Teaching Design and Innovation Online: An Objectives-Driven and Empathy-Focused Approach

I work with faculty that support student innovators, so I’ve been hearing about the challenges faculty are experiencing moving design and innovation classes to online. In a recent webinar, Teaching Design and Innovation Online, I discussed this topic with Raja Schaar from Drexel University and Nathaniel Stern from University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. Following the webinar we shared the recording and a resource list of tools and approaches to support collaboration, teamwork, and hands-on design and prototyping. 

However, through our conversation it became clear that seeking the tools and approaches that enable us to teach the way we have always taught is not sufficient. We need to broaden the aperture, and overhaul the design of our classes based on objectives rather than activities. We also need to bring into focus the more critical, and yet more intangible challenges of emotionally supporting our students, and acknowledging and addressing the inequities and injustices many of our students are experiencing.

Rethink, Redesign, and Reframe Based on Objectives

“You can’t just keep doing what you’ve done before,” explained Stern. Rather, faculty need to strip away activities and requirements and get back to the specific skills and approaches they are trying to teach. “There are two key things students learn in college: how to navigate complex systems and how to make complex decisions. They still get to do that in this virtual space.”

Like Stern, Schaar also redesigned her class based on specific skills she deemed critical, and she had to help her students reframe how they were thinking about their classes. She explained, “Students are mourning what they have lost, especially the tangibles like making. I needed to counsel them and encourage reflection around the importance of the skills they are learning.” For Schaar, the constraints of the online environment have caused skills like resilience, persistence, and creativity to flourish among her students. For example, one of her students figured out how to apply for funding from the university to pay for the fabrication of parts from SendCutSend; another designed a process for testing prototypes that involved sending a description to her peers/testers of how to construct and test her prototype using readily available materials. 

Balance the Use of Different Teaching Modalities

Along with redesigning based on key objectives, there’s also a need to revise what class time means. “I know of several colleagues that held three-hour lectures on Zoom while others went completely asynchronous,” Stern explained. Stern, Schaar, and our webinar attendees all agreed a mix of modalities is key. Short lectures (Stern opts for five minutes or less, other attendees record lectures of up to 15 minutes) are pre-recorded and links are provided to assignments. 

Flexible office hours provide one-on-one support and help to accommodate time-zone differences. Synchronous time is then reserved for checking in. “I polled my students to ask about the optimal amount of time per week to meet synchronously,” explained Schaar. “It was pretty clear they only wanted or needed to see me for 45 minutes per week, just to check in and get help.” 

During synchronous check-ins, also consider the inclusion of breakout groups, which is a helpful approach if the class is large or if you want students to work in teams. However, as you plan your breakout, ensure you build in sufficient time for the small group activity you have in mind. And if in doubt, keep in mind Stern’s rule of thumb: “If I’m bored, they’re bored; if I’m interested, they might be.”

Consider Students’ Social-Emotional Needs

For Schaar, check-in time is as much about social-emotional support as it is about helping students complete their projects. “It’s important to give students time to mourn, complain, vent, and let it out. This is very different from how we usually teach class.” One structured and low-lift way to do that is through polling. Tools like Zoom have polling built into the platform, making it easy to construct and run a poll at the start of the class. 

Another alternative that allows you to check in with students and build community is “stokes”, which are better known by some as icebreakers or warm-ups. Stern tends to have two stokes at the start of every class: one Energy Stoke and one Empathy Stoke. Energy Stokes are focused on creating energy and getting people out of their seats. Some of Stern’s favorites are Silly Yoga Pose (Students make up name for a silly yoga pose and everyone has to do it); Rock-Paper-Scissors (Do Rock-Paper-Scissors with someone on camera that you are assigned to); and Silent Dance Party (Mute and have a silent dance party). 

Empathy Stokes give students an opportunity to feel seen and heard, and to care for one another. Depending on class size, these may happen in breakouts or with the whole class. Some examples include SSGN (Share Some Good News); Up, Down, Forward (Tell me something up, tell me something down, tell me something you’re looking forward to); Finish that sentence (e.g. The best part of my week is…). A whole host of Zoom-friendly stokes are here.

Understand and Accommodate Inequities

By tapping into the social-emotional needs of the class, Schaar and Stern have been able to get a window into the specific challenges students are encountering and are better able to empathize and accommodate these challenges. “Some of my students struggle with internet connectivity, so I’ve found different ways to reduce the bandwidth needed. For example, when my students make a storytelling video they upload it to our wiki ahead of time. This means that during class, students can mute and watch the video on their own computer (rather than via screen share, which takes a lot of bandwidth). While they are watching, they provide feedback via chat.” Schaar also learned that some students do not have reliable access to electricity, so Schaar is flexible about when and how students engage with her and the class, and submit work.

Since the online platform has necessitated students use of technology for their design work, this has unearthed the fact that some students are not quite as technologically literate as others, and need help using different design tools. “At the start of class we do a tech survey to find out what hardware students will be using. In the future, I will build in questions about familiarity and comfort level with different design tools,” explains Schaar.

Accommodations aren’t just about technology though, they span everything from socio-economic, to home life, to mental health, to social justice: “There are students that are able to work and thrive in any environment and there are students that need a lot more support. Sometimes support is in mental health, sometimes it’s a few dollars to spend on something, sometimes it’s permission to do something, and more recently, it’s time and space to acknowledge and process the social injustices they are experiencing. Across the board, it’s about taking the time to empathize and trying to balance that with the expectations we have in the classroom,” explains Schaar.

Reflect on the Benefits of the Transition to Online 

In the same way that Schaar has her students reflect on the skills they are honing because of the online format, both Stern and Schaar have taken the time to reflect on what they have learned through this transition. Stern reflects that his experience teaching design online helped bring into focus how much of his teaching relies on complex decision making. “It’s critical to focus on questions like How, what, and why do we practice? How do we manage our time? How do we manage our well being and the well being of our peers? What students wanted and needed most from me was help with, and understanding of, their own challenges and decision making.” Schaar agrees: “We have families and personal relationships, and social injustices we are dealing with; we need to acknowledge this reality otherwise we appear tone deaf. More and more our role isn’t just about our content expertise; we need to now make the space for students to talk about their challenges.” Schaar believes that this renewed focus on empathy, together with what she has learned technologically, will make her a better instructor in the face-to-face classroom.

View the Teaching Design and Innovation Online webinar and download the Tools and Approaches to Support Collaboration, Team Work, Design and Prototyping here.

We also encourage you to register and join us for our next free webinar Hosting Capstone Fairs, Competitions, and Student Showcases Online on Wednesday, June 17 at 2pm ET.