Design

Design
 "It is no longer sufficient to create a product, a service, an experience, or a lifestyle that's merely functional. Today, it's economically crucial and personally rewarding to create something that is also beautiful, whimsical, or emotionally engaging"  - Daniel Pink

What is design? John Heskett said, "Design, stripped to its essence, can be defined as the human nature to shape and make our environment in ways without precedent in nature, to serve our needs and give meaning to our lives."

Our Proposal
The new, improved Parker will change the way students learn by creating designers. The process of hands on learning, uploading and sharing of information, and ability to learn a wide variety of skills that will allow for this change in the school's atmosphere. The results of a school emphasizing design will speak for themselves. A Whole New Parker will be a shining light for other schools to follow as design will bring student success to new heights. The school's curriculum will focus on not only hands on learning with emphasis on activating each student's senses, thus dramatically increasing a student's comprehension, for this is merely the "utility." But Parker will also focus on the application of what Daniel Pink calls 'significance'. Another added feature at Parker will be the emphasis on An Audience Greater Than One. The sharing of student work will be shown through the uploading of their information to a wide variety of outlets. It is the combination of these elements that will make our students thrive into the 21st century.

The Plan to Prepare To Students for the 21st Century
The process to implement this design will be reinforced through the school's longer day. The additional hours to the day will allow students a wide variety of options and give their career paths some direction. It also gives students the ability to explore into these career options in a safe environment. Students will be learning using a method that balance "utility and significance" (Pink 70). Utility is important in all construction. By applying this, you are creating a product that is safely and soundly constructed. However, utility is not enough for people anymore and perhaps it never was. All products needs to have significance. Your product must look good, while having the capability to cultivate multiple options. The combination of utility and significance helped students develop when they were younger. It effects their parents decision-making and has/will effect their own decision-making.

It is time for the classroom teachers to follow the direction of the consumer market. Teaching in the classroom will change at Parker. Students will be asked to learn by not just the standard hands-on learning. They are not just going to be creating the simply presentations or projects that we have seen for generations. Here, students will be learning through design. Their focus will be on utility, as well as significance. It will be reinforced in the classroom to not just build something that works. Build something that works and is emotionally appealing.

To give the students the full experience of An Audience Greater Than One, students will exposed to a wide-variety of educational media outlets including blogs, video-sharing websites, and databases, while continually enforcing proper researching techniques and web-literacy skills. It will not stop there. Students will be creating work that is not just fact based, but also visually stimulating and soothing. The combination of these elements will push Parker into the limelight.

Richard Koshalek said "I think designers are the alchemists of the future." He is right. Designers will be continue to play a significant role in our society. A Whole New Parker will play a role in embracing design in our students learning, while preparing them for this future. The creation of a generation of designers, who are equipped with the skills of design will be able to thrive in this uncertain future.

Video Demonstrating Design

 * How Do Student Make Decisions?**

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 * Students finished Rube Goldberg Project **