The Doreen Nelson Method of Design-Based Learning (DBL) is a proven teaching methodology applied in K-12 classrooms around the world since 1969. DBL and its 6 ½ Steps of Backwards Thinking™ are rooted in the spatial domain—learning by doing. Students’ self-expression guides the building of physical artifacts and design solutions to content-related problems, opening up higher level thinking skills, propelling agile decision-making and the ability to use/reuse concepts across the curriculum.
This week, during SXSW EDU 2023, Liz Willen of The Hechinger Report sat down with architect Frank Gehry of Gehry Partners and Doreen Gehry Nelson of The Center for City Building Educational Programs (yes, they are siblings) to learn more about how the use of city building in classrooms supports curiosity, respects individuality, and ultimately reclaims humanity.
There is a large disconnect between the criteria required to become a teacher and what a teacher actually needs to be able to create a successful learning environment. This has led to a decline in new teachers and the current teachers leaving the profession in droves. In 1971, 21% of bachelors degrees in the U.S. were in education; in 2021 only 4% of bachelors degrees were in education. Furthermore, the average teacher today lasts less than 5 years before leaving to pursue a different career. Nelson explained how part of the problem is that our culture no longer values teachers or gives them their dues, when really teachers are the warriors of our society. The other part of the problem is based on the fact that when people go to school to become a teacher, the universities fail to teach how to engage students in the first place because the idea of students sitting in rows while the teacher is lecturing up front is archaic.
A recent survey asked students what they needed in order to look forward to coming to school everyday. All of their answers fell into 1 of 4 categories: 1) less stress and overwhelm; 2) better teacher-student relationships; 3) better peer relationships; and 4) had the word ‘fun’ in it. When people are asked to think back on their grade school years, there is always that one teacher who they remember fondly, and most of the time, there is even a specific memory associated with that person, which involved some kind of fun activity that did not follow the typical lesson plan guidelines or students in rows while the teacher lectured. Those are the days when the teacher went above and beyond to make connections and spark creativity. Those are the days when a teacher could say with conviction that s/he taught children, not a curriculum.
In 1969 the Gehry siblings started using city building as a learning technique in the classroom for teachers to teach children. Doreen was the teacher, Frank was the architect, and they worked together in classrooms to guide students in their design based learning to build a city. Why a city and not something else like a farm? Gehry said it’s because everyone lives in a city more or less, and kids know that a city has roads, schools, and parks, so you are able to engage in a conversation with young elementary school children up to high school children about what is needed to build a city. Before any planning goes into effect, students are charged with making a list of all the important things needed in a city and the list always includes trees and ways to get around town, then they start adding the types of buildings they need. As they continue to brainstorm, more problems arise, like how to mitigate traffic and what kind of energy the city is dependent on, which leads to more conversations and more solutions. Next they each adopt roles to play such as the mayor or the building inspector and the students learn the civics aspect of the project.
The audience was able to view a clip of Frank and Doreen introducing the project to the students. It was organized chaos to say the least, and yet, the students were completely engaged and determined to make a city from the ideas that they had. As Doreen explained, “Those students were engaged. They were learning. They had real life obstacles and real life problems that we did not solve for them… It’s that creativity, that individual thinking, that’s being encouraged, that you’re encouraging through this. It’s not separate from learning stuff that teachers need to teach. It’s not; you don’t do this and then you forget about reading, writing, arithmetic, the times tables, the periodic table. This stuff is all intertwined… We talk about a holistic kind of education, the joy of having fun in the classroom and doing purposeful learning.”
The city building activity checks off all four boxes of what kids need to get up in the morning and go to school. There is less stress and overwhelm because it is not based on some standardized test that they have to make a certain score on to pass. There are better teacher-student relationships because the teacher is supporting them while they explore the creative ideas they have in their minds and take pride in their contributions to the city. There are better peer relationships because students learn how to civilly discuss issues and democratically come up with solutions. They have fun because they are being trusted with the responsibility of doing something new and exciting. Having these reasons to come to school increases attendance, which results in greater opportunities for the power of the teacher to change lives.
One such person who had her life changed by Doreen was Porsche, who happened to be in the audience of the SXSW EDU 2023 event and was asked to join the panel on stage. The teacher Porsche remembered for life was Doreen, even though 50 years had gone by since they had last seen each other. Porsche acknowledged that in school she did not do well; she was always talking and disrupting the class; she was always being sent out in the hallway. That is where she met Doreen – in the hallway. Doreen recognized that Porsche’s behavior wasn’t “bad”, essentially she was just a bit dysregulated and needed an adult around who understood that, who could help her learn to bring herself back into a state of regulation, a state that a child’s brain needs to be in for learning to take place. Porsche was switched into Doreen’s class where she thrived during city building. She even made her way to the coveted role of mayor. She has since graduated college, married her marine husband, raised three beautiful children, and become a nurse. She’s a firm believer in the power of teachers to change lives.
It seems obvious that all teachers should want design based learning activities to take place in their classrooms. They probably all do want it, but the powers that be have a different vision for what they think teaching should look like. Doreen explained how educators and architects are similar in this way. The problem that Frank encounters is that people think a building is supposed to be a square building, but what she loves about Frank’s buildings is that they look like they could get up and walk away. Frank explained that when he designs a concert hall, he thinks of the people in the audience and the people in the orchestra, and he feels that you have to make a connection between the two. The concept of making connections fuels his architectural ideas. The same goes for education; the goal of education should be to teach children, not a curriculum, so those teacher-student and peer-to-peer connections can be made. Unfortunately, our culture doesn’t see it this way because they are thinking about school the way it used to be instead of how it could and should be in the 21st century. For this change to happen there has to be resilient educators at the forefront, advocating for change. Gehry and Nelson agree that it’s not going to be that easy. They say, “You have to work at it and never give up. We’re old now, so we need you; we need [the next generation] to light the fire.” So to all the educators, keep fighting the good fight for schools to be a place that supports curiosity, respects individuality, and ultimately reclaims humanity.
Candace Wofford is a University of Texas alum, where she holds her undergraduate and graduate degrees. She has her MS in Marine Science with a focus on Reproductive Endocrinology. She is an expert in the Social and Emotional Learning Field where she shares her passion to high-school students to inspire them to become the best versions of themselves. She is a mother of two beautiful children, Jace (5) and Piper Beverly (1.5) so together they are PB&J and she is happily married to her Action Sports Expert Hubby, Jade.
