Gestalt is a German word, I came across recently. The closest translation I, s ‘whole’, ‘pattern’ or ‘form’. It has the sense that meaning cannot be found from breaking things down into parts but rather from appreciation of the whole.
An example of gestalt psychology in everyday life is how we complete a jigsaw puzzle, rather than looking at each piece as an individual unit, they form meaningful relationships between the pieces to see the big picture more quickly and efficiently.
This got me thinking, should “ Gestalt “ should be the approach when we design solutions for the schools. We can’t really build what we build and say, this is good for you. It rarely is ! We cant give solutions without a robust training program. Working in isolation (even high quality) will probably not result in a great long term outcome. Getting the latest computers without a good teacher, or a great teacher without determining the goal and outcome ahead, will all, still fall short of expectations.
I can’t explain the countless times I have visited schools to learn that they have bought some equipment / tools / resources /app or software and they are lying there, unused.
Bought with good intentions, sold as well with good intentions (probably), but the twain have never met. The school never managed to use it beyond the sexy period, or the key driver left or something else.
When we look at schools and the ecosystem around it, there needs to be a certain amount of empathy that needs to be factored around what we are building for them. Who will use, how often, when, why and most importantly does it solve the basic premis for both why schools and we operate — Does it put student first ?
Determination becomes obsession and then it becomes all that matters.” — Jeremy Irvine
At iRobokid robotics / www.irobokid.com we are obsessed with making the solution for the school, one that is used and reused again and again. We often tell schools, if you guys are not going to use it, then even if we sell it, it will be a waste.
It certainly helps that our entire program (hardware + software + design experience) is built by the teachers itself. Built by teachers, for teachers !! It encapsulates a complete approach taking an empathetic note of what all stakeholders, from the students, teachers & schools will need, yes, in that very order. As Mark Twain said “ Do the right think, it will gratify some & astonish the rest !!