Primary News
Joshua Aghion – Co-ordinator of Innovation (K-6)
Promoting divergent thinking in Primary-aged students
One major role of education is to prepare our students for future work and projects, future employment and to be productive members of society. As the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recently reported, climate change and severe weather events are four times more likely for children of the future when they reach adult age. This means that we need to find new and novel solutions to the challenges we are facing today and tomorrow.
We each have a part to play. One possible way to support children is to ask questions that don’t have an answer to. Allow time for kids to think about a problem and be challenged by coming up with a solution. When appropriate, feel free to disagree with your children to ensure that they have the language and ability to articulate their thoughts and stay firm in what they believe in.
Over the past few years, the Innovation team in Primary has been working to embed design thinking into the Emanuel School curriculum. Most Year levels embark on a project within the year which allows students an opportunity to engage with each five stages of the design thinking process. These are: empathise, define, ideate, prototype and test. Students are given a problem or they are asked to identify a problem. They are then asked to empathise with the people that the problem connects to, and are asked to understand the perspective of a different group of people. Through this process, they gain an understanding of the issue and start to think about solutions that will support the people in need. They define the problem with some possible ways to create a solution. Students then come up with a series of ideas and solutions which are evaluated. Once they have a viable option, students create and build their design and test and evaluate it to see how effectively it supported the problem.
As we continue to look to develop our teaching practices and the opportunities we provide students, we have started to look at the Problem Finders Process Map. This map clearly articulates a more involved design thinking process where student’s thinking is mapped as it diverges and converges to connect what they are learning in class, coming up with ideas to solve problems and finding ways to make something happen.
Feel free to use this at home if you wish to give your children a project in the holidays. They might like to change how rubbish is collected at your house or even find a new way to store toys away. We will continue to develop divergent thinking in the Primary School in a respectful way that contributes to our students’ learning and development.
Hagit Bar-On, Head of Primary Jewish Studies
Pesach
Friday 31 March 2023 – Save the date
We look forward to welcoming our Years K-4 parents to share in our Pesach experience:
Years K–2 Pesach
8.00 am – 8.30 am: Nosh and Shmooze (Outside Primary Library)
8.40 am – 9.15 am: K-2 in the MPH
9.20 am – 10.00 am: Year K Pathways in Aron Kleinlehrer Performing Arts Centre (PAC)
9.20 am – 10.00 am: Years 1-2 Seder in the Lehrer Family Building (MPH)
Years 3–4 Pesach
10.00 am – 10.30 am: Nosh and Shmooze (Pizem Courtyard)
10.30 am – 12.00 pm: Year 3 and Year 4 Workshops (in the Years 3 and 4 classrooms)
Parents of Years 5 and 6 will be invited to a community event at a later date. Students in these Years will still be holding Seder activities in their normal classroom environment.
