Course : Design Thinking for Innovation

Reflection: Visualization applied in teacher commitment meeting

Challenge & Selection

I am Karla, a mathematics teacher in a private grammar school in Abidjan, the city capital of Côte

d’Ivoire. In our teaching activities, we have to solve often problems about the curricula, pedagogy,

teaching content and bests practices, etc. Consequently, the commitment of mathematics teacher

takes meetings once per month in order to reflect about the current teaching challenges and take

decisions helping each one to be effective with teaching materials, approaches and learners.

To lead these meetings, we often use Visualization as tool of design thinking. Indeed,

Visualization is “an approach for identifying, organizing, and communicating in ways that

improves work processes and focuses on bringing an idea to life, simplifying team collaboration”

(Jeanne Liedtka and Tim Ogilvie, 2011).

Our approach is to identify the key points included in our pedagogic practice in order to overcome

the challenge of productivity, excellence and sharing best practices with colleagues, learners and

other administrative stakeholders in our school as opportunity.

Application

In our commitment room, a blank board is used in each reunion to write the own observations

about our teaching approach and identify the ways to solve the gaps by a thinking process including

factors having effect on the academic excellence issues.

Often, this blank board is more used for the brainstorming when we must solve a serious problem.

In this case, the board is divided in three columns corresponding to students, teachers, and

administrative workforce.

Then, the brainstorming is led by a series of question:

Assignment: Design thinking refection                    October 2020

- What is the problem?

- What are the facts?

- What are our responsibilities?

- What must we do in order to solve it?

- What are the evaluations criteria of improvement?

Each teacher participating in the reunion gives his point of view and together we identify the key

strategy to overcome the current challenge.

For example, in the beginning of October 2016, we organized our first reunion about the courses

contents, curricula and year strategy to empower learners in our class regarding the academic aim

of our School and the National Education Ministry policy. Indeed, all the members of the

mathematics commitment were organized in 3 groups of teachers: First cycle class, second cycle

class, exams classes. Each group should make reflections about its field.

In the room, the blank board was used to summarize the key ideas regarding the responsibility of

each actor in the productivity of our school this year. In this context, the visualization helps to

build our first graphic or strategy mapping to develop the pedagogy, class management, teaching

material using etc. At the end of the meeting, we digitalize the observations in a workbook, and

the strategy on a poster and a report has been shared to the Administrative chief of the grammar

school.

Insight & Approach

In our teaching evaluation procedure, the visualization helps each one to identify the key

challenges regarding the situations, materials and facts that the teachers need to overcome in order

to reach good results with learners. It is like a good mean allowing to share experiences about

student’s difficulties; underlining teachers & administrative leader’s rules, rights and duties to

solve the problem of excellence; increase the student’s results and extern relationships with

stakeholders like parents, education ministry, Professional Corporation etc. In our mathematics

commitment room, the result of each meeting allows us to make a specific graphic showing

clearing the way to be effective with learners and underline the goals and strategies we need to use

in our class and the stakeholder.

Assignment: Design thinking refection                    October 2020

In this course, I can say that the visualization as tool of design thinking is a good approach because

our experience with this tool produces a graphic source of great results: Identify the teaching

problems, underline the potential causes, Pedagogy harmonization by sharing best practices, and

the resolution regarding each stakeholder task, the school policy.

Personally, I think that each time a teacher, administrator, student or someone else enters in our

meeting room, the graphic allows to the visitor to identify himself on the papers, understand is rule

as actors of education and the goal of excellence justifying our pedagogic approach as math

teachers. This tool is a guide showing the way to follow in order to overcome academic challenges,

lead the meeting of our mathematic commitment, and motivate each one.

In both business and individuals approach to solve problem, the visualization can produce good

results and allow individuals, group of people and the stakeholders to understand more the causes

of a problem, brainstorm to find solution and have access to the key conclusion on the graphic.

The alternative approach can be also mind mapping or storytelling to generate and best strategy

for sustainable development of communities.


Course : Design Thinking for Innovation Reflection : Visualization applied in teacher commitment meeting Challenge & Selection I am Karla , a mathematics teacher in a private grammar school in Abidjan , the city capital of Côte d’Ivoire . In our teaching activities , we have to solve often problems about the curricula , pedagogy , teaching content and bests practices , etc . Consequently , the commitment of mathematics teacher takes meetings once per month in order to reflect about the current teaching challenges and take decisions helping each one to be effective with teaching materials , approaches and learners . To lead these meetings , we often use Visualization as tool of design thinking . Indeed , Visualization is “ an approach for identifying , organizing , and communicating in ways that improves work processes and focuses on bringing an idea to life , simplifying team collaboration ” ( Jeanne Liedtka and Tim Ogilvie , 2011 ) . Our approach is to identify the key points included in our pedagogic practice in order to overcome the challenge of productivity , excellence and sharing best practices with colleagues , learners and other administrative stakeholders in our school as opportunity . Application In our commitment room , a blank board is used in each reunion to write the own observations about our teaching approach and identify the ways to solve the gaps by a thinking process including factors having effect on the academic excellence issues . Often , this blank board is more used for the brainstorming when we must solve a serious problem . In this case , the board is divided in three columns corresponding to students , teachers , and administrative workforce . Then , the brainstorming is led by a series of question : Assignment : Design thinking refection October 2020 - What is the problem ? - What are the facts ? - What are our responsibilities ? - What must we do in order to solve it ? - What are the evaluations criteria of improvement ? Each teacher participating in the reunion gives his point of view and together we identify the key strategy to overcome the current challenge . For example , in the beginning of October 2016 , we organized our first reunion about the courses contents , curricula and year strategy to empower learners in our class regarding the academic aim of our School and the National Education Ministry policy . Indeed , all the members of the mathematics commitment were organized in 3 groups of teachers : First cycle class , second cycle class , exams classes . Each group should make reflections about its field . In the room , the blank board was used to summarize the key ideas regarding the responsibility of each actor in the productivity of our school this year . In this context , the visualization helps to build our first graphic or strategy mapping to develop the pedagogy , class management , teaching material using etc . At the end of the meeting , we digitalize the observations in a workbook , and the strategy on a poster and a report has been shared to the Administrative chief of the grammar school . Insight & Approach In our teaching evaluation procedure , the visualization helps each one to identify the key challenges regarding the situations , materials and facts that the teachers need to overcome in order to reach good results with learners . It is like a good mean allowing to share experiences about student ’s difficulties ; underlining teachers & administrative leader ’s rules , rights and duties to solve the problem of excellence ; increase the student ’s results and extern relationships with stakeholders like parents , education ministry , Professional Corporation etc . In our mathematics commitment room , the result of each meeting allows us to make a specific graphic showing clearing the way to be effective with learners and underline the goals and strategies we need to use in our class and the stakeholder . Assignment : Design thinking refection October 2020 In this course , I can say that the visualization as tool of design thinking is a good approach because our experience with this tool produces a graphic source of great results : Identify the teaching problems , underline the potential causes , Pedagogy harmonization by sharing best practices , and the resolution regarding each stakeholder task , the school policy . Personally , I think that each time a teacher , administrator , student or someone else enters in our meeting room , the graphic allows to the visitor to identify himself on the papers , understand is rule as actors of education and the goal of excellence justifying our pedagogic approach as math teachers . This tool is a guide showing the way to follow in order to overcome academic challenges , lead the meeting of our mathematic commitment , and motivate each one . In both business and individuals approach to solve problem , the visualization can produce good results and allow individuals , group of people and the stakeholders to understand more the causes of a problem , brainstorm to find solution and have access to the key conclusion on the graphic . The alternative approach can be also mind mapping or storytelling to generate and best strategy for sustainable development of communities .