Discovery by Design

The challenge is this. Use Tinkercad, a 3D modeling program, and a 3D printer to fill the 2x5 inch cutouts in the student tables in Mrs. Blackley's classroom. Prototypes are often among the early steps in the design process, but like those first baby steps in our lives, they can be exhilarating and self-affirming, and can open a seam into previously unforeseen possibilities. That's how we arrived at this photo to the left.


Like most inventions, this design thinking challenge arose out of necessity. Mrs. Blackley's student tables had cutouts to provide an outlet for power cords and cables for electronic devices. A black plastic grommet insert sat on top of the cutout, providing a grooved outlet for cables. The thing is with well-charged, wireless devices these portholes were not necessary, while the grommet became a "bump" on the table.


Enter the lead design challenge team. They are the lead team, not just because they have been assigned this initial task, but they will also assume responsibilities for helping to train other fourth grade students, all of whom will receive their own design challenges this year. With guidance and instruction from Mr. Fitzpatrick, these students are contemplating how to redesign the grommet or make use of the cutout.


So in Tinkercad, they designed prototypes that improve upon the original grommet. Some prototypes sit more flush with the table surface, so there's less of a bump. Some took advantage of the cutout and used it as storage. Another iteration looked at building up from the hole, rather than concealing its presence, to create a fashionable school supply organizer. For students today, the possibilities are endless, when they believe they can pursue them. In the end, this challenge is indicative of learning in schools today that is meaningful to students and elicit their best efforts out of the sheer desire to achieve a measure of success that they have a hand in defining. - Paul Tomizawa

Edgewood's Library Learning Commons

Roosevelt Place view.

The Edgewood Library is currently undergoing a structural makeover, but when it emerges from drop cloths and protective sheetrock, it will be remade as our Library Learning Commons. The term "learning commons" dates back to the 1990s as higher ed began to rethink the purpose of the library and how it meets the needs of today's learners. Today's learning commons have been influenced by the thinking of a number of educators and librarians, including most recently David Loertscher, who view the library as the heart of the school community.

It is a creative space for participatory learning where teachers and students collaborate, design, and build in flexible learning spaces. The learning commons provides the school community with access to information, by way of traditional media (books, photos, magazines, etc) and archives. It provides spaces for small and whole group discussion and collaboration, as well as quiet spaces where learners can immerse themselves in the joy of reading, writing, and making.

Thoughtful and comfortable in
Mrs. Blackley's room.

The task of designing the Edgewood Library Learning Commons will rest with the students and staff of Edgewood school. In the coming months, we'll invite them to participate in conversations on how physical and virtual space impacts student and professional learning. This, however, is not a new conversation. Last year, we began these discussions using a district Center for Innovation grant to examine flexible learning spaces through our use of Room 18, which became a laboratory for reconfiguring classroom space. Since then, teachers have been busy reworking their own classrooms. More to come. - Paul Tomizawa

Mrs. Theall's students surveying library construction

Redesigning Room 18: A CfI Grant

Room 18 Grant

What Could we do with Room 18? It’s what we’re asking of Edgewood students and teachers. Take an empty classroom and contemplate the use of space. Remove the classic classroom structures and redesign the room to encourage contemporary thoughts on learning and teaching.

Room 18, which was formerly used as a classroom, has become our laboratory for experimental thinking on instructional redesign. The lead research team includes Marilyn Blackley (4th grade), Matthew Fitzpatrick (art), Lisa Forte (music), and Paul Tomizawa (technology). The team is supported by Dr. Scott Houseknecht and William Yang, along with other staff.

Our goal, with the support of a Center for Innovation grant, is to use this space to springboard ideas that seek to re-envision existing classrooms and prompt thinking on how space impacts teaching and learning. Room 18 is an environment that will provide flexible learning spaces and materials to help us develop collaborative and problem solving skills.

It’s where, through the principles of Design Thinking, we can research and tackle problems, whether they are located globally or in our own classrooms. It’s where teachers and students can imagine the potential inside their own classrooms.

Teachers are perpetually intrigued with reconfiguring their rooms, for the sake of igniting student activity, but the exercise of moving and removing pieces of furniture, often leaves teachers faced with the dread of eliminating the structures that support a longstanding curriculum.

Our hope is that Room 18 becomes the antidote to that dread, providing a sandbox for redesigning classroom space and curriculum experiences, while better meeting the needs of today’s diverse learners. Our hope is that this space is where teachers and students will come to be inspired, using the tools and materials they will need to some day contemplate the question: “What could we do with our own classroom?” -- Paul Tomizawa