David Lee, Technology and Innovation Specialist, Singapore American School

We talk STEM education and design thinking in K-12 with David Lee, an alumni of our MS in Educational Technology Program at California State University, Fullerton. David describes the work he does in supporting teachers and students at his school in his role of Technology and Innovation Specialist at the Singapore American School. We discuss with David how he approaches design thinking with K-12 students.

Bio. I am currently the elementary Tech and Innovation Specialist at Singapore American School in Singapore. My responsibility at the school is to facilitate educators in integrating STEAM subject areas meaningfully and purposefully into the curriculum to increase learner engagement and achievement, provide learners with real-world experiences, develop their 21st-century skills, promote creativity and innovation, and teach digital literacies. I model/teach the design thinking methodology to students to equip them with a creative, problem-solving toolkit that they use to bring positive change to people’s lives.

I was also the former elementary STEM Coordinator at Korea International School (KIS) in Seongnam, Korea. As the STEM Coordinator, I contributed to the vision and execution of the school’s STEM program (KoLAB), worked collaboratively with all stakeholders (administrators, teachers, students, parents, & community), assisted in the development and delivery of transdisciplinary STEM professional development, and attended grade-levels meetings to move all teachers towards independence in the delivery of transdisciplinary instruction and curriculum. I also created meaningful connections between disciplines, planned and executed opportunities for students to showcase their work within the school and community (i.e. fairs, exhibition, etc.). As the design teacher, I engaged learners through open-ended inquiry-based activities in the KoLAB spaces by modeling and teaching the design thinking process.

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