Category: Ideas

Idea: The YCISL Teacher Toolkit

We published a YCISL Toolkit Series for parents who suddenly found themselves needing to become their children’s teacher. There was so much uncertainty about educational continuity as well as finding a schedule that would work. The idea from the YCISL program was to nurture thinking skills rather than expanding content knowledge.

Around the world, most schools reopened in an unfamiliar online mode. Even at Stanford, it took a leap of faith for course instructors to shift to an online mode. Like most, we became highly dependent on Zoom for videoconference communications…and we have experienced Zoom fatigue too. Most educators are searching for educational technologies to step in so that student interest is maintained despite the loss of close contact.

However, in the YCISL worldview, we see this global disruption in education to be an unbelievable opportunity for a quantum upgrade to teaching. Specifically, we should utilize EQ-based methods to elevate class awareness and management skills based on the varied behavioral responses of students and teachers to the virtual classroom. This wiki entry and the following YCISL Teacher Toolkit Series is our attempt at launching this jump into hyperspace.

To prepare the series, we are pondering the following:

• What are the questions that a teacher may be asking themselves?
• Do teaching goals and expected outcomes need to change?
• What are the development opportunities for teachers that would be of benefit now and also in the future when students return to school?

At this time, we are planning on using the same cornerstones of the YCISL Parent (Teacher) Toolkit which includes (1) Asking Questions, (2) Divergent-Convergent Thinking, (3) Filling & Crossing Gaps, (4) Fast Creative Thinking, and (5) Positive Thinking. Our approach will be to show that EQ-based learning can be integrated into each of these skill areas so that teacher-student and student-student interactions have purpose and meaning, and new gold standards are established.

 

Exercise: Divergent-Convergent Thinking Training Worksheet

We introduce the idea of divergent-convergent thinking cycles in our YCISL workshops. It is the structured pathway method to creative thinking, decision making and problem solving. School curricula generally emphasize convergent thinking only which limits creativity.

Three years after releasing the Turn the Donkey lesson, a Divergent-Convergent Thinking Trainer lesson is being released to our YCISL LinkedIn group.

This exercise is intended for practice and as a reminder to apply divergent-convergent thinking cycles in our creative behavior. The exercise comprises a series of worksheets each formatted slightly differently to inculcate agility in how we apply the method to different situations.

The first worksheet being released introduces divergent-convergent thinking in its simplest 2-choice form. Subsequent lines on the worksheet then stretch the divergent part of the exercise. Currently, the exercises converge on a single item, but in reality convergence could be on a group.

An example, run with the DIRECTIONS prompt with two circles and one square, might have Up (1st circle), Down (2nd circle) and Up (square) as an answer set.

The purpose is to train agility into the practice of divergent-convergent thinking, but also to familiarize us with the steps: interpreting the prompt, starting, completing the divergent part, and quickly finishing with the convergent part. Speed is key, but so is confidence in getting through the cycle.

And once the cycle is complete, a creative person should be able to start another cycle right away if needed.

The Straits Times: 6 in 10 S’porean households recycle weekly, though misconceptions about the process remain: Surveys

Household recycling is still an immature process – meaning plenty of confusion, indifference and emotional un-intelligence. This The Straits Times article by Ng Huiwen published on April 29, 2019 titled “6 in 10 S’porean households recycle weekly, though misconceptions about the process remain: Surveys” reminds me of my own household’s behavior with respect to recycling as well as how government policies keep getting in the way of creating sustainable recycling behavior (eg, the plastic bag ban). Thus with the condition of wanting so much more out of a good cause, we can possibly take on this problem scope for the YCISL workshop team projects.

TUNING THE RECYCLING MINDSET

Purpose: To design solutions utilizing YCISL strengths that enable optimizable recycling behavior in homes.

How: For this pilot-level project, team projects will be required to include fast-thinking conditioning, instrinsic motivation leveraging, and emotional intelligence smart-ness.

Methodology: Team products could be service-oriented, educational (various media or channels), interfacial (eg, using HCI), interactive (eg, with feedback), gadget (something to install or carry) or programmatic (crowd-sourced or information campaign). To optimize, make it simple AND easy.

Rules (who needs rules?): No financial aspect will be considered.

Teams and the Universal Issue of Sustainability

In the YCISL framework, I position Sustainability as a universal issue meaning that it affects everyone, should be on everyone’s mind, and requires everyone’s active input and feedback. In modern times, environmental sustainability fits this “universal” theme but we could think of sustainable human health, agricultural sustainability and sustainable education as universal causes that should engage everyone. The “SL” in our acronym stands for sustainable leadership – based on the idea that everyone is in a leadership position and there is a general need to train and strengthen EQ to garner higher quality leadership.

I am writing this entry in thought to my reading of Stanford’s latest Vision Initiatives in Research. My worldview on this includes the Sustainable Urban Systems program that I helped put together in a proposal several years ago as well as the YCISL idea of sustainability as a universal issue. From this, I have few thoughts on how to put together teams and what to list as the principal tasks. For our YCISL project teams to be successful in product realization with sustainability as a feature, these team strategies may be useful.

1. Form multidisciplinary teams with cross-functional competencies. I learned this at Handspring. The team should represent the various functions that move the product forward. Participation by representatives may vary at each development stage or even within a stage – which is where cross-functionality comes in. Representation from each function is also critical to ask questions from diverse perspectives (eg, from the testing part of our YCISL workshop) as well as to share insight and ideas (eg, from our PostIt brainstorming part of our YCISL workshop). And in most situations, an experienced project manager is needed to keep everything upright and progressing.
2. Strive for team emotional intelligence (an extension of individual EQ). Our EQ framework comprises self and social components. In the YCISL, we start with the self by defining our Personal Story in order to build our identity, and understanding EQ life lessons that we can apply to continuously training ourselves. Teams should communicate a collective Personal Story and develop a singular image of their identity (eg, purpose, energy, direction, shape and function). We also work on the social by energetically activating ourselves to connect new experiences, skills and ideas using a growth mindset (teams need to maintain positivity and productivity).
3. Using the Gamestorming format, teams should engage in the OPEN then move on to the EXPLORE with the known parameters of when and how to CLOSE. Iteration is key to the team process as is fail early, fail fast (the virtual reset button), and the divergent-convergent thinking loop.

 

Workshop Group Introductions

In the early YCISL workshops, we used to have the usual self-introductions at the start with a random question thrown in such as “What is your favorite [something]?” Then we also played the action-name game for many years where each student pairs their name with a word and act out an action related to that word.

I am also now thinking of adding an exercise where we look at our same-ness and differences. At a simple level (depending on available time), I would have pairs of students confer with each other and come up with three things they have in common, and three things which are different. This could extended into a speed dating format where pairs switch partners and create a same/different list for each person they meet. In the end, we would tally the number of similarities and differences, and maybe even categorize them. This would give a good snapshot (with a quantitative element) of the group.

As is the usual YCISL style, the instructions will be kept simple: identify three similarities and three differences. The categories will be up to each pair to choose – by asking divergent thinking questions, exchanging through active listening, and converging on their list. The quantitative part would establish connectedness as well as individual and group identities.

It would be interesting to get some of this information up on the screen using Mentimeter.

Paper Airplanes & A Reveal of Our Problem-Solving Mindset

I re-watched Tim Brown’s Tales of Creativity & Play this morning, and the part with the Finger Blaster had me wanting to incorporate something similar into the YCISL workshops. I also had just watched a TED video “How To Make Applying For Jobs Less Painful” by Priyanka Jain in which she showed a clapping test to reveal a thinking trait. This has me again wanting to demonstrate the spectrum of approaches any given group naturally takes to tackle a problem (and how education, let’s say a typical classroom, is herded to take just one approach). So here is an idea for a workshop exercise using paper to make paper airplanes.

I am assuming that for any given group that paper airplane-making skills are widely spread. Some may already know how to make a paper airplane. A few may know how to make sophisticated ones that fly far or can do acrobatics. Most will likely know how to make the simple paper airplane that fly a relatively short distance compared to the current record of 220′ 10″!

For this exercise, we provide one sheet of paper to each participant. They start by writing their name on the paper for post-flight identification. The participants are then simply instructed to build a paper airplane with their sheet of paper and we will see whose flies the farthest. No other instructions.

They will be given 10 minutes to do this. After that, it will be time to fly their creations.

I hope to observe a wide range of approaches to this task such as:

• folding using their existing knowledge about paper airplanes, if any
• doing some independent research such as checking the WWW
• asking someone for help or advice
• just watching someone else and copying
• forming a collaboration and working together

Then we fly and see whose flies the farthest. Just as we do with the Spaghetti Tower Marshmallow exercise, we could do multiple rounds of this and look for learning through iteration. Will they change folding technique or will they take a different approach?

Each of the approaches reveals how one’s mindset is currently geared to problem-solving. The three main lessons (phrased as questions) are:

• Does your leadership worldview include other people (collaborator, advisor, teacher, etc)?
• Do you have a trusted growth mindset that takes you out of your comfort zone? Or do you tend to play it safe?
• Are you comfortable learning more about yourself (self-awareness) and how you approach problem-solving (self-management)? Are there any issues that can be addressed?

Decluttering…Inspired by Marie Kondo

It took a while (years, I think), but yesterday I finally took notice of the idea of decluttering (mainly thanks to a couple of articles on AsiaOne) as it is inspired by Marie Kondo. I decided to watch the first episode of “Tidying Up with Marie Kondo” on NetFlix, and found engaged by the cultural bridging displayed on the show. The formula was fairly simple: putting the Japanese sense of less is more with the US sense of automatic-consumerism yielded a challenge worth viewing – kind of like rubbernecking a road accident.

Then the connection struck me. Several years ago, one of the YCISL workshop project teams had worked on a decluttering idea (of toys and clothes of children who outgrow the items) and it became one that I use as an example over and over again. Thinking broadly, decluttering (or at least envisioning, planning and empowering for) is a prime leadership skill. Defocused and un-collaborative teams or products are prime candidates for decluttering leadership. Getting teams to bring everything to the fore and sorting them into piles is needed. Showing appreciation for purpose is also emotionally soothing for saving or detaching issues.

Decluttering is about sharing the vision of Point A and Point B, and how to get from Point A to Point B (this has always been what I view as the primary task of leadership). Sharing in the journey is the touch that contributes to fulfillment and success.

So I am hoping to design “Decluttering” into the YCISL projects. The steps from Brainstorming to Prototyping to Feature List to Product Realization are each decluttering exercises. Even Testing & Readiness requires disciplined decluttering. I have a feeling this will be a very useful idea for the YCISL model of creativity, innovation and leadership.

Thanks Marie Kondo for reminding me of this.

 

YCISL Team Project: Disrupting Human Behavior

One of the challenges that we have discussed in the YCISL workshops is changing human behavior. From ideas of the growth mindset (Dweck) to Simple, But Not Easy (Robbins), we know that changing human behavior like a disruptor requires a high level of mindful and persuasive creativity. We would need to leverage the sense of “new” (linked to the Try Something New workshop idea) and a worldview-framed story.

I am therefore considering the design of a YCISL team project with the theme “Disrupting Human Behavior” whereby teams have to realize a product that opens a new and competitively compelling path towards a sustainable objective.

The project would require a clear path and powerful messaging. Competitive advantage (just like in our Elevator Pitch exercise) would need to be awesome – as would ask and promise.

To be ultimately challenging, the teams would have to make (influence) other participants in the workshop willing to try the new path and consider sticking with it. It would have to be something workshop participants are actually doing at the start of the workshop – and would change their behavior by the end of the workshop.

How hard would that be?

YCISL Team Project: The _________ Guide for _________

Had an idea for a team project theme.

The general idea is for project teams to ideate, develop and launch a guide. The users will be defined as part of the problem-setting stage and will help define the EQ part of this project work. Hopefully, a project like this would bring in each of the EQ quadrants we introduce in the workshops.

I got this idea after spending quite some time on Yelp! today. Yelp! is just too general and pitted with low quality information from un-calibrated sources with uncertain biases.

So the initial idea was “The Dining Guide for Stanford Visitors” whereby teams would visit various eateries at Stanford and pull together a guide whilst developing content suitable for the intended audience.

But the same approach can be applied to other areas such as:

• The Quad
• The Stanford Bookstore
• Transportation
• Sports & Recreation
• Entertainment
• Cantor Museum
• and so on

Teams will prototype the guide on up to 3 platforms then proceed to complete the project on just one. Platforms could be a phone/tablet app, a web site, a brochure, a book, a video, a podcast, a news article, and more…

What’s the plan for YCISL 2019?

The December break was a good time to come up with ideas for the 2019 YCISL workshops.

1. A Symposium on Inspiring Cases of Youth Creativity, Innovation and Leadership. The schedule would involve research & development of a TED-style talk on a selected person, place or event. The selected case would have to exemplify the YCISL principles of EQ, intrinsic motivation and creative energy. Presentations could also make commentary on other YCISL topics including positivity, fast thinking, problem-solving, gratitude, teamwork/teambuilding, brand identity, and your personal story.
2. Team Project on EQ-fying Schools, Classrooms & Learning. Exploring a range of solutions to quality of engagement in Education. Particular focus in the first year will be on classroom OOBE (first impressions for the students and teacher). The aim will be to create an EQ-based familiarization between students and teachers in order to enable the reciprocal learning posited by Adora Svitak. We could touch on expectations, methodology and assessment.