Skydiving to unique solutions
Students in Neier Beran鈥檚 Design Thinking course visit the iFly indoor skydiving facility to learn how STEAM education and thrill can be combined.
鈥淚 just could not believe that it was a real possibility we would go skydiving for a field trip,鈥� said graduating senior Maria Marcus (BBA 鈥�22).
Marcus and others in the Design Thinking class taught by Senior Ignatian Lecturer Stacy Neier Beran visited iFLY, an indoor skydiving facility. The trip helped spark inspiration in design thinking for a real-world class client who wants to build a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics)-focused urban waterpark for Chicago.
鈥淒esign thinking is a practice for intentional innovation that centers around a user's needs,鈥� said Neier Beran. 鈥淢ore often we see the world鈥檚 greatest challenges really need to look at consumers鈥� needs with new approaches, new tools, new mindsets, and that鈥檚 where design thinking comes into play."
Solving tangible problems in class
Neier Beran and real-estate developer Zev Salomon challenged the class to conceptualize what the waterpark should look like. Students worked in small groups and created their own avenues for solving the complex problem.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 know what to expect,鈥� said Salomon. 鈥淚鈥檝e never approached a school to help develop a problem. To get into a room with young people and see a lightbulb go off鈥� it鈥檚 fun.鈥�
Marcus feels working with a real-world client is preparing her for life after Quinlan.
鈥淚 do think that set me up very well to be able to take those experiences working with a client in the classroom to real career experience,鈥� Marcus said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 extremely valuable.鈥�
Discovering your 鈥渃annonball moment鈥�
Finding how the waterpark could function as a STEAM workshop and still be successful led the class to multiple unique solutions. Neier Beran鈥檚 Ignatian approach to design thinking encouraged those results.
鈥淭his idea of divergent and convergent thinking has an intersection, and that intersection truly is the moment when perspectives start to change, when we see something in a new light鈥� that pinch between divergent thinking and convergent thinking is what we call the cannonball moment,鈥� said Neier Beran.
The 鈥渃annonball moment鈥� is inspired from the experiences of St. Ignatius of Loyola, when he was struck by a cannonball mid-battle, and his perspective on life changed forever.
Junior Alley Neary says that 鈥渃annonball moment鈥� came with the trip to iFLY.
鈥渋FLY gave us a tangible product of what fun and education integrated together looks like,鈥� Neary said. 鈥淭he excitement and generosity of our client providing us the opportunity to do something like this propelled our project further.鈥�
Finding individual solutions
At the semester鈥檚 end, Salomon critiqued presentations of each group鈥檚 design concept. Every group arrived at their own conclusions, including one that thought the project simply could not be done. However, those varying solutions are what Neier Beran believes give her students the best advantage for tackling real-world problems.
鈥淲hen we look at the world鈥檚, Chicago鈥檚, society鈥檚 heart-wrenching challenges, we need multiple perspectives from diverse backgrounds to be a part of the process,鈥� Neier Beran said. 鈥淚n this design thinking class, we鈥檝e been able to integrate knowledge that will help a client move forward in a more just, intentional way.鈥�
Neier Beran鈥檚 course received input from Slalom, Abbvie Health, dscout, PinPoint Collective, Doblin, Helix Chicago, Beverly Castle, New Trier's Department of Applied Arts, Loyola鈥檚 Center for Engaged Learning, Teaching, and Scholarship (CELTS), and Duo Development.
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