For the tenth year, Problem Solving Through Design, a class taught by Kathryn Lee, Director of Innovation and Design, is attracting a vast array of students, especially 9th graders.
This class teaches students how to think creatively and work in teams. The class focuses on solving real-world problems and the process behind designing new technology.
The class is broken up into Problem Solving I and Problem Solving II.
In Problem Solving II, students are tasked with diving deeply into a single challenge, building upon ideas introduced in Problem Solving I or starting fresh with a new problem.
From day one, teams collaborate to identify an issue they are passionate about addressing. The course encourages innovation and sustained focus, providing students the time and structure to push their solutions as far as possible over the semester.
“When in Problem Solving II, you come into the [innovation] space on day one and as a team, and you must start to identify a problem,” Lee said. “It could be something you started in Problem Solving I. I have had projects where folks create something in Problem Solving I and they want to continue and push it farther. People also decide to start at a completely clean slate. And students in problem solving II spend the entire semester working on that one problem and you try to take that one problem as far as you possibly can.”
Rory Coleman ‘28 enjoys the freedom that the course offers.
“I think the idea is to get us thinking about problems and how to solve them,” Coleman said.
The class has attracted mainly 9th-graders this semester.
“I think it attracts freshmen because it offers either a tech credit or an art credit and because of this, it leaves a lot of flexibility for freshmen who might not know what other classes they will take,” Jaedin Feaster ’28 said.
This class also provides students in STEAM a base to take other innovation and design classes.
Brooks Neufeld ’26 recommends the class as a base for all types of academic paths.
“I would suggest this class for anyone who wants to work with the STEAM equipment in the maker space or just in the innovation space. I would suggest this class to someone who wants to just work on their problem-solving skills, come up with solutions and pitching ideas, thinking about the person who would want to use your product. And also, to someone who’s just trying to get good group work practice, it’s a lot of collaboration, which can be helpful.”
