students learn to empathize with the intended
student audience in an iterative way. Googling
“CEP 817 Big Kahuna” will provide you with
several excellent examples of this project, many
of which are currently in use revolutionizing
MAET graduates’ classrooms.
In our face-to-face sequence of integrated
courses, design thinking is introduced early and
emphasized across all projects. However, one
activity in particular demonstrates how we empower
our students as producers and designers,
while also pushing them to think beyond their
comfort zones and tackle big ideas. This is the
“design challenge.” Starting in the first week,
three groups of six students are given a complex
topic in education (e.g., how to get students to
read more deeply on the Web) for which to design
a solution. After 30 minutes of open-ended
brainstorming, each group is asked to pick their
best potential solution, and then provide enough
details to pitch their solution to the other groups
in 30 more minutes.