Fauquier High School is a large public school in Warrenton, Va. With its multiple buildings, it feels more like a college campus than a high school. The layout makes it difficult for the school community to connect. In 2017, school officials went in search of a solution that would help students and staff feel a greater sense of community.

One educator drew inspiration from an unusual place: the school’s front lobby and hallways.

George Murphy is a science educator at Fauquier and realized that while he couldn’t change the structure of the buildings, he could work with students to design a space that builds community. He noticed the bare walls along the main lobby where school faculty members and students gathered each morning and saw a blank template ripe for innovation.

Murphy’s idea: create an interdisciplinary mural.

The mural would be a living timeline to visually document the tremendous amount of knowledge acquired within the school’s walls. Murphy’s AP biology students started in the lobby by representing their learning through rich visual imagery chronologically across the physical space.

Each department added its own contributions, and soon scientifically accurate models of the ocean’s layers emerged alongside images of historical figures and the technologies driving each innovation.

Originally published in the Washington Post, read the entire article here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2019/10/08/what-is-design-thinking-why-does-it-belong-classrooms/