In addition to this, a survey was sent out to current public school teachers. Insights were gained in both qualitative and quantitive questions. These were used as a supplement to the user interviews.

User Interviews  

Brittany

  • Mid 20’s graduate student at UC CECH - school counseling

  • Currently works with high school students, ESL learners, and undocumented students at CPS as a long-term substitute

  • Comes from a family who has an educational background

  • Chose education to help disadvantaged students

Hailey

  • First-year undergraduate student at CECH - early education

  • Babysits for her sister who has three young kids (one has a cognitive disability)

  • Used to lifeguard and teach swimming lessons to kids

  • Originally wanted to pursue secondary education however found that she enjoys working with younger kids more

John

  • First-year undergraduate student at UC CECH - secondary education

  • Enthusiastic about math and wants to “hone the finer details” of math vs. starting from scratch

  • Was a tutor to his peers in statistics where math becomes more application based

  • Interested in the future of online education

Greg

  • Second-year graduate student at CECH - school counseling

  • Bachelor’s degree in Psychology

  • His high school counselor greatly helped him after a personal tragedy

  • Currently works with students with IEPs, 504’s and other students who need extra assistance

Key Insights from Interviews

  • Incentivize students (candy, prizes, etc.)

  • Have an open mind

  • Students love sharing about themselves

  • Be flexible based on the students

  • Meet where they’re at to make them feel comfortable

  • Sell the idea/lesson to students

  • Give student autonomy

  • Personal topic to be relatable

  • Be firm to gain respect

St. Xavier High School Prototype

Before running the workshop with Upward Bound Students, the team ran a prototype workshop at St. Xavier High School. The private Catholic school is located on the west side of Cincinnati. The students at St. X were already familiar with the design thinking methodology. Through this, the team was able to gain valuable feedback that allowed them to improve their final workshop.

The Workshop:

  1. Introduction & Design Thinking Teaching

  2. Design Thinking Activity (Designing a Disney Theme Park)

    1. Introduce 1st Constraint

    2. Introduce 2nd Constraint

    3. Present “Yes and” methodology

    4. Have students present their final ideas

  3. Reflection with students on Design Thinking

  4. Q&A with team

Team photo from left to right: Colin Putman, Max Kemats, Matt Boller, Anastasia Pohlgeers, Cara Baah Binney.

Feedback from students:

“I learned to better work on a team and think outside of traditional thinking in order to creatively solve a problem ”
— Student at St. Xavier
“Helped me realize you need to start broad to go narrow; no idea is a bad idea in the beginning”
— Student at St. Xavier

Refining the Workshop

After running a successful prototype at St. Xaiver’s, the team began a two month-long refinement process. Taking a close look at what was successful and what was not. Bouncing ideas around, pulling more insights, and diving deeper into what was the end goal.

Refinement

With weekly meetings and working sessions, the team utilized their time together to improve and innovate their current workshop. The team ran several walk-throughs before doing the final workshop.

For the final workshop, the activities were divided among team members to create. A balance of group and individual work allowed for the team to be successful.

Upward Bound Design Thinking Workshop

The final workshop was held on April 22nd, 2023 at the University of Cincinnati main campus. Students from the Upward Bound Program, which aims to increase the rate at which participants enroll and complete secondary education, came in the afternoon to learn Design Thinking methodologies. The workshop was an hour and a half long and focused on real-life applications while still keeping it fun and exciting for the students.

The Workshop:

  1. Introduction & Design Thinking Teaching

  2. Design Thinking Activities

    1. “Yes and” Game (15 mins)

    2. Robot Drawings (15 mins)

    3. Good and Bad Brainstorming (25 mins) - Plan a party with friends

  3. Reflection with students on “Yes and-ers” and “No -ers”

Team photo from left to right: Max Kemats, Matt Boller, Colin Putman, Dillon Patel, Anastasia Pohlgeers, Cara Baah Binney.

Conclusion

The Upward Bound students were engaged and excited throughout the workshop. At the end of the session, a unanimous vote by the students (by a raise of hands) said they learned something new that was useful to their lives. The skills developed by these students are applicable in a wide range of disciplines.

This workshop was designed with the ability to be easily adaptable among a wide range of users. The team hopes to continue to develop the workshop for future sessions.

Acknowledgments

This project was completed through the NEXT Innovation Scholars program at the University of Cincinnati. The project was led by the University Innovation Fellows Cohort 2 made up of Lance Entsuah, Jamie Dee, Dillon Patel, and Cara Baah Binney. The team consisted of Matt Boller, Colin Putman, Anastasia Pohlgers, and Max Kemats.

Special thanks to Aaron Bradley, ST. Xavier High School, Cincinnati Upward Bound program, participants in user interviews, and UC CECH coordinators.