The Design Table: A Space That Encourages Problem-Solving Through Creative Thinking
By Nancy Verdtzabella, Head Teacher
We value children’s ability to learn and solve problems through their creative expertise. The design areas at Bing Nursery School are intentional, carefully organized spaces dedicated to the exploration of ideas. Children have access to a generous supply of open-ended resources to support their thinking. By manipulating materials, children’s visual interpretations of their ideas come to life.
At Bing, we purposefully set up the environment in a way that inspires our young learners to independently seek and learn what is meaningful to them. A beautiful and inviting learning environment, one that includes an array of intentional and engaging activities for the children to choose from, helps foster a love of learning. One such environment in West PM is the design table. The space is a popular gathering spot for the children to design props that support their play. We also see this space as a platform for solving their everyday, real-life problems.
In 2009, the Bing staff, myself included, attended a daylong workshop at Stanford’s Hasso Plattner Institute of Design, also known as the Stanford d.school. We were reminded of the value of solving problems by thinking outside the box—something children tend to do without prompts from adults. As a school, we enjoy a rich history of dedicating learning spaces to develop creative minds. Further reflection inspired Nancy Howe, a design enthusiast and head teacher at the time, to suggest renaming what had been our maker space the “design table.” The new name spotlighted the important work children were engaged with and accomplishing there. Fifteen years later, children continue to use the space to find creative solutions to their problems by manipulating materials and creating prototypes that bring their ideas to life.
The area is arranged in a way that encourages child-led ideas. A provocation, which is a setup that invites exploration and experimentation, consists of recycled materials plus crayons, pencils, scissors, and tape. It is beautifully displayed on the table and nearby shelves to entice curiosity. Children come and go independently. There is never a day when the area remains untouched.
Children are constantly thinking of visual ways to represent their ideas. They often stay for prolonged periods of time at the design table, making iterations of props they use in their play scenarios. Children’s creative and imaginative minds are at work as they see and use the open-ended materials in ways that most adults would never imagine using themselves. Children’s innovative approaches to using open-ended materials to work out solutions to their problems are remarkable. Here are just three examples of children’s creative processes and innovations.
Minna and the Bug Jars
When Minna realized that all the class bug jars were being used by other children, she decided to stop at the design table to make her own. She looked at the assorted materials and chose two plastic spice flip-top bottle caps. She taped them together to make a container and then ran outside in search of a worm. When she found one, she flipped open one of the bottle caps’ lids and placed the worm inside with a blade of grass and closed the lid. “There!” she said. At the end of the day, she opened the lid and returned the worm to its natural habitat. Arriving to school the next day, Minna made slight variations to her bug jar design. “This one is bigger, for two worms,” she explained. “I don’t want the worms to be crowded.” This caught the attention of peers who also decided to make their own versions of bug receptacles. These bug jars became more popular than the store-bought ones!
What’s Your ETA?
One day in the Back 40 outdoor area, Rafaela scanned the yard in search of her friends. Realizing they had not yet arrived, she ran to the outdoor design table and began to cut cardboard pieces with scissors. Cutting the cardboard took great effort; nonetheless, she was determined to cut two pieces that were similar in size. “I need it to be the same exact size! I am making something important!” she announced. Rafaela drew small, pink squares on one of the cardboard pieces and taped the short edges together, so that they opened and closed like a book. She flipped open her prop and put it to her ear, then closed it immediately. Next, she climbed to the top of the climbing structure and scanned the yard. Still no sign of her friends. She began to tap her fingers rapidly on the pink squares. “I made a phone,” she said to me. “Who are you calling?” I asked. “It is not a phone call. I made this phone for texting. I am up here texting because I have been waiting for so long for my friends to get here! I’m sending them a text, so they can let me know when they will get here.”
Gone Fishing
Children gathered around the design table in the Back 40. Teddy, who had been making open-ended designs with a blue colored pencil, noticed he’d unintentionally drawn a figure that seemed to surprise him. “Hey! I made a fish! I made a fish!” he exclaimed as he held it up for all to see. B looked at the fish moving Teddy was waving through the air and said, “I want to catch them. The fish. Let’s go fishing!”
This prompted children to design their own fish and to make fishing poles. The children searched through the art cart and found paper, string, craft sticks, fallen twigs, masking tape, clear tape, and pipe cleaners. They went to work making a number of fishing pole prototypes, testing and retesting them. When a design needed fine-tuning, the children demonstrated resiliency by making changes to their fishing poles and fish so that they could “get a bite.” As Alex fished in the “pond,” created by the children out of four long outdoor blocks, he could not get his fish to bite. He returned to the design table and added tape to the end of the fishing pole string. After several attempts, he decided to add tape to the mouth of his fish. This time he got a bite. “Look, a fish!” he declared. “I also caught a fish,” said B. “Mine worked too!” said Teddy and Addie.
Several weeks later, B walked into the classroom with a stick he’d found in the yard. He brought it to the design table and got to work. Twenty minutes later, he was heading back outside when I commented, “B, you made a new fishing pole prototype. I remember when you made a fishing pole several weeks ago.” “Yes, I made another fishing pole! This one is much stronger and better.” B raised the fishing pole up high for all to see. “Oh, look, I even made another fish! This one might be easier to catch too!” B chuckled as he walked outdoors with a grin on his face.
These are just some of the many instances that reveal children’s thinking and problem-solving abilities. Although supporting creativity and problem-solving skills are at the core of the design table, there is so much more this learning space offers children. As highlighted in the examples above, it is also a place to work alone or collaborate with peers, to appreciate the value of recycled materials, to devote uninterrupted time to refining prototypes, to persevere when setbacks arise, and to demonstrate resiliency. Children often cheer for each other when a problem they are working on is resolved at the design table. They feel empowered and eagerly return the next day for more creative work. It is a treasured space where children’s imaginations run free and visual interpretations of their ideas come to life.