Puna Wānanga

This year, all Puna Wānanga started off with engaging teaching and learning, where students developed a design thinking mindset through our RSHS design thinking process model.

Design thinking helps people come up with creative solutions while making sure they focus on what people actually need. By using this process on Wednesdays, we encourage teamwork, innovation, and flexibility in our students, skills that are popular and used in many areas. Innovative companies that use the Design Thinking Process are Apple, Netflix, Google, Airbnb, IBM, Toyota, Nike plus many more. 

As an introduction, students were challenged on the first day to design a pizza experience for their teacher as well as for a chosen hamster needing a new home. They were also asked to construct their own personal Google site.

The design process will be further cemented with students taking part in at least two full-day design sprint challenges: the first where they will be asked to design a project to positively put RSHS on the map and the second linked to the issue of the future of food.

We are really looking forward to supporting our students throughout the year as they continue on using and applying design thinking to their own selected project in an effort to make a difference in their community.