Learning informed by cognitive science, driven by design
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“ 9 Chapters Chocked Full of Resources
The book is organized into nine chapters. The first three chapters make the case for design thinking. (Read the Introduction and Chapter One here.) Chapter One shares an intriguing “story from the field” about Paula Dillon, the assistant superintendent for learning of the Barrington (Rhode Island) Schools who decided to experiment with the design thinking ideas.
A particularly useful section in chapter three addresses how to shift parts of the existing curriculum to design thinking without “recreating the wheel.” Chapters four through eight are devoted to design thinking’s five elements: one chapter per element. And, the conclusion builds the case for trying design thinking.
Each of the “element” chapters offers ideas for developing learning targets/objectives and ongoing checks for understanding/formative assessments. The author provides a wide variety of types of checks for understanding that fit the particular element under consideration. The chapters also contain suggested teacher and student questions.”
“Readers will find an abundance of opportunity to note, highlight and dog-ear parts of this book to map out entry points and reflection points as they shift their instruction towards design thinking for purposeful learning. This book will be resourceful at the start, in the middle, and at the end of a design cycle. I can imagine this being a great book to read and practice collaboratively alongside colleagues.
If you are interested in a pedagogical shift or want to support a department taking a new approach to purposeful learning, this book is a great way to dig into the design thinking research, learning possibilities and concrete ways to teach and engage with learners.”
Designed to Learn: Using Design Thinking to Bring Purpose and Passion to the Classroom by Lindsay Portnoy is an engaging book that speaks about experiential learning through the elements of design thinking. The book gives awareness to readers about creating learning environments that foster students’ ability to design solutions for their problems. The five elements of design thinking — understand and empathize, identify and research, communicate to ideate, prototype, and test, and iterate and reflect — are discussed. These will help student voices to become influential, using their design thinking so that their problems can be solved and they can work together towards creating a sustainable future. Every chapter in the book speaks about the importance of ongoing feedback in making learning visible and the book’s tools and techniques will help to monitor their progress in becoming successful designers and thinkers.
Designed to Learn: Using Design Thinking to Bring Purpose and Passion to the Classroom by Lindsay Portnoy is helpful in looking at the shifts that have paved the way for the changing education system. It is a good way to make educators and students work collaboratively and create a deeper inquiry for understanding. It is definitely a must-read for all tutors and educators to realize that they are now collaborators and can be innovative with their students. The tools and techniques can be understood easily and students will find these helpful when it comes to applying them in their other classes and in life outside school. The practical tips, assessments, and activities are good ways to pull in readers and help them understand how to communicate ideas, use the content to solve a problem in the community and participate accordingly using the author’s ideas.”
“Design To Learn is an absolute must for every teacher in every classroom. I’m going to go as far as saying it should be required reading for all new teachers. This book easily lays out the why and how to transform our student learning to one the centers on Process, Formative, and Creation. The learning done is goal driven, collaborative, relevant, and impactful. Lindsay Portnoy gives us easy ways to get students involved firsthand in their learning and helps teachers set up formative assessments that will support their learning growth. This book will be one you will return to often for the many useful tools provided. This book is truly a must have for all educators.”
“Designed to Learn is a must have for any modern educator. It takes design learning and not only gives the research behind this impactful curriculum, but also give practical, ready to use assessments and activities to get you on your way.”
“Amazing book for ALL! Designed to Learn clearly explains the theory and brain science behind how we learn. For educators it is a design learning bible. All new teachers should receive this book as their college graduation gift and experienced teachers should gift it to themselves to re-energize their planning! Kudos to Dr. Portnoy for her outstanding work. A well researched, easy to implement guide to how all teaching should be done!”
