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CLASSROOM INNOVATION CHALLENGE

Infectious disease innovation challengeELEMENTARY SCHOOL

PLAYBOOK

DI FFI CULTY TI ME3 PA RTS - 1 HOUR EA CH

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A Classroom Inn ovat ion Challen g e is an opportun ity for your students to solve a p rob lem that exist s in your school or com m unity. Th is Playbook s designed to support the p rocess of app lying design th inking and innovat ion m ethods to th is challenge. There are lot s of pathw ays that w ill lead students to design and test w orkab le solu t ions to the p rob lem , but th is is a reasonab le set of "p lays" that w ill get resu lt s. The steps in th is p laybook follow the Innovat ion Box p rocess (w w w.ed innovat ionbox.com ), w h ich is a p rocess specif ically designed for teachers and students to solve real-w orld p rob lem s based on ideas f rom Lean StartUp, im provem ent science, and design th inking .

Th is p laybook p rovides design steps, not a solu t ion . Th is p laybook is based on a four-step innovat ion p rocess: Fram e, Prototype, Experim ent , and Spread. Th is p rocess is founded on the p rincip les of science: test ideas (hypotheses) against the realit y of the w orld (our classroom s, schools, com m unit ies, and beyond). As E.E. Lew is w rote in h is sem inal book, Masters of Technology, m any fam ous scien t ist s used a cycle sim ilar to th is p rocess called Idea-Build-Test-Use. Th is innovat ion p rocess is designed help us iden t ify failu res early and im prove. For our youngest students, learn ing to f ram e prob lem s and com e up w ith solu t ions is a 21st Century solu t ion .

Here's how th is p laybook w orks. It start s w ith a b it of backg round know ledge, then p rovides a step by step p rocess for you to lead young students th rough a p rocess of f ram ing a p rob lem and design ing a solu t ion .

We don't innovate for the purpose of innovating. We innovate to solve problems. Every innovation must start with a problem worth solving. The first step is to develop a well-framed problem.

FRAME Key to innovating is identifying testable ideas. Innovators build high- and low-fidelity prototypes to solicit feedback and test with stakeholders.

PROTOTYPE We don't scale good ideas, we run experiments to learn what works and what must be improved before scaling a solution. Innovators design experiments to collect practice-based evidence about their ideas.

EXPERIMENT Spreading solutions is based on demonstrated success. During the Spread step innovators develop a pitch with the goal of building support and expanding their idea.

SPREAD

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CHALLENGE - How m igh t w e increase student hand w ash ing ? (Link th is to novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

Prob lem - Nearly 22 m ill ion sch ool days are lost -annually due to the com m on cold . More than tw o-th irds (32 m illion) of school-aged ch ild ren (aged 5-17 years) in the Un ited States m issed school in the past 12 m onths due to illness or in ju ry. 52.2 m illion cases of the com m on cold affect Am ericans under age 17 each year. In fect ious d isease accounts for m illions of lost school days and cost the U.S. $120 b illion a year. One study found that teacher illness-related absences averaged 5.3 days a year, in con t rast to an average of 4 .5 days a year for students. The COVID-19 virus is spread ing rap id ly and is is considered qu ite dangerous.

Potent ial cause - There are m any types of germ s (viruses, bacteria, parasites,

fung i) t hat cause m any types of illnesses - includ ing the com m on cold or f lu . These germ s can spread easily f rom one person to another - and have w ide-reach ing effects. One of the m ost com m on w ays peop le catch colds is by rubb ing their noses or eyes after touch ing som eone or som eth ing that 's con tam inated w ith the cold virus (rh inovirus). Rotavirus - a germ that causes gast roin test inal illness - can be t ransferred f rom a d ry, sm ooth surface to a clean hand for as long as 20 m inu t es after the surface has been contam inated . Students in close p roxim ity to each other on a daily basis are spread ing germ s that m ay be increasing illness and days m issed.

Details (Handw ash ing ) - Keep ing hands clean th rough im proved hand hyg iene is one of the m ost im portan t steps w e can take to avoid get t ing sick and spread ing germ s to others. Here's the th ing , students don 't clean their hands often or w ell enough. In one study, on ly 58% of fem ale and 48% of m ale m idd le and h igh school students w ashed their hands after using the bathroom . In one study of elem en t ary st uden t s han dw ash in g w as 28% for g ir ls an d 8% for boys. Of these, on ly 33% of the fem ales and 8% of the m ales used soap. Adu lt hand clean ing behaviors also need im provem ent . In one study, 92% said they alw ays w ash their hands in pub lic rest room s, but on ly 77% w ere observed doing so.

(C) 2020 Joseph Miller

Team s - Students shou ld w ork in team s for th is Innovat ion Challenge. Ideal team size is betw een f ive and seven students.

Classroom Challenge - (1) Learn w hy students in your school do not w ash their hands and do not use soap. (2) Com e up w ith cool w ays to get students to w ash their hands m ore f requent ly (and use soap).

In th is Classroom Challenge the teacher is encourage to lead the exercises in it ially. The m ethods used in th is Classroom Challenge are app licab le to other real-w orld challenges.

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Classroom Innovation CardsTh is Classroom Inn ovat ion Challen g e is b roken dow n in to th ree Plays. W ith in the

Plays are a series of innovat ion m ethods. The m ethods used in th is Classroom Inn ovat ion Challen g e are included the Classroom Innovat ion Card deck and the appropriate cards are show n below. The fu ll deck of the Classroom Inn ovat ion Deck is availab le to purchase on line: https://www.edinnovationbox.com/innovationcards

Play # 1 - Problem Tree

Play # 2 - Brain Dump

Play # 3 - Napkin Pitch

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Play # 1 - W hat 's the Prob lem ?It is t im e to iden t ify root cause(s) of the p rob lem . Even young elem entary students can do root cause analysis and one of the m ost en joyab le design th inking tools is a Prob lem Tree!

How m igh t w e increase handw ash ing w ith soap?

ProcessFirst , in w hole g roup, ask students "W ho w ashed their hands last t im e they w ent to the bathroom ?" Tell t hem that w ash ing your hands m eans w ash ing for 20 seconds using w arm w ater and soap. Set a t im er and dem onst rate w ash ing your hands (no need for a sink). Ask again , "W ho w ashed their hands for th is long using soap and w arm w ater?"

SAY: Most students do not w ash their hands p roperly (even if t he students in your class do). Maybe on ly one in every four students. If w e are going to stop the spread of colds and coronavirus, w e need to w ash our hands. carefu lly. I need your help com ing up with an idea to get m ore students to wash their hands. Do you th ink you can help m e?

SAY: Before w e t ry to com e up w ith ideas to get m ore students w ash ing their hands w e need to know why t hey don 't w ash their hands now - th is is w here you can really help. To do th is w e are going to w ork together on a fun act ivity called a Prob lem Tree.

Second, take a p iece of chart paper (or use w h ite board) and w rite the p rob lem in the m idd le (students don 't w ash their hands). The p rob lem becom es the t runk of the t ree. Draw the t runk of the t ree.

Th ird , ask the students to th ink qu iet ly for a

m om ent . Use an engagem ent m ethod to m ake sure students have an opportun ity to con t ribu te. If students can w rite, have them w rite dow n their ideas qu iet ly. Use a tu rn to a partner or cold call m ethod.

Fourth , start collect ing ideas of w hy students do not w ash their hands (e.g . "forget ", "not enough t im e", "ou t of soap"). Draw the roots labeled w ith causes. You m ay decide to create a few large roots (causes) w ith sm aller roots off of t hem (sub -causes).

Fourth , no have the students th ink about the bad th ings that happen w hen they don 't w ash their hands. The consequences becom e the b ranches of the t ree. The prim ary consequence is the poten t ial for illness, bu t there are also consequences of students and teachers m issing school. Note those as w ell.

You now have several poten t ial "causes" for w hy students do not w ash their hands effect ively. Is there a cause that you th ink you m igh t be ab le to address? Don 't com e up w ith a solu t ion yet , just keep the p rob lem and the poten t ial cause close.

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Play # 2 - Brainstorm Solu t ions During b rainstorm ing your goal is not to com e up w ith the perfect solu t ion , bu t to be creat ive and have fun th inking w ays to get students to w ash their hands. To encourage creat ivity and consider a lot of ideas use the Brain Dum p m ethod.

In th is m ethod each m em ber of your team w ill com e up w ith som e of their

ow n ideas.

ProcessBrain Dum p is a m ethod designed to encourage you and your team m ates to ideate qu ickly and not w orry about com ing up w ith the perfect solu t ion . Brain Dum p requ ires that each each ind ividual on your team com e up w ith ideas on their ow n f irst , t hen together w ith a team .

First , t alk the students about the ru les of b rainstorm ing . Here are som e ru les:

- Defer judgm ent . There are no bad ideas at th is poin t . There w ill be p len ty of t im e to narrow them dow n later.

- Encourage w ild ideas. Even if an idea doesn?t seem realist ic, it m ay spark a g reat idea for som eone else.

- Bu ild on the ideas of others. Th ink ?and? rather than ?but .?

- Stay focused on the top ic. To get m ore out of your session , keep your b rainstorm quest ion in sigh t .

- One conversat ion at a t im e. All ideas need to be heard , so that they m ay be bu ilt upon.

- Be visual. Draw your ideas, as opposed to just w rit ing them dow n. St ick f igures and sim p le sketches can say m ore than m any w ords.

- Go for quant ity. Set an out rageous goal? then surpass it . The best w ay to f ind one good idea is to com e up w ith lot s of ideas.

Second, set a t im er and have students w rite every idea they have on a p iece of paper or post -it s (one idea per note).

Th ird , after reach ing the t im e lim it , each part icipan t says a few w ords about their ideas. Avoid long d iscussions at th is poin t . W hile p resent ing ideas, the team g roups sim ilar ideas together (aff in ity m ap). Label the g rouped post -it s w ith a new post -it .

Fourth , have students team s select one idea (or com bine ideas together) to "t ry" ou t . Rem ind students that just because their idea is not selected now does not m ean it w on 't be later.

Pro t ipCrazy ideas are w elcom ed because they m igh t insp ire som eone to th ink d ifferen t ly about the p rob lem . W hen you get to the next step (Prototype), don 't be af raid to m erge together m ore than one idea that team m em bers cam e up w ith during th is exercise.

Colored dots for vot ing are g reat tools for visually d isp laying p references. Be carefu l not to just select the idea w ith the m ost votes. Open a d iscussion using the dots (as described above).

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Play # 3 - PrototypeA prototype is a qu ickly const ructed version of your team 's idea used to iden t ify opportun it ies for im provem ent . A p rototype serves the purpose of get t ing feedback and test ing your assum pt ions. A p rototype cou ld be a storyboard , physical, d ig ital, role p laying , or other.

Before your team bu ilds a p rototype, create a Napk in Pit ch t hat w ill qu ickly

com m unicate the p rob lem and your solu t ion .

ProcessFirst , develop a Napk in Pit ch . Draw a rough sketch of your solu t ion and w rite a p itch to go w ith the sketch . Use the out line on the next page to develop your p itch . Pract ice g iving your p itch to classm ates.

Second, iden t ify w hat you w ant to p rototype (e.g . a p rocess, an ob ject ). Select the appropriate type of p rototype (e.g . if it is an ob ject - create a physical p rototype, if a p rocess create a storyboard or role p laying ). (Refer to the Prototype Lib rary in the Classroom Innovat ion Cards if needed).

Th ird , if you are develop ing a Storyboard /Role Playing p rototype team m em bers shou ld sketch each step in the p rocess on post -it s (usually 6-8 steps). All m em bers hang their post -it s on the w ell in order. The team w orks together to rearrange.

If you are develop ing a Physical Prototype, each team m em ber shou ld m ake a rough

sketch .

Fourth , for a Storyboard /Role Playing p rototype develop a six to eigh t panel d raw ing of w hat you expect to happen in your new process (solu t ion) or a scrip t for the role p laying .

For a Physical Prototype your team com es together w ith sketches and decides on w hat elem ents are m ost im portan t to get feedback on . Focus on creat ing a rough version of your ob ject w ith specif ic focus on the m ost im portan t elem ent . Use low cost p rototyp ing tools to create your solu t ion .

Fift h , show your p rototype to colleagues, teachers, and others. Ask them to g ive you feedback (e.g . how d id it m ake them feel? W hat barriers m igh t it encounter? How can it be im proved?) The purpose of a p rototype is to im prove your solu t ion before you test it in the real-w orld , so t ry to f ind peop le that g ive you usefu l feedback not just "it 's g reat !".

Sixth , m ake im provem ents.

Pro t ip

Prototypes are in tended for you to test your idea early. If your solu t ion is to create talking soap d ispensers w ith quotes f rom fam ous books to encourage students to use soap, you w ou ld design the look and feel in a cheap m aterial (cardboard) and m anually p lay the quotes f rom an iPod or phone w hen your test user engaged w ith the d ispenser. Then you w ou ld ask them for feedback. Your assum pt ion is that kids w ill like th is idea and be m ore likely to use soap - w hat does your tester th ink of the d ispenser?

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W hat p rob lem are you solving ? 1

Napkin Pitch Planning Document

W hat is your p roposed solu t ion the p rob lem ? 2

W hat m akes th is solu t ion bet ter than exist ing solu t ions? ? 3

W hat w ou ld w e have t be good at to m ake th is solu t ion w ork? (e.g . w hat skills and ab ilit ies w ou ld the team need to have or resources w ou ld they need to acqu ire?)

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W hat is your "ask"? W hat do you need to go to the next stage of develop ing your solu t ion? Do you need m oney, resources, feedback?

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T H IN K ST RAT EGY

visit us online at www.edinnovationbox.com

joe@think-strategy.net

303-618-2531

Lyme, New Hampshire

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