Listen in each week as we speak with innovative teachers, students, and change makers in education.
S2 E36 Empowered Problem Solving and Empathy through Design Thinking - Alison Carson
Part 1 of 2 Alison Carson is the Associate Provost for Academic Innovation and Design Thinking and a Professor of Psychology at Manhattanville College. In this Digication Scholars Conversation, Alison describes her role in promoting awareness and appreciation for design thinking among the faculty and students of Manhattanville, and describes the school’s newly created certificate in design thinking. While acknowledging the challenges of fostering understanding and willingness to adopt new methods, her commitment to design thinking continually leads to innovative teaching and student success across an array of disciplines. Alison and host Kelly Driscoll discuss a number of these successes, including the school’s Atlas program, incorporating ePortfolio into advising, and a recent marketing capstone bringing in four female entrepreneurs to mentor students. Throughout, Alison emphasizes the importance of empathy throughout the design process. “If you’re trying to … solve a particular problem, you have to understand the problem from the point of view of the person who’s actually experiencing that problem.”
S2 E35 Leading ePortfolio at Scale with Empathy in a Large Research Institution - Kate LaBore
(Part 2 of 2) Kate LaBore is the Technology and Media Professional in the Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning at University of Illinois Urbana Champaign. In this Digication Scholars Conversation, Kate and Digication CEO Jeff Yan discuss the challenges of implementing ePortfolio at scale in a large research institution, and the importance of integrating ePortfolio with the campus Learning Management System. While acknowledging the difficulty of promoting awareness of ePortfolio and other high impact practices among instructors, Kate, emphasizes the excitement of finding instructors that “get” ePortfolio, and stresses the potential for these instructors to lead their colleagues to a deeper level of understanding of the pedagogy. The conversation concludes with an in-depth discussion on the importance of creating accessible content and resources for students. “It’s empathy. It's being able to see the world through the eyes of someone who has a different way of being in the world than you do.”