By Barbara Soblo
So you’ve made it to high school and have become a member of our RedHawk family- Congratulations! You’re one year closer to being an adult, being self sufficient and being able to make all your own decisions. But best of all, you enrolled in Studio D and that’s something to really celebrate! You made a great choice to join Studio D! The teachers are going to guide you through a design process that will help you learn about yourself, learn about your world, and create spectacular work. In our classroom, good is just the starting point. We don't settle for the norm; we push beyond to make something new and exciting. Our students get opportunities that few other high school students do; we are truly on the leading edge of education innovation. As your teachers, our job is to create a culture of open and respectful communication that will both challenge and support you while you work toward independence and making a difference in the world around you. As students, your job is to be present, open-minded, and engaged each day. You are at the beginning of a new life stage, a new school, and a new learning experience, so get ready to jump in! I know you probably have a few questions about what we do & who we are. Well, read on my curious friend, and I’ll do my best to give you some straight talk about what Studio D is, and what Studio D isn’t.
STUDIO D IS different from other
classrooms you’ve been in.
We strongly
believe that school is the real world and that trying to separate the two is
impossible. We are passionate about
project based learning and design thinking.
The methods we use in Studio D are proven to develop critical thinking,
confidence, and leadership and to prepare our students for whatever the future
brings. As student designers, you’ll collaborate
with experts beyond our classroom walls in order to find new solutions to real
problems. For many of the challenges we
set, you’ll interview people through email, phone calls, and face to face
meetings in order to benefit from their expertise and share ideas. Forget the notion that your school work is
seen only by teachers and parents. We
believe that in order to do authentic work, you must have a public audience; this
means your final designs will go beyond our classroom walls, too. This certainly ups the stakes! In here, we never settle for good enough
because our name and reputation are on everything we do. Through our creative design process and a
classroom culture of excellence, you will learn how to design and create unique
products to meet real world needs.
STUDIO D IS sometimes noisy and
messy.
In
our classroom, you get to speak up about what you know and what questions you
have; this is the first stage of learning in our design process! Our students come up with the questions that
lead us through the content together.
The end stage involves students explaining solutions they’ve designed
and why they best fit the challenge. You
will present your work to the public, but first you will practice by presenting
your designs to each other. A big part
of Studio D is critique and revision of our work. Students learn to look with a critical eye in
order to provide meaningful and honest feedback. As teachers, we believe we are smarter and
more creative designers when we work together as a team. We all have strengths we bring to the
table. Our design challenges are set up
so that each person adds value to the team.
Our process sets the framework for and facilitates building these
dynamic teams. By creating a culture of respect and cooperation, Studio D will
help move you further than you thought you could go. Your job is to be open to the mind blowing
experience of expanding your world view through this type of collaboration.
STUDIO D ISN’T a pat on the back or
a prize for every piece of paper you scribble on.
Our
design process emphasizes high quality work and the idea that the product can
always be improved. The journey to this
level isn't quick or easy; to finish with an end product that has lasting
value, many drafts get left behind. The
process of designing never stops; this is how design works in the real
world. Just look at one innovation near
and dear to your heart- the computer.
The first computers took up an entire rooms and having a bug in your
program was a literal thing. Today, most
of us have a smartphone with us every day, which is basically a computer in
your pocket. And while the phones of
today are pretty cool pieces of technology, the designers haven’t stopped
working to improve the design. In Studio
D we’re going to introduce you to our five design stages: Gather, Glean,
Generate, Gauge and Go! This process is
really the heart of what we do. Get rid
of that notion of a rough draft, a few edits, then a finished product and
you’re done. Sometimes you might present
a seventh draft, and it’s still not ready for a public audience. That's ok, because it always centers on the
product we're creating, not on the person who's creating it.
STUDIO D ISN’T easy.
We’re
going to ask you to come up with solutions that haven’t been designed yet. This isn’t a cookie cutter classroom where
teachers give you all the steps to come up with the same finished product that
everyone else has already achieved. We
expect you to blow us away with your creative solutions - ideas we didn’t
imagine when designing the challenge.
I’ve seen amazing work from students that left me speechless; I have no
doubt that will happen this year, too.
Being innovative isn’t easy, but don’t worry. As teacher innovators ourselves, we get
that. We’ll be working right beside you
everyday helping guide you and push you to keep those creative juices flowing.
STUDIO D IS life changing.
As
part of Studio D, I’ve seen students work harder and create more than they ever
thought they could. I’ve seen student
teams do amazing things when I wasn’t sure they’d get off the ground. But when the work matters to the students,
they show incredible drive and passion, and never settle for mediocre. As teachers, we believe in designing
challenges that have relevance and that students can relate to. As part of Studio D, I’ve watched students
present their work in front of an auditorium full of their peers, families, and
community members and confidently lead question and answer sessions. These students worked with me, cried with me,
fought with me, and laughed with me. But they all came in to Studio D just like
you. They weren’t really sure what to
expect from this kind of environment, but they all jumped in with both feet. Watching them gain confidence, expand their
minds, and imagine new possibilities for what they could become changed me
forever. I look forward to watching you
take on Studio D challenges this year- I know I’m not done changing. I look forward to an amazing new year with
you!
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