Page 97 - E-Magazine 2016-17

WORKSHOP

CONFLUENCE OF CREATIVE MINDS

Design thinking is an increasingly popular method of creative and pragmatic problem
resolution. Its foundation lies in empathy and reiteration. It is a form of solution-based
thinking – starting with a goal (a better future situation) instead of a problem.

At the school-level, Design Thinking refers to two institutions presenting a problem of their
school to the other school, and the other school providing out-of-the-box solutions for the
same. The students of Delhi Public School Bangalore North were first introduced to the
concept of Design Thinking when Aditi Ramakrishnan and Prajwal Ranjan, students of
12th grade, accompanied the Principal, Mrs. Manju Balasubramanyam, to Delhi to attend
a workshop which introduced the concept. After a 2 day stay in Delhi, and after gaining
essential insight into the goals of the programme, our students came back to Bangalore
excited for future involvement in Design Thinking oriented programmes.
Our school partnered with Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya Urban (JNV Urban) in forming a
symbiotic relationship. JNV is a government-aided residential school that offers admissions
from class 6 to 12.

Over the course of a few months, both schools teams as well as teachers met repeatedly. We
built a strong relationship with a set of students who were like us in as many ways as they
were unlike us. We addressed their problem: “Eliminating the noise level in the dorms
which acts as a distraction to the study routine of the senior students, and in the process,
seriousness with regard to academics among the junior students.” The problem presented
by DPS-“To eliminate the overcrowding present at the school tuck shop during the lunch
break, which leads to many students not getting food and in their being late to class.”
Through and perhaps because of the difference in the nature of these problems, it was not
just a lesson in problem-solving, but also in understanding of each other’s lives. In this
period of innovation, some effective and innovative ideas were brought on the floor which
included dividing our lunch break time to
accommodate seniors and juniors and
increasing man-power at the shop. We also
suggested that at JNV, senior students
could use classrooms (from 10-11 pm), and
the rooms could implement techniques to
save space, both physical and mental.

Although DPS’s interaction with JNV
began as being purely functional, through
multiple interactions, we built a strong
symbiotic relationship that will last for
long after this workshop. Not only did each
set of students understand the
circumstance of the other, but also walked
away with a new way of solving problems
that they would continue to use life-long. Aditi Ramakrishnan at the Design

Thinking Workshop