When I learned that IB schools offered Design classes as part of their core curriculum, I thought “this is the class I wish I had in high school”. I decided I wanted the opportunity to share my experience as a designer with young people, so I went back to school and got a teaching certification and now have spent over 8 years teaching MYP Design classes in middle and high school.

My teaching philosophy is to see the light/spark/passion within each student, and grow that light. I strive to make sure every young person I work with feels recognized for their unique strengths and interests and supported as they inquire into the type of designer they want to become. Together with my students and colleagues in design and other disciplines like math, visual art and science, we have developed units of inquiry into a wide range of real world design challenges. We strive to try it all; whether its architecture, fashion, product design using CAD/CAM technology, branding and entrepreneurship, engineering sustainable systems, interior design, even toys and video games.

One unit I love teaching is the “Ship Shape Systems’ ‘ unit I developed as an interdisciplinary unit with Science as well as a community partner business called NAVATEK, who design state of the art boat hulls. Students inquire into naval architecture in order to create more efficient hull shapes to use less energy when transporting goods across the sea. In Science class they learned about buoyancy and solar energy systems and in Design class we learned about hull shapes and hydrodynamics. The students create testable hypotheses and model them in scale testable boats which use solar energy systems for propulsion. We trial the boats in the swimming pool and record the results. After refining their models, students race to see who’s boat can carry the most weight the fastest across the pool.