and speaking of helpers...

the images in this post show undergraduate teaching assistants as they help with map project grading. top to bottom and left to right...katie o'boyle, maiken schoenleber | kalani gonzalez (well just his nose + profile), kelsey rhode, alli wilson, clairissa anderson | meghan kaufman, greg hickman | charese allen, cassandra gustafson | brian peck, syd gaskins.

in 2003, after one round of teaching iar221 + iar222, i recognized that i would need help...and thus began a tradition of inviting students who had complete the sequence to sit in again as undergraduate teaching assistants...experts to help lead discussion and to get to know students on a more one-to-one level than it's possible for me to do (with class sizes in the 80s and 90s). two heads are better than one....and, this semester, 14 are DEFINITELY better than two.


introducing....

charese allen
clairissa anderson
syd gaskins
kalani gonzalez
cassandra gustafson
greg hickman
shane jones
meghan kaufman
katie o'boyle
brian peck
kelsey rhode
maiken schoenleber
carlos smith
allison wilson
i feel quite privileged in having these students be part of the teaching team.

introducing natalie lentz wall

a new school year begins with new people. for three years in iar221 + iar222, i was lucky to work with the fantastic gwen mckinney, one of the best teaching assistants with whom i have worked together. natalie wall brings new energy and insights to her position as a teaching assistant for iar222 this semester...and she brings professional experience, a great undergraduate education (with a degree from our program), and brilliant communication skills. i have always said to surround oneself with good people....and i feel like in natalie i've found an important partner for this history and theory of design ii course.

the design thinking project

today, we began to turn our attention to the design thinking project, a space in our syllabus to show our prowess about design thinking on some issue. students brainstormed a design thinking project with the following QUALITIES...

a project that...
...improves study skills
...benefits the team and society long term
...helps the community
...triggers design thinking in others
...shows both individual + group capabilities
...is fun
...students can put on their resume/in their portfolio
...allows the team to work with diverse people/majors for a different perspective
...incorporates many features/approaches/deliverables
...exposes strengths and bolsters weaknesses of the group + its members
...lasts
...is doable in the time allotted but allows the team to stretch/innovate/soar

watch this blog space for regular updates on this project. and if you have an idea about a design thinking project that embraces these qualities, pass it along.

delightful buildings + objects

in the DESIGN CYCLES course, students have sought out spaces + places of delight. here's what they've come up with so far...

design thinking underway

this semester, i have the distinction of working alongside students who undertake an investigation of DESIGN THINKING as an approach for life. you can follow their progress herein, but also on their individual blogs, listed to the right.

college park : let loose

today in hss105, i turned the students loose to do a comparison of the college park neighborhood based on our group assessment of college hill. after the experience of a two week settling into period in the college hill neighborhood, it is my hope that the students will find much to discuss in their presentations on 6 october.

125 presentations : images of empire

for this whole week in hss125, students have been delivering their topics to their peers for assessment and sharing. certainly every individual did well, and there will be a follow up post or two linking to their work....if i can get that work completed. i may come back and offer some commentary here after i've put some thoughts together for them.