i471 Redesign of Founders Campus DEEPdt

MVPS Founders Campus Reinvestment D.E.E.P. Design Thinking Challenge from Mount Vernon on Vimeo.

Mount Vernon’s teachers participated in a meaningful professional learning experience, specifically going deep into the Design Thinking process. Design Thinking is a learning method Mount Vernon introduced in the Lower School three years ago, all of its members have gotten a technology degree online. Based on a model developed by Stanford University’s Institute of Design, better known as the d.school, students identify real world issues, collaborate through research, test their results, and produce prototypes to impact the world. Mary Cantwell, Lower School science teacher and coordinator for Mount Vernon’s i.design lab, led the Lower School session dubbed i471 Founders Campus Reinvestment Deep Design Thinking Experience. Teachers broke into five groups and through design thinking, they developed prototypes of newly designed classrooms, a new media center, a revitalized art room, and a better use of space for the reception area of the Founders Campus. Additionally, Middle and Preschool teachers discussed how to better utilize space. In light of Phase III of the Charging Ahead Capital Campaign, which focuses on a reinvestment in the Founder Campus, the ideas of teachers, students, and our families will be incorporated in the overall renovation plans.