Statewide School Redesign: Integrating Design Thinking and the Four Disciplines of Execution as a Continuous School Improvement Process

Sixty-six school districts and more than 150 schools in the state of Kansas are participating in the Kansans Can Redesign Project. In this article, we present a case study of using Design Thinking as a systemic process to structure continuous school improvement. The collage of real-life scenarios presented in our case shows the integration of Design Thinking and the Four Disciplines of Execution and highlights the nuances and delicacies involved in the process as the major change agents work together and engage theory-to-practice applications of design thinking for change. Also illustrated in the case are the struggles and successes experienced by schools as they venture into the unfamiliar terrains of the design thinking process and enact on the integrated principles to school redesign.

Case Study Of Manor New Tech High School: Promising Practices In STEM Education For Comprehensive High Schools

The following paper culminates a year of research conducted by researchers at E3 Alliance and Texas State University and sponsored by the National Science Foundation. The following reports on promising practices observed and reported at Manor New Tech High School (MNTH), a Texas Science Technology Engineering Mathematics (T-STEM) high school in Manor Independent School District (ISD) that opened in August 2007. MNTH follows several high school redesign principles such as small learning communities and rigorous coursework with real-world applications, and is focused on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). Through a case study analysis based on teacher surveys, interviews, and site visits, the researchers identify practices that potentially apply to comprehensive high schools committed to improving student outcomes in STEM fields.

An Introduction to “Early College”

Several national and international assessments have demonstrated that there has been little improvement in the performance of American high school students in recent decades. High school students are increasingly underprepared for transition into college-level course-work. One new approach to high school redesign, “early college,” seeks to address these issues. The model features a rigorous academic course of study that engages students in college-level work in grades nine through fourteen. Early college is a subset of dual enrollment programs providing opportunities for students to complete high school and college credits with the same courses. The goal is to prepare students academically for college-level coursework while easing the transition to higher education. Early college offers promise in directly addressing student academic performance, attrition rates, and readiness for college, but further research is needed to determine its efficacy and scalability.