MIT: Initial thoughts in the design thinking process

#1 Summarise the challenge of student learning you plan to focus on in this inquiry. Be as clear and specific as you can about the evidence you have about this to date.

After such an amazing three days in the Coromandel, focusing on the design thinking process. I have spent lots of time reflecting on the next steps for my proposal. Using feedback from my MIT peers as well as further discussions with my critical friends in school I feel I am getting somewhere with my ideas. My biggest change is, I went to the Coromandel thinking my proposal would be a podcast as an outcome but upon reflection I will still be creating the podcast but this will be a method to share the voice of parents, teachers and other professionals. My actual tool for the Innovative Teacher programme will be supporting the intentional acts of teaching for Reading and Writing. 

Challenge I see in my school setting as well as across Manaiakalani:  
​'A number of learners do not make expected National Shift.' 

Intentional questioning and intentional language is a big thing I focussed on last year and this year I want to use my findings to create a resource that builds this language with the learners to grow comprehension and voice. Also, the tool will be a reflection style game where the more they grow their voice the more they gain badges in different steps. This is still in it's early stages but I feel my biggest noticing has been that when we are promoting agency and learners driving their own learning especially with digital tools, sometimes there can be a misconception that we just leave them to make their own choices but it is the complete opposite. It is the deliberate acts of teaching that help scaffold the learners to reflect on what they have achieved and notice their next steps. This is what I hope my tool will support. More to come.....