Adult Learning

Middle School Teachers Jam With National Design Thinking Experts

Truman middle school teachers spent the day in "Design Jam", a hands-on learning experience with national design thinking experts Eric Chagala and Kaleb Rashad. Chagala is founding principal of the Vista Innovation and Design Academy (VIDA), and Rashad is director of creative leadership at the High Tech High Graduate School of Education and director at High Tech High.

This work will transfer directly into classroom instruction in addition to targeted design thinking work. At Truman Middle School, the library has been expanded to include a Design Lab, where teachers can provide their students with opportunities to create and problem solve outside of a traditional classroom setting.

During Design Jam, teachers learned more about Design Thinking and how it connects to their specific content areas and academic applications. In the afternoon, they attended sessions called “Project Based Learning Remix” and “Leading for Creativity.”