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resilience to bounce back, and the curiosity to keep
exploring. In a word, they are unstoppable.
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THEBISHOPSTRACHANSCHOOL
DESIGN THINKING MEETS BIOLOGY
Creative problem-solving skills spark health-management prototypes
By really walking
in the footsteps
of their user the
girls understood
that someone
dealing with a
disorder could
be experiencing
very different
circumstances
to someone else
with the same
illness. That
process developed
empathy, an
important part of
the learning.HeidiMiller
biologyteacherat TheBishop
StrachanSchool(BSS) in TorontoTheDesignThinkingprojectrequiredthegirlstothinkinnewwaysandnot
impedetheirownabilitytocomeupwithideas.KARRI NORTHPHOTOGRAPHYin the mentorship and encouraging
the menteesto strive to achieve
their goals.
ForIndigenous youth in particular,
mentors need to demonstrate that
there are opportunities for success
even though theseyouth feel that
they don’t fit into an academic envi-
ronment, says Mr.Dokis.
“For example, in our land-based
learning program, everybody con-
tributes at an equal level regardlessof what their academic skills and
standing. That’sa starting point
for youth to feel that they too can
achieve success – particularly in
STEM – by seeing the relationship
between theirIndigenous knowl-FROMPAGE 1
STEMEDUCATION:ENCOURAGINGMENTEESTOACHIEVETHEIRGOALS
edges and STEM,” he says.
As part of an initiative to engage
moreIndigenous youth in STEM
and improve high school gradua-
tion rates forIndigenous youth, 80
First Nations high school studentsrecently attended a career day in
Edmonton where they explored
how STEM is tiedto Traditional
Knowledge and can be appliedto
solve problems within their own
communities.AGrade 11Biology class isn’t where
one would typically expect to see
StanfordDesign Thinking methodol-
ogy at work.
But exploring new and creative
ways to engage girls from Junior
Kindergarten toGrade 12 is how
TheBishop Strachan School (BSS) in
Toronto fulfils its mission:InspireGirls
to beFearless.EducateGirls to be
Leaders.
Biology,science, a rt andITteachers
recently collaborated to develop a
project challenging theGrade 11 stu-
dents to identify and prototype a solu-
tion to help a person (a friend, family
member or part of the student’s com-
munity) manage an illness or disease
associated with the human digestive,
circulatory or respiratory system.
While several girls easily thought of
a person (referred to as a ‘user’) and a
solution, they quickly discovered that
following the five-step methodology
- Empathize,Define,Ideate, Proto-
type and Test – produced unexpected
results.Acritical part of the process
requires starting with an interview to
determine a user’sneeds,and those
needswere often differentto the girls’
initialimpressionof the situation.
Genny Lee, the school’sheadof
science, cites an example where
a person with diabetes who was
required to regularly monitor her
blood sugar levels didn’t avoid the
testing because she wasforgetful, but
because she hada fear of needles.
That discovery changed the student’s
perspective and impacted the direc-
tion of the project.
“This was a big lesson.In many
cases, we see someone struggling,
make an assumption about their
problem and jump to a conclusion.
By really walking in the footsteps of
their user, the girls understood that
someone dealing with a disorder
could be experiencing very different
circumstances to someone else
with the same illness. That process
developed empathy, an important
part of thelea rning,”saysHeidi Miller,
biologyteacher.
Finding solutions required the girls
to think in new ways.
“They are used to focusing on what
is logical and what makes the most
sense – we wanted them to think
divergently and not impede their own
ability to come up with ideas that
may or may not work,” says Ms. Lee.
BSS student Megan Torisawa, a
gifted artist, credits her skills of cre-
ativity and ingenuity for enabling her
to effectively present her prototype
solution and show how it could help
someone dealing with Wolff-Parkin-
son-White (WPW) syndrome. People
with WPW have an extra electrical
pathwayin the heart leading to a
rapid heart rate, which can have
dangerous consequences.
Her solutionusedBluet ooth tech-
nology to link an electrocardiogram
monitor, worn on the insideof a
bracelet or watch strap, to a hospital
or doctor’s office. Leveraging her
experience and skills that were devel-
oped through visual arts, digital-based
media arts and design technology
classes, Ms.Torisawa’s presentation
was a good example of cross-curricu-
lar learning, says Ms. Miller.“As teachers, oneof the most
rewarding parts of this initiative
was how invested the girlswere in
finding solutions that would work.
It wasn’t just an assignment they
would be graded on.Because they
really cared about their user and
wanted to help in a meaningful
way, they were deeply invested in
finding solutions, and in many casestheir relationship with the user was
strengthened,”says Ms. Lee.
TheDesign Thinking project
achieved more than creating an
opportunity to earn a good grade.
“It was a good illustration of the Sig-
nature of aBSSGirl: growth mindset,
ethical citizenship, self-awareness,
curiosity, grit, voice and leadership,”
adds Ms. Lee.