My observations as an educator inside and out of the classroom

My journey in academics began early. Graphic design and communication design allowed me to carve a learning path for my students to have their “light bulb moments”. Systems design has always been exciting to practice and translated well into the classroom. A recent tally of my roster accounts about 26k teaching hours in a college classroom. And that does not include the countless hours of curriculum design, career fairs, portfolio nights, reviews, and extra help sessions; in person, on the phone, or by email. This journey of interacting with individuals from all walks of life and from all over the world has been fulfilling to say the least.

5 years ago, I launched my passion project, the Indian Culture Box. My team and I conduct workshops rooted in cultural traditions. This enterprise is a combination of my belief in the value of cross-cultural communication, love of design curation, and passion for education. Through this venture, I have taught 50+ workshops (200+ hours) across elementary and middle schools, libraries and internationally renowned museums. I have given demonstrations inside galleries, on the streets, in a courtyard, in the wild, on-stage, and in a parking lot. At one event, we had a fire department for support because it involved participants lighting their artwork on fire. The ability to shape a learning experience and a growing moment is all the jam.
As part of living the immigrant life, remote tech support for various senior family members is a given. This teaching career has spanned across 24 years, various technologies, and working remotely before remote work was a socially accepted concept. I can’t even begin to calculate all those hours.
Having raised two children with my husband, I’ve taught an average age range between 0-80. The material has varied from teaching what it means to be a good friend, to creating an award winning innovation product idea. Or from developing a social media strategy to teaching a 5 yo how to drape a 5-yard saree. Each experience special and challenging in its own way.

Here are some observations from inside and outside the classroom. You can call them the 15 qualities for effectively leading teams:

1. Empathy — People are people and they respond to empathy and patience. Being persistent with kindness until they understand the concept, helps.
2. Deep knowledge of your subject — Knowing what you say and a grasp on your material is important to gain trust.
3. Enthusiasm — When you are excited about teaching, it influences the quality and speed of learning.
4. Open-mind — Always connect with your audience. Understanding them and meeting them where they are coming from is a good starting point.
5. Good listening — Listening is where the magic lies. This allows you to understand the person you will be teaching so you can modify how you present the material.
6. Flexibility— Every person learns differently and no two people can be effectively taught the same way. Sometimes major and sometimes minor modifications are necessary.
7. Blue sky thinking — When you push the envelope and experiment with material, outcome and goals, your team often follows suit in the results they produce.
8. Dialog over monologue— Including your students in the conversation about the material from the get-go allows you to become a part of their journey. One way communication rarely works.
9. Activities help — Moving your team out of their routine, whether it is space, medium or format, moves the energy of the room which you can then direct the way you want. My class often goes outdoors to get the creativity flowing.
10. Honesty — Sharing where you come from and the journey you went through provides hope, trust and the confidence to make mistakes - some of the best work is created from honesty and vulnerability.
11. Curiosity — Acknowledging each persons lived experience and being curious about something they know that you don’t, creates confidence and lends a voice to self-doubting creative minds.
12. Healthy competition — Games in the environment amongst teams creates healthy competition and produces good work. It also produces positive and respectful creative individuals.
13. Inclusivity — Creating a structure which allows a diverse set of voices and mental models brings in fresh energy.
14. Stay current — Discussions of world affairs, local politics, favorite TV shows or the MET gala fashion highlights makes for an interactive team environment.
15. Being present — Enjoy being there in the moment with your team and they will too.

When a student from 12 years ago who lives half way across the world calls me to catch up and wants to share photos of her babies and tell me all about her business, it is very touching.
While the work of an educator can be all consuming and often unrecognized, it comes with a large amount of value addition to your personal life. It allows you to experience the world through younger eyes and gives you the opportunity to create a legacy. I would highly recommend working professionals to enter the classroom. It allows you to gauge your expertise and bring your rich experience to the younger generation.

For me, teaching has primarily meant long lasting relationships, refining management skills, a lot of personal growth and a sense of connectedness and community. For this I am grateful.

Wellness innovation in the classroom — Gauri Misra-Deshpande

Wellness refers to the natural state of being that each of us is meant to be in. A state of ease. And not a state of disease. With changes in societal structures, economies and technological advances the shift in the idea of wellness and its technique seem to be the constant. There is a projected growth of $4.2 trillion in this industry which goes across the spectrum from skincare, aging, travel, food, supplements, cannibus, exercise, sleep and so many more facets. Growing up with Ayurveda and food being health, the idea of doing anything special for wellness seemed unnatural to me at first. But being exposed to the Global Wellness Summit gave me an opportunity to meet some unbelievable people with their hearts and business minds in balance. 

For two years in a row, my students have won the Shark Tank for Wellness competition at the Global Wellness Summit. I realized that I had arrived at Wellness innovation in the classroom as a natural progression. If I could teach them how to sell a watch, why couldn’t I help them think of something that would help them spend their day mindfully? Wellness innovation design applies the same thought and design process. 

• Consider the end user
• Identify their pain points
• Create something to make a difference in their life and the world
• Design a prototype to visualize the idea
• Tell the story to support your innovation

Applying lessons of empathy often begin with yourself. I have seen a shift in generations. The youngest of them do care about the environment. But often that sense of duty gets mixed up a savior complex . Instead of simply buying another product that donates to a charity, it might be gratifying to create a solution that aims at the problem itself.

VIEW SOME PAST WINNERS

Here are some conversations for wellness innovation we have in the classroom:

• What is going on around us?
• Have you been touched by an issue?
• What already exists and can it be improved?
• How would your innovation make a difference in someone’s life?
• Would you be able to scale it?
• What story would you tell about the innovation? And to who specifically?

What is going on around us?

I make my students read the news — they have to know what’s going on the world, not just in their local environment. They are also to watch talks by leaders in different industries. It is easy to access information with YouTube and Ted talks and so many other wonderful resources. Could you look at staggering numbers and statistics? And is it in an area you are interested in? 

Have you been touched by an issue?

The savior complex exists in all of us in varying amounts. We are social creatures that are inherently intelligent and capable of helping each other out. Sometimes we just need a nudge. When students are asked in class to list out what area of wellness they would like to focus on, these are some responses I get. “My younger sister is so conscious of how she looks because of her skin” or “ I don’t want to waste food but often I throw spoilt produce from my fridge because I get busy or forget it’s there”. These conversations grow into user surveys, questionnaires, persona studies and eventually insight translation with consumer journeys, use case scenarios etc. 

What already exists and can it be improved?

Do not begin with wanting to reinvent the wheel. Begin by wanting to solve a small problem really well. Look around, diligent market research shows you what already exists. And see if there is a gaping hole in a certain  market or consumer segment that has not been explored yet. Study innovations in the market many of those that have changed your own life. Being aware that our everyday has been modified by someone who came up with that idea is a very defining moment in the thought process. 

How would your innovation make a difference in someone’s life?

How does your user live and what aspirations do they have? Are they dealing with something  that has not gotten attention? Can you identify this micro-instance in their daily life? Defining what you can create to make that instance of pain disappear is the moment of creativity. 

Would you be able to scale it? How?

Even Michelangelo had a family supporting his masterpiece ceiling murals. If you are creating something that is meaningful to the user, you have to make sure you develop it with the intent of it reaching all that can benefit from it. Something that improves the specific life and then the general condition of life in society. For this, knowing your market and identifying an industry supporter to scale your innovation is very important. Aligning with existing tools may be a very viable option too. One of my student groups developed the idea of a meditation pod and they chose to partner with an existing meditation app — the alliance seems natural as they coexist in the same space and can benefit from each other. 

What story would you tell about the innovation? And to who specifically?

What are the supporting facts to your innovation? Identify and amplify why this idea makes sense and holds the potential to resolve that micro instance of pain. Would someone want to buy this idea? In regards to  content, tone and visual style of story telling — I often draw on this analogy in my classroom. How would you narrate a life experience to your room mate versus your mother? What details would you embellish? Once you define that, you have an authentic story meant for a specific audience. 

Teaching young minds to sell a product is easier because they are surrounded by those messages every 30 seconds from the time they wake up to the time they sleep. They engage as consumers as long as they are being entertained. Sometimes knowingly and sometimes not. But making them take a moment to look around and be observant of that one micro instance in someone else’s life, that could make a difference. And then design for it— that is wellness innovation. 

"The reflection of you" — Self promotion chocolate leave-behind that showcases the authentic "YOU".

Designer: Maria Tamayo, Colombia

  I have developed countless projects across many levels of classes and across disciplines through my academic career. Project development is exciting for me because I labor over it until the construct is just right. A strong project offers a student in a given timeframe the opportunity to develop a deliverable that not only aligns with the class objectives and curriculum but also gives them a sense of achievement and purpose.Over time I have realized that giving students projects that either intrigue them, expose them to a new environment or technology or allow them to introspect themselves or their belief systems or mental models almost always brings about a high level of learning. 

Designer: Ava Kassel, Mexico

Designer: Meiqi Yuan, China

Like a good fusion dish, a good project maintains loyalty to the original premise while providing flexibility for students to add themselves to it. With the right guidance and true passionate talent, this may also result in globally accepted award winning work. 

Such has been the case of my chocolate packaging leave behind project. I asked students to develop a leave behind in the form of chocolates for prospective employers. And evidence of their skill and passions, their life experiences and their motivations.

Designer: Makumbi Muleba, Zambia

The results have been overwhelming and as varied as the students I have taught. Graduate and undergraduate students have developed chocolate packaging as evidence of their knowledge in 3D packaging, concepts of printing, color modes, software knowledge for creation and understanding of die lines and foil stamping. The other more complex layer of their project has been the cultural representation by various students across, languages, music, colors, textiles, geographies and popular trends.  The chocolate flavors have also been a deliberate choice in reflecting their personality. This project has been a success in more ways than one. 

Designer: Zaynah Smith, United States