Innovation

DESIGN FOR CHANGE

BRAZIL

After having had a look through each Design for Change pages, I have decided that my favourite page is about the country of Brazil. I have visited the other pages from other countries of all around the world, but I have chosen Brazil because I think that it is one of the most countries that show us how to develop and carry out Design for Change projects in a real way. In other pages we can find lot of information about the four steps (feel – imagine – do – share) that we have to follow to create an innovative project, but what I wanted to find was different examples and real situations with pupils who have carry out specific projects. From my point of view, theory is a necessary aspect to support our praxis, but I think through practising is when we interiorized better the content.

For instance, in Denmark page we can find lot of files and resources to download, which can help us to start with our innovative project. We can find powerpoints, project works and information about how to participate in Design for Change projects. But what I found in Brazil pages was different videos that exemplify how different projects were developed with real pupils. They show in a practical and real way how children can solve real problems with their innovation and imagination. They exemplified how they have put into practice the four steps to develop a new project that help us to solve problems or to transmit values. In my opinion, they show us the importance of doing those kinds of projects to transform our world in a place where we can live better.

As examples, in Brazil page we can find a project where pupils pick beach rubbish up and they make different toys and decoration with it. Furthermore, pupils show to the community what they have done, expressing their wishes about having a clean beach. Otherwise, we can also find projects from Taiwan or India, where they show innovative projects about how to respect nature and animal’s life, and the value of writing and reading, respectively.

To sum up, I would like to say that Brazil is my favourite page because I have found a video that exemplify another project about respecting other people and good behaving with the others. I chose that video for different reasons. First of all, the video shows in a good way how pupils followed the four steps to develop the project. Secondly, the project is innovative and the final product is a video produced, recorded and developed by pupils. Finally, with that project pupils learn different values that they can put into practice with their classmates and that they can transfer to the community. Moreover, I consider it is very important to work on values such as respect and no fights, considering that we have to prepare those pupils to live in a world that everyday becomes more globalized.

If you are interested in watching the video which I was talking about, click on the following link: http://www.dfcbrasil.com.br/historias/um-funk-contra-o-desrespeito/

REFLECTION

How and why do you intend to create an innovative and entrepreneurial mindset in your pupils? Or why not?

“In a time when there is a hunger for innovation everywhere, we think our primary responsibility is to help prepare a generation of students to rise with the challenges of our times” (d. school)

I absolutely agree with this quote when it says that we have to prepare our pupils to rise with the challenges of our times. In my opinion, it is very important that the society and the schools grow up future citizens that fulfil the needs that our world is demanding. For example, if we need to take care of our environment because we are damaging it too much, we have to teach our pupils to be sustainable and to be aware of the actions that we can do to help our planet, in order to grow up future generation of citizens that accomplish the requirements that the world needs.

As we have learnt in this subject, nowadays our world needs tolerant, collaborative and sustainable citizens that could live in a planet that everyday becomes more globalized. So, if our environment demands us a hunger for something, it is important to prepare and to grow up our pupils to rise with the challenges and with the needs that nowadays we have, because our pupils will be the future citizens and the world progress and development will depend on their actions and behaviours.

So, if nowadays there is a hunger for innovation everywhere, I think that as teachers we must give response to this need, teaching to our pupils to be creative and innovative. Younger pupils are very creative and imaginative, but while they are growing up, they lost the ability of creating new ideas and things in an easy way. That’s why I consider that at schools we must support and develop the innate abilities that they have when they were born. It is important that they practice and improve their skills, in order not to lose their talents. For all these reasons, I claim that it is important to create innovative mindset, in order to give response to the world’s needs and to grow up pupils that develop their inborn skills and abilities.

To do that, teachers should take into account and demand pupil’s participation and opinion. Sometimes, we do not ask to our pupils what they want to learn or what they are interested in. We do not involve them into global and social issues or problems, without asking what their opinion and point of view is. To become creative and innovative, I think it is very important to ask our students questions such as: “What do you want to do? What do you think? What is your opinion? What would you do?” Furthermore, making questions that make them to reflect, to think and to make hypothesis about something is a good way to activate their brains. We can demand them how they would like to solve a problem, which can be a social and global issue too. Pupils must feel involve and they have to realize that their opinions are listened because they are important and taken into account. Maybe, we can ask them what sustainable actions we can do to take care of our environment or what projects can we develop to transmit values such as tolerance or collaboration.

Arriving to that point, I consider that the important thing is to ask the right questions to our pupils, in order to make them to think and to reflect about something. Pupils are natural thinkers, creative and innovative, and our challenge is to develop their abilities and skills. It is our task to activate their brain in order to grow up future citizens that can fulfil the world’s needs. When pupils were born, they are innate creative and innovative, but we have to help them to expand and activate their skills to prepare them as a future generation that can rise with the challenges that nowadays we have in our globalized world.