Delve into Design Thinking This Summer
Students who love a challenge have a perfect opportunity this summer to begin to understand how to approach real-world problem solving and design thinking. During the Innovation and Design course being offered from June 12 - June 22, they will learn how to be effective innovators, collaborators, communicators and presenters. The course, which is open to students entering grade 8, 9, and 10 in September, runs Monday through Thursday, from 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. on the Rivers campus.
The course, being taught by Rivers mathematics teacher Elizabeth Wendorf, will consist of two major projects, both to be completed in groups of 3-4 students. For the first project, students will work for several days on solving a real design problem on the Rivers campus.
The second project, which will comprise the rest of the course, will be a more complicated design challenge that requires a broader set of inquiries and research. The challenge will originate from a business or organization off-campus, and the group will travel there as necessary throughout the project. Students will be asked to come up with a solution to a problem the business or organization faces, including details on why and how their solution will work and how they developed the idea. At the conclusion of the course, they will be asked to present the solution to the organization in a polished and professional presentation.
While students work on these projects, class time will be split between collaborative group work on the projects and instructional workshops. The workshops will include activities that demonstrate and practice design thinking; instruction on crafting a design proposal, including interviewing, conducting market research, building prototypes and presenting information; and an examination of real-life leaders in innovation, both current and historical. Students will immediately practice their newly acquired knowledge by applying them to the current challenge.
Ms. Wendorf, who holds both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mathematics from Wesleyan University, is currently teaching a new Interdisciplinary Studies course entitled Entrepreneurship. Innovation and Design will incorporate many of the practices she is teaching in this Upper School course, which she has adapted from a summer program on designing an entrepreneurship curriculum, offered by the Hawken School in Ohio.
For more information about the Innovation and Design course, click here. Visit www.SummerAtRivers.org to see the full catalog of Summer Academic Programs, Athletic Programs, and Camps.
© 2021 The Rivers School. All Rights Reserved
Rivers admits academically qualified students and does not discriminate against students or families on the basis of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or ethnic or national origin in the administration of its educational programs, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, athletic programs, and other school-administered programs.