The research described in the following paper focused on the use of design thinking as a way to develop an altruistic project in my art classroom. I used action research as a pragmatic philosophy of study and found that the design thinking process was a very useful tool to investigating and developing altruistically motivated ideas. My students used design thinking to create a solution to the problem: Germs are spread by not washing your hands. This capstone project investigated altruism, the design thinking process, and how I intentionally fused altruism into that process. I documented my students journey to creating a germ-fighting giraffe named "Big G," their reactions, and some of my own observations during my research. The results of my project, my observations, and a project video are documented on my website http://www.amyswindowseat.com.

The purpose of my research was to discover what happens in a fourth grade classroom when I create and implement a curriculum unit that fuses choice-based art education and design thinking process. I am particularly interested in fostering the creativity of my students. This paper describes how I did this, and what happened in my classroom. I also created a website (http://fostercreativethinkers.weebly.com/) that houses resources and student examples of this approach. Design thinking is a human-centered process developed for approaching problems and opportunities with multiple stages that are said by it's proponents to lead to creative, innovative solutions (IDEO, 2012). Choice-based education is an approach in which students are given multiple avenues to learn and demonstrate what they know and are able to do (Douglas & Jaquith, 2009). Together, I believe that these two approaches will foster creativity in students as they endeavor to become innovative, entrepreneurial thinkers in the 21st century. Utilizing an action research approach that includes observations of classroom activities, weekly journaling, taking and analyzing photographs of student work, analysis of written reflections from my students and myself, and informal interviews with students, I have both fine-tuned and studied strategies for organizing and facilitating these two approaches (choice-based art education and design thinking) in my curriculum. Although mine was a small study (short in duration and taking place with only one class), I want art educators to understand the benefits of fusing design thinking as a creative process for students within a choice based educational environment.

The purpose of this research is to understand and describe the efficacy of how students using the concepts and methods of design thinking develop critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving. I explored the concept of design thinking in my art classroom, through a parallel framework of studio thinking. As a result of my teaching experiences in an urban public education system for the last 15 years, I have witnessed a lack of art education in both elementary and secondary education. I agree with the ideas of Lois Hetland and Ellen Winner, presented in Studio Thinking: The Real Benefits of Visual Arts Education, and believe art education develops creative habits and certain dispositions unique to art-making. Therefore, my research questions are as follows: what are the outcomes when students in an advanced honors art class explore the use of design thinking linked with eight studio habits of mind? How does this unique combination contribute to the development of critical thinking, problem solving, and creativity? In what ways does this investigation inform my own thinking about designing and facilitating lessons that involve the concerns of both art and design? My primary research method was action research at a small charter high school where I taught for the last 11 years. My project took place over the course of two months. It focused specifically on one class period, Art II: Honors class, with an enrollment that consisted of fifteen senior students. Throughout this action research, the students created two projects with the framework of studio thinking and utilizing the design process to develop their projects through a step-by-step methodology. I collected data throughout this action research project in the following ways: pre- and post-assessment, student self-reflections, and two art projects. There was a collection of data at each step of the design process for both projects. I also collected data through journaling as a means to record self-reflections and observations in the classroom. As a result of this action research project, I recommend using the design process as a parallel pedagogical approach in art education classes. I discovered how it significantly contributes to the development of problem solving and critical thinking skills and also fosters creativity, skills desperately needed. I also discovered that if students are made aware and deliberately use the design process, they are more likely to use the process in the future.

School is a place where the physical environment-including classrooms, furniture, and corridors- shapes student learning. School is also a place where students can think and learn critically about themselves and the world. My thesis research examined the physical learning environment of a predominantly African-American, low-income, large urban public high school in the Kenwood neighborhood of Chicago. In my thesis, I investigated how physical structures create a thinking space for students to work through issues related to their development as learners, for example, critical thinking and problem solving. I used design thinking as a method of investigation that would engage a variety of student learning styles, and invite students to problem solve around spatial issues in their school. My research questions include: What occurs when students are invited to design objects using unconventional materials? How can a design project support students' development and learning about the school environment and the outside world? What are the challenges for teachers who invite students to combine design strategies with critical thinking? I conducted my action research over seven weeks at a selective enrollment high school. I created lessons that challenged students to think critically about their learning environment. Students took photographs of hidden spaces, looked for spatial areas in need of improvement, and interviewed people about their spatial learning experiences around the school. They then used masking tape to create miniature furniture exploring their relationship to the space, in order to maximize a sense of ownership of the space. Students put pictures of themselves in the furniture in order to suggest the scale and functionality of their creations. My data included student artwork, class discussions, students' written reflections, interviews, observations, and informal conversations with students and my cooperating teacher. Through my research, I have learned that students possess a desire to improve their learning spaces, yet they need opportunities to learn about design thinking and problem solving. As a result of this study, for example, students realized the need for a safer environment because X-ray scanners and security guards do not necessarily help them feel safer, but instead provoke their anxiety. My study has also helped to identify challenges that teachers will face when they bring design thinking and problem solving methods into the art classroom. These challenges include scarcity of materials and professional tools as well as students' lack of knowledge of the skills and techniques required for making refined and professional models.

The moment is right for critical reflection on what has been assumed to be a core part of schooling. In Ungrading, fifteen educators write about their diverse experiences going gradeless. Some contributors are new to the practice and some have been engaging in it for decades. Some are in humanities and social sciences, some in STEM fields. Some are in higher education, but some are the K-12 pioneers who led the way. Based on rigorous and replicated research, this is the first book to show why and how faculty who wish to focus on learning, rather than sorting or judging, might proceed. It includes honest reflection on what makes ungrading challenging, and testimonials about what makes it transformative. CONTRIBUTORS: Aaron Blackwelder Susan D. Blum Arthur Chiaravalli Gary Chu Cathy N. Davidson Laura Gibbs Christina Katopodis Joy Kirr Alfie Kohn Christopher Riesbeck Starr Sackstein Marcus Schultz-Bergin Clarissa Sorensen-Unruh Jesse Stommel John Warner

‘Tom Bennett is the voice of the modern teacher.’ - Stephen Drew, Senior Vice-Principal, Passmores Academy, UK, featured on Channel 4’s Educating Essex Do the findings from educational science ever really improve the day-to-day practice of classroom teachers? Education is awash with theories about how pupils best learn and teachers best teach, most often propped up with the inevitable research that ‘proves’ the case in point. But what can teachers do to find the proof within the pudding, and how can this actually help them on wet Wednesday afternoon?. Drawing from a wide range of recent and popular education theories and strategies, Tom Bennett highlights how much of what we think we know in schools hasn’t been ‘proven’ in any meaningful sense at all. He inspires teachers to decide for themselves what good and bad education really is, empowering them as professionals and raising their confidence in the classroom and the staffroom alike. Readers are encouraged to question and reflect on issues such as: the most common ideas in modern education and where these ideas were born the crisis in research right now how research is commissioned and used by the people who make policy in the UK and beyond the provenance of education research: who instigates it, who writes it, and how to spot when a claim is based on evidence and when it isn’t the different way that data can be analysed what happens to the research conclusions once they escape the laboratory. Controversial, erudite and yet unremittingly entertaining, Tom includes practical suggestions for the classroom throughout. This book will be an ally to every teacher who’s been handed an instruction on a platter and been told, ‘the research proves it.’