Developing an Entrepreneurial Spirit
Teacher Coach: James Campbell
By Elsa Fridman Randolph
James is a Teacher Coach on The Teachers Guild where he provides guidance and support to the community.
Teacher Designer: James Campbell
James Campbell currently teaches world history at Mount Vernon Presbyterian School in Atlanta, Georgia, where he also serves as the Head of Ninth Grade and design thinking coach. For James, teaching is an act of giving back:
“Growing up I had some difficult moments, at least what I perceived to be difficult. I had people who stood in the gap and helped me get through those times. Teaching is my way of giving back and standing in the gap for young people who may need someone to guide them through the difficult teenage years. I have been an educator for 13 years and each year I grow to love it more.”
Q: What does it mean to be a teacher designer to you?
A: The future of education is not a straight path, it is a path that is changing and mixed with the unknown. As a teacher designer I am not waiting for politicians, textbook companies or school districts to decide that path. The teacher designer is one who is involved in the conversation and helping to design with students what education should look like in the future.
“A teacher designer is actively involved in shaping the future of education.” — James
When I think of having a design thinking mindset, the first thing that comes to mind is developing a willingness to get messy. As teachers we have an objective we are trying to reach and all activities, in someway, will lead us to reach that goal. Design thinking is human-centered problem solving and humans are messy. So the first part of developing the mindset is realizing that your initial “goal” may go in a totally different direction.
Having a design thinking mindset has caused me to have more of an entrepreneurial spirit. Each year my students come in with a different set of needs, a new set of strengths and weakness, and new goals or desires from a class. I can’t recycle the same lesson plans over and over and expect it to have the greatest impact. My initial design thinking challenge is to understand my students and create a class environment that allows them to have the most success.
Design thinking has given me the willingness to continue to grow as a learner and prototype new ideas in the classroom and school environment.
I think empathy is the most important aspect of design thinking. As a history teacher I want my student to understand the role of the “others.” History is so often told from the point of view of the victors and the wealthy, I feel students need to empathize or understand the story of those who are voiceless.
Q: What is a solution you’ve created using design thinking?
A: The research states that high school students are less engaged in school, so our question was, how might we engage students in real-world meaningful learning experiences? The opportunity was to have students more engaged at school by doing work that was meaningful to them. This was a collaboration with the administration, teachers and the student body.
Our solution, which we’ve named iProject, is now on its fourth iteration. It is dedicated school time where students work individually or in small groups to explore areas of curiosity and passion that incorporate subject areas being taught during the year. iProject culminates with an end of the year celebration. This year will be our fifth iteration. We have all the milestones set and designated work time. We received and reviewed teacher and student feedback. So this year we will run the iProject without major changes mid-way through the program.
The impact has been very positive as student voice is greater. iProject has also helped the students connect what they are learning in school with real world issues and external experts.
Connect with James on The Teachers Guild.
