One of Open Way Learning’s primary support tools is the facilitation of Design Sprints using the principles and key features of the human centered design process. Starting with focus groups and empathy mapping, we help education stakeholders get the insights needed to define the problem, ideate and prioritize potential solutions, and then prototype and test ideas with their primary users - in most cases, students. Examples include a student-led design sprint to bring more authentic and equitable student voice to a middle school in Wilmington, NC; a district-wide initiative to “rethink time” (calendar, schedules, etc.) for it’s schools in Lincoln County, NC; a learner-centered effort to design the systems and supports needed as a school in Wellington, CO moves into a state-of-the-art facility; and work with principals in the Richland Two district (SC) to bring a stronger, learner-centered culture across more schools, for more students.

Too often STEM efforts feel exclusionary to non-science, math, and technology educators and students. Many schools also find that makerspaces they have tend to be intimidating for students and teachers not proficient with technology and coding. Open Way Learning works to break down these barriers by helping schools design inviting spaces where creativity, tinkering, and failure are essential components that are integrated into all curricular areas. For example, we hold routine workshops in partnership with the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching to help all teachers embrace a “Strategies That Engage Minds” approach to STEM and makerspaces. This work has led to more intense, district-wide Maker Culture work in other schools and districts in North Carolina and beyond.

Change can be hard, especially if you have never experienced what you are striving for. This is the premise behind Open Way Learning’s work with partner districts in New England to create “summer bridge” projects that allow teachers and students to work together in a lower-stakes environment to co-design and then facilitate engaging Project Based Learning experiences. By shrinking the change, we help stakeholders see the engagement and deep learning that’s possible when students are able to be difference makers in their local communities. One such example is a partnership with the Cohasset Center for Student Coastal Research, where OWL personnel are helping teachers in six local schools design summer experiences that are based on the HQPBL framework and can be leveraged and scaled in their own classrooms and schools.