Fleming, Leff, and Megan Pacheco. “What the Hack?” New Tech Network, Chicago. 24 July 2015. Workshop
Note: This link will only work if you’re logged into Echo. Sorry, non-New Tech readers. If you want to contact the presenters, you can try tweeting them at @leeafleming and @mpacheco11.
Challenges and Pitfalls of Change Efforts:
- solutionitis – inflamed, too many solutions
- jumping to solution implementation before unpacking it, the quick fix
- overplanning, underdiagnosis
- can lead to change fatigue and risk aversion
- confirmation bias – looking only for the YES in the feedback loop and not the NO’s
Hackers
- know systems deeply
- try several things – persistence
- innovate
- set up low stake tests to try out new ideas
Hacket Tips:
- Chunk it down
- Think outside the box
- Use small tests
- Shift your mindset – learn, not plan
Recommended Reads:
- Little Bets: How Breakthrough Ideas Emerge from Small Discoveries by Peter Sims
- Change by Design by Tim Brown
- Learning to Improve by the Carnegie Foundation
Teachers are constantly problem solving. They are also role players in broader solutions that affect the whole school. A hacker’s approach to problem solving could help stakeholders solve problems in innovative and tested ways.
Preparation Steps
- Find a problem connected to student learning that is worth solving
- Research and brainstorm solutions related to the problem
- Research and brainstorm ways to gather data that test various solutions
Early Implementation Steps
- Trial solutions and gather data on their effectiveness from students and other methods
Advanced Implementation Steps
- Collaborate with students and teachers to identify problems worth hacking at and to brainstorm, test and refine possible solutions
- Research and use design processes such as human centered design or the reflection research process to develop, test, and refine solutions
- Assemble a design team with a common problem and develop a solution by taking IDEO’s free human centered design course