IMPROVE PHYSICAL HEALTH FOR ALL STUDENTS

What is Design Thinking?

Design Thinking is about believing we Design Thinking gives you faith in your Design Thinking is:
can make a difference, and having an creative abilities and a process for human-centered
intentional process in order to get to transforming di cult challenges into collaborative
new, relevant solutions that create opportunities for design. optimistic
positive impact. experimental Welcome to the
Designer’s Workbook.
This workbook includes
step-by-step instructions for
completing a design challenge
This Workbook can support any Design Challenge you using the design thinking process.
this workbook is a quickstart guide
want to tackle. Though, as a class, we are choosing to the design thinking process and
challenges that support the following “users”: is best used in combination with
the design thinking toolkit.

The Design Thinking Toolkit

contains in-depth instructions and
explanations as highlighted by
ESL/ELD Students Dev. Ed. Students Grade 9 Students each step in this workbook the
toolkit also provides you with
As a ESL/ELD magnet, We have two full classes of It’s a big transformation to
examples of how some people
approximately 20% of our Development Education go from grade 8 to grade 9
have been using design thinking
school is made up of this students taught by Mrs. - what are some ways you
in their work.
population. How are their Vasic and Mrs. Tostik. can help improve this
needs different? transition.
The Design Thinking Toolkit can
be found on our Class Website.

Teachers/Staff Mental Health Pop. Other?

The staff at FHCI are a It is estimated that 1 in 5 Can you think of another
huge part of what makes Canadians will experience small group of people at
the school run - how are a mental illness throughout FHCI whose life at school
their needs different than their lifetime. What can you you would like to improve?
the students’? What can do to help these people? Check with your teacher
you do to help them? before you move forward.
Hello Designer!
Whether this is your first design
project or your fiftieth, you are
taking a brave step to address
challenges in your classroom,
school or community by designing
new solutions that build from
people’s needs and desires.
Exciting!

This workbook is meant to help

you structure your process and
capture your thoughts. Use it how
it best helps you... you can use
some of the methods or all of the
methods, it’s up to you.

First step... define your challenge

and create a project plan.

What’s in this Section

0-1 Define a Challenge
0-2 Create a Project Plan
0–3 Create a Project Plan
Dreams and Gripe Session
Finding opportunities for design often begins by noticing
problems. Sometimes it comes out as wishes (“I really wish our
school had _____.”) Sometimes it comes out as complaints (“It
annoys me that we’re not ______.”) Either starting point is fine. Next, flip these statements into possible design challenges. Begin
You might want to try this with a friend… share your dreams and your question with “How might we…” or “HMW” for short. This
gripes and ask them to reflect back design opportunities. turns the problems you see into opportunities for design!

- Intramurals at lunch - Ask Phys Ed. Teachers and coaches how

- Bring back gym memberships downstairs intramurals could be improved
- Bring back Trojan Triathlon - Sell Gym Memberships at the beginning of
- Free healthy snacks each semester for a reasonable price
- Overall improved physical health throughout - Free healthy snacks are paid for by the gym
the school memberships
- Encourage students to join teams and attend - Have pep rallies and themed sporting games
sporting events (white out, neon, etc.)
- Create sporting clubs for students who don’t - Advertise gym memberships
play on teams - Talk to coaches about creating tournament
- Fitness Clubs/Classes at lunch teams that don’t play is WCSSAA (ex:
- Incorporate DC physical activities Lacrosse, Ultimate Frisbee, Powerlifting,
Boxing, etc)

- Physical Health of Students

- Increased numbers at intramurals and
sporting events
Sketch out the End Goal(s) Establish Constraints
What will I work to produce? What constraints will I need to manage?

❏ Overall healthier lifestyle for students ❏ Limited time

❏ More people engaged in the schools athletics ❏ Teacher support
❏ Have event that promotes physical health (Ex: ❏ Money
Triathlon, Relay for Life, Colour Run, Etc.) ❏ Student participation
❏ Create Clubs for students who don’t make teams
(Ex: Basketball Club, Volleyball Club, etc.)

Define Indicators of Success

What measures and indicators will help me know my ideas are successful?

❏ More students getting involved at sporting events ❏

❏ People take advantage of our activities
❏ Improved Healthy lifestyle of students
❏ Which improves mental health
Write a Brief
Write up a short “brief” that clarifies the challenge you’d like to
address. Write it as if you were handing it to someone else to design
with. Capture thoughts on why this is a problem, and what the
opportunity for design will be.

How Might WE!

Capture the design challenge you’ve decided to work on...

How can we improve the physical health of students at

FHCI?

TIP!
Keep the challenge simple and
optimistic. Make it broad enough to
allow you to discover areas of
unexpected value, and narrow enough
to make the topic manageable.
The Design Thinking process is flexible and can integrate into your Project Checklist
school structure and timing. The process can be run in a day, a week, a What do you need to get in place to enable you to get started on this
year, or more. What you put into the challenge determines what you project? Do you need to align schedules to conduct a challenge on a
get out of it. The depth of insight, opportunity areas, and level of professional development day? Do you need to book space or request
concept refinement and impact will vary depending on the length of materials? Who do you want help from?
your project For now, choose the timeline you’d like to begin working
with. After getting started on the project, you may find that you’ll want
to evolve this plan to meet the needs of your design solutions. ❏ ❏

In a Day In a Week or Two Spread out over Months

Sketch your Timeline

Create a timeline for your project. What are major dates you’ll be working
toward? Do you need a prototype to be ready for use after summer break?
Do you want to share learnings at parent-teacher night or pitch your
concept to the school board? Consider deadlines, meetings, and interim
check-in dates.
Great!

You have now defined a

design challenge to
create new solutions for,
and have sketched a work
plan for you and your
team.

Now you are ready to

move on to the first
phase of the design
process... Discovery.

What’s in this Section

1–1 Understand the Challenge
1–2 Prepare Research
1–3 Gather Inspiration
Review the Challenge Share What you Know
What are some things your team identified about the What do you believe you already know about this challenge? What
current design challenge? Capture key thoughts, would you like to learn more about? Capture your assumptions and
constraints, and barriers from the discussion your questions.

➔ ➔

Did your group rewrite the challenge after your discussion?

If so, capture it here.
Build your Team Define your Audience
Who is on your team? Who are core members and who are Who will you be designing for? Consider the core audience and
extended members? Through your discussion, what did you extended audience. Draw a visual reminder
determine about the roles that people will play and the
unique goals that you each have?
Identifying Sources of Inspiration Identifying Places of Inspiration
Who are all the people involved in your topic? Who might Where can you go to have an inspiring experience related to your
represent extreme behaviours related to your topic? Which challenge? What are analogous settings or extreme experiences
experts do you want to meet with to learn more about your where you might witness similar or relevant behaviours and activities
topic? List the candidates that you think will provide the in a different context? List as many locations as you can and highlight
most inspirational and highlight 3-5 that you want to 3-5 that you are most excited to observe first.
engage with first.

➔ ➔
Select Research Participants
Who specifically do you want to talk to and learn from?
Create detailed descriptions for at least 3 different users or
sources of inspiration. Be sure to cover a variety of gender,
experiences, ethnicity, etc.
Build a Question Guide: Interview
What do you want to learn to better understand the
challenge at hand? What are you hoping to understand
about people’s motivations and frustrations? What do you
want to learn about their activities?

What are some specific questions you can What are some questions that can help you What are some ways you might be able to dig deeper in the conversation to find even more of
ask to open the conversation? start to understand this person’s hopes, the perspective this person has?
➔ fears, and ambitions?
➔
➔
 ❏
Preparing for Fieldwork
Assign responsibilities before going into the field. Who is in
charge of confirming date, time, and location of the
research activities? Who is responsible for making sure you
have all the necessary equipment? Who will take the lead in
interviewing? In documenting?
 As you are Interviewing,
TIP! capture what you see and hear during a field visit. Capture direct quotes. Separate
Inspiration Notes Fill this out your observations from your interpretations so that you know what you saw and what
for each you thought it meant for that person. Look for work-arounds and adaptations people
have made to make a system to serve their needs better such as books stacked under
interview! a laptop to make the screen a better height for viewing.

➔ ➔
 As you are Interviewing,
TIP! capture what you see and hear during a field visit. Capture direct quotes. Separate
Inspiration Notes Fill this out your observations from your interpretations so that you know what you saw and what
for each you thought it meant for that person. Look for work-arounds and adaptations people
have made to make a system to serve their needs better such as books stacked under
interview! a laptop to make the screen a better height for viewing.

➔ ➔