Innovations and insights from the workshop in Finland in September 2023

At the onset of September, under the vibrant colours of the Finnish autumn, we came together to ponder a new dimension of teaching: teachers as designers.

Participants – teachers from Finland, Denmark, and Spain – approached the subject with curiosity and enthusiasm. The initial step was a team canvas exercise, each bringing forth their unique perspective and experience. This laid the foundation for our journey towards a new kind of teaching.

We focused on 12 key design thinking mindsets, delving deeply into them. The discussions opened up new insights into how these ways of conceptualizing design can enliven and enrich the teaching world. Among other things, we discussed how design thinking intersects with the fundamental principles of teaching and learning.

The workshop’s goal was not only to select the right mindsets but also to truly understand the daily work of a teacher and to consider how these could be practically applied in teaching. For instance, we pondered how teachers can better understand their students, even without a common language. We utilized design methods such as “Crazy 8” and “How might we” to really get the out of the box ideas from participants during the workshop. 

Our discussions emphasized that there is always room for new, creative approaches to teaching. At the end of the workshop, we selected the five most important mindsets and considered innovative ways for teachers to incorporate design methods into their teaching in the future. We opened our minds to really find new and innovative ways to learn and develop the mindsets. List of development methods were long, and we had a good discussion and planning what should be our selected methods to support the list of five most important mindsets which we found to be: 

• Empathy
• Collaboration, Diversity and Openness
• Creative Experimental Thinking
• Uncertainty, Ambiguity and Risk
• Reframe Challenges. 

We are excited about what the future holds. Our work continues with the project group and the first sketch of our prototype is on our table. We are targeting to have the first prototype ready by the end of the year and testing with teachers what will happen after that. Feedback from the teachers is essential for us and we are looking forward to hearing about their experiences in the early 2024!