Presented at Australian Council for Educational Leaders (ACEL) Conference 2017: Respect the Past, Lead the Present, Secure the Future.

1. Leading Through Service Design
The DesignInSchools Project and its lasting
effect on education and a community
Wendy Cave
Macquarie Primary School
Mel Edwards, Justin Barrie
Design Managers Australia

2. Over 30 years of education
inspiration through a literacy lens

3. Over 30 years of design evolution
Design of
objects and
artefacts as
in engineering,
architecture,
& mass
production
Design of
activities,
processes,
activities and
the relationships
or things that
support them.
Design of the
environments and
systems within
which all the other
orders of design
exist; understanding
how they work,
what core ideas and
values hold them
together.
Four orders of Design
Design of
communication
with words,
symbols &
images
First Order
Second Order
Third Order
Fourth Order
Adapted from Richard Buchanan’s thinking on Fourth Order Design

4. Action with a public services lens
It’s driven by social
outcomes
(it’s about citizens and
the organisation that
delivers the services)
It’s possible to
change the
system through
(sticky) steps
It’s complex
we get to navigate
the reality of
organisational
cultures

5. Education and Design
– the same goals?
• Making sense
for social
change
• More than
reading and
writing -
inquiry

6. Putting leadership into practice
Power
Empower
Victims Rescuers
Persecutors
Teachers
Coaches Mentors
From
Student Voice
To
Student Agency

7. How we did that - DesignInSchools
• A multi-award winning project
• A paper
• An ongoing collaboration
http://youtu.be/CCAPWj6xJXU

8. Respecting the past and
building the future
• Through building a lived experience.
• Leading learners in the present as
designers with agency.
• Securing the future by equipping
learners with a strong skillset and
capability to deliver positive outcomes.

9. What was created

10. How meaning was made

11. Why it was possible
The designers’ perspective

12. What was in place for design to work
Making a real
difference
Leading
within the
reality of the
strategic
focus of your
bureaucracy
Being an
educator
within a
curriculum
scaffold
• Inquiry
• Literacy
DiS
• Experts
• Partners
• Real social outcome
• Beyond power and
stationery

13. Why it was successful
The Educator’s perspective

14. What’s next?
Didactic Constructive• Collaborative
literacy
• Approaching
complexity in
education
• A long-term
relationship
Instructive Collaborative
Education Service Design

15. When we adults think of children,
there is a simple truth which we
ignore; childhood is not
preparation for life; childhood is
life. A child isn’t getting ready to
live; a child is living. The child is
constantly confronted with the
nagging question: “What are you
going to be?” Courageous would be
the youngster who, looking the adult
squarely in the face, would say, “I’m
not going to be anything; I already
am.”
We adults would be shocked by such
an insolent remark, for we have
forgotten, if indeed we ever knew,
that a child is an active participating
and contributing member of society
from the time he/she is born.
Childhood isn’t a time when
he/she is moulded into a human
who will then live life; he/she is a
human who is living life.
No child will miss the zest and joy
of living unless these are denied
him by adults who have convinced
themselves that childhood is a
period of preparation.
How much heartache we would
save ourselves if we would
recognize the child as a partner
with adults in the process of
living, rather than always
viewing him as an apprentice.
How much we would teach each
other… adults with the experience
and children with the freshness.
How full both our lives could be.
A little child may not lead us, but at
least we ought to discuss the trip
with him; for, after all, life is his
and her journey too.
Professor T. Ripaldi
Notes on an unhurried journey

16. Thanks!
Wendy Cave
@wendy_cave
http://www.macquarieps.act.edu.au
Mel Edwards, Justin Barrie
@DMA_Canberra
www.designmanagers.com.au

17. How do we know that it’s a DesignInSchools Project?
It’s a collaborative partnership between design and education professionals and little people, bringing professional
service design methods and techniques into an inquiry-based primary school classroom and community to solve a
real world problem effecting the School.
What type of techniques do I need
to make space for in DiS?
• Concept visualisation and sketching.
• Prototyping and iteration in a collaborative
environment to learn what works best
• Ethnographically-based research for
evidence-based decisions – interviews,
observation.
• Information analysis and synthesis to define
what if, what could be, what should be, what
will be.
• Data gathering and statistical analysis.
As a leader, what will I need to have in
place for DiS
1. There is an existing issue/problem that effects the
school community.
2. There is an intention and commitment from the
Principal/Vice Principal to support the project and
manage the school community expectations.
3. There is an identified cohort of 10 to 20 Year 5 to Year 6
Students able to be committed to the process. Students
don’t need to belong to the same class, but common
teachers help.
4. There is professional Design Support in a leading,
mentoring or validation role.
What Project Structure will I need to support as a leader?
Session 1: Defining Intent 2: Research and Insight 3: Prototyping & testing 4: Analysis & solution
Focus Developing a design intent
and design question to solve.
Focus
Undertaking research and
developing insights.
Focus Prototyping, testing and
measuring.
Analysis and solution
development.
Activities Intent / Design Q / Design 101 Research / desk / observation /
interview / insights
Prototype / trade show /
measurement
Analysis / solutions /
decisions
Project
Outcome
We know the sponsor and
understand their problem, we
have clear parameters and
are set-up to start
researching.
We have developed
understanding and insights have
emerged from our research.
Our insights have become
concepts to build for testing in
the real world.
The test results are
analysed, we reflect our
intent and insights and work
through the solutions to
recommend.
Activity - What question does your school need to answer?