This week on the Getting Smart Podcast, Tom is talking to his colleague, Emily Liebtag. Emily is the Director of Advocacy at Getting Smart. Emily has been a teacher, and a learner, in a myriad of different classroom spaces — ranging from K-12 public schools to online institutes of higher education.

In the last several weeks, The Getting Smart team has visited so many unique, innovative schools. They’ve been to cities across the country, visiting well over a dozen different schools — all of which serve as great examples of successfully implementing deeper learning, design thinking, and student agency.

In this episode, Tom and Emily talk all about their favorite design-thinking schools, positive trends happening in schools across the country, and the changes they have observed in schools after implementing design-thinking. They also discuss design-thinking across the curriculum, supporting design with skill-building, formative assessment, and extended challenges.

Key Takeaways:

[:14] This week, Tom is talking to Emily Liebtag to discuss all of the amazing, innovative design-focused schools they have had the pleasure of visiting in the last several weeks.

[:31] Emily’s favorite school from the last several weeks: Agnor-Hurt Elementary.

[3:40] About Tom’s recent visit to Tacoma Public Schools’ Science and Math Institute.

[4:46] Why The Getting Smart team thinks design focus is so important in today’s education.

[6:50] How design-thinking has changed in education from years ago to now.

[8:47] One of Getting Smart’s favorite schools is One Stone, that is a great example of well-structured design-thinking methodology.

[10:09] An example of a successful project by a student, that came out of a design-thinking school.

[11:51] Positive trends taking over schools across the country.

[14:28] All about D39 — a school that embodies these new, innovative trends.

[15:36] What Emily loves about Del Lago Academy.

[16:47] About VIDA school — a school that was going to shut down but reinvented themselves as a design-thinking school.

[17:38] What Emily and Tom love about High Tech High in San Diego.

[19:55] Tom’s thoughts on Purdue Polytechnic Institute.

[21:18] How the design-thinking frame helps students to incorporate different skills.

[23:26] Some elements of design-thinking in Albemarle County Public Schools that have really stood out to Tom and Emily.

[27:27] SAMI and other schools in the Pacific Northwest that Tom would like to shed a light on.

[29:30] Recapping this week’s episode.

[31:25] Where to learn more about school visits.

Mentioned in This Episode:

Emily Liebtag

Agnor -Hurt Elementary School

Albemarle County Public Schools

Tacoma Public Schools : Science and Math Institute (SAMI )

High Tech High International

El Paso School District

Purdue Polytechnic Institute

Carnegie Mellon

University of Pittsburgh

Grable Foundation

Woodbrook Elementary School

Design Tech High School

Emily @GettingSmart .com (Emily’s email)

Get Involved:

Check out the blog at GettingSmart .com.

Find the Getting Smart Podcast on iTunes, leave a review and subscribe.

Is There Somebody You’ve Been Wanting to Learn From or a Topic You’d Like Covered?

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