Category Archives: Design

1st Post, Design, Middle School, Self-Study

Team Building

2 Comments

I started teaching in graduate school. That’s according to my resume. In truth, I started teaching way before that. My introduction to professional teaching happened at the J Robinson Intensive Wrestling Camp when I was just 18 years old. There are no real words to describe this camp – it’s something that has to be experienced. I can use the words tough, grinding, pain, growth, doubt, fear…but those are ultimately just black marks on the screen. This camp, which I first experienced as a camper, was easily one of the most challenging things that I volunteered for in my life. Continue reading Team Building →

Art, Design, Humanities, Interdiciplinary, Math, Middle School, Science, Social Emotional, Social Justice, Technology

Global Shift

3 Comments

The news ruined my curriculum planning.

Peace

My plan was to continue our medieval Humanities studies by learning more about Feudalism and Christianity in Europe for the remainder of the second quarter. Then, after Winter Break, we would dive in to the origins of Islam and study the Middle East.  But the news of the bombings in France could not be ignored. Continue reading Global Shift →

Design, Interdiciplinary, Lower School, Middle School, Professional Development, Upper School

Designing for Innovation

Leave a comment

What do you get when you bring together faculty teams from each division and frame mission-focused inquiry around a design thinking framework? You get our first successful Innovation Institute. Over a five-day period this summer, a diverse group of faculty came together to explore the concept of time and how it impacts teaching and learning at LREI. With facilitation by designers from the School of Visual Arts Design for Social Innovation program (@InquiringMonica and @playlabinc), the participants explored how a design thinking mindset can be used to forward our mission through the cultivation of empathy connected to purposeful action. Within in this framework, participants identified questions connected to problems whose solution will have a positive institutional impact on our work and culture. Continue reading Designing for Innovation →

Design, Middle School, Professional Development

Big Time: Prototype 1 (a video)

Video 2 Comments

As part of the first Innovation Institute, our middle school cohort consisting of Susannah, Sherezada, Dave and Matt took on the challenge designing the weekly block of time that will be designated for individual student exploration.  Our initial prototyping dealt with testing out the process through which students will determine their topic of exploration.  We brought in 3 middle school students to test our initial ideas. Here is a video recap:


You can view our slide show presentation here.