Staff Takes Part in Spring PD: Design Thinking and Visible Thinking Routines

Although the drop rotation schedule at Clarkstown North and South doesn't go into effect until September, our faculty and staff are already working on ways to maximize this shift. One such way they are doing so is through professional development sessions that focus on Design Thinking and Visible Thinking Routines—practices that originated at Stanford's d.school and Harvard's Graduate School of Education. The sessions, led by educational consultant Lisa Yokana, introduce teachers to these tools and give them actionable ways to incorporate them into their classrooms. (For example, a process called See. Think. Wonder. encourages students to slow down and really take in what they're learning, which leads to deeper connections and inquiries. )

"Teachers explored ways to design learning experiences that are more student-centered, inquiry-driven, and intentionally structured to promote deeper thinking and discourse," says Jennifer Mazza, director of STEM and technology, who adds that getting students to become critical thinkers is one of the main goals of the new schedule. "Giving our teachers strategies that they can use in their extended class times expands that work."