Paige
Ritchie,
Carla
Sexton
and
Whitney
Szabo
A
special
thanks
to
Jennifer
McRae,
Deanna
Rogers
 and
The
Change
Lab
01
02
03
Introduction
Event
Overview
&
Outcomes
Conclusion
2

Introduction
The
character
of
the
undergraduate
experience
has
deteriorated
in
 the
last
decades.
Many
young
Canadians
are
overeducated
and
 underemployed.
Canada
has
one
of
the
highest
graduate
 underemployment
rates
within
the
member
countries
of
the
Organization
 for
Economic
Co‐operation
and
Development i .
Some
call
this
“the
lost
 generation” ii .
Educational
institutions
have
the
opportunity
to
reevaluate
 this
process
and
create
a
curriculum
surrounding
the
application
of
 knowledge
and
the
experience
of
learning.
With
this
movement,
 universities
will
play
a
role
in
shaping
students
as
well
as
communities
on
a
 local
to
global
level.
This
movement
will
craft
processes
of
study
better
 suited
to
the
outcomes
sought
by
students,
more
efficient
and
more
 encompassing
in
the
deployment
of
resources,
and
less
vulnerable
to
 changes
in
our
material
circumstances.
How
can
students
become
active
 participants
in
their
learning
environment?
There was definitely a tangible feeling
among the attendees of excitement
and opportunity to discover and
explore their crazy ideas on
experiential education.”
- Whitney Szabo , Jam organizer and
Change Lab student
3

Event
Overview
&
Outcomes
At
the
end
of
the
first
round,
each
group
 presented
their
most
well
thought
out
ideas
and
 their
drawings
to
the
larger
group.
Once
all
ideas
 had
 been
 presented,
 everyone
 was
 given
 7
 votes,
 called
 “hot
 dots,”
 to
 vote
 on
 the
 ideas
 i.
Process
The
Design
Jam
was
held
on
the
evening
 use
 the
 “Double
 Black
 Diamond”
 process
 (see
Figure
 1 ).
 This
 process
 split
 the
 evening
 into
 two
 breakout
 sessions.
 The
 first
 session,
 that
 had
 emerged
 that
 they
 wanted
 to
 explore
 and
refine.
of
 Saturday,
 March
 23rd,
 2013.
 The
 event,
 facilitated
by
the
Vancouver
Design
Nerds iii 
and
 other
 facilitators
 associated
 with
 SFU,
 would
For
 the
 second
 round,
 the
 groups
 re‐ assembled
 to
 explore
 the
 ideas
 that
 had
 been
 voted
 on,
 but
 with
 some
 constraints.
 Groups
 were
 asked
 to
 focus
 on
 the
 possible
 implementation
 of
 these
 ideas
 in
 regards
 to
SFU’s
strategic
vision
to
engage
research,
engage
“Visioning,”
 allowed
 the
 groups
 to
 think
 about
 students,
and
engage
communities.
Groups
were
 big
ideas
and
broad
themes
in
higher
education,
 while
 the
 second,
 “Methods,”
 grounded
 these
 ideas
into
the
context
of
SFU.
also
 prompted
 to
 think
 about
 curriculum
 (i.e.
 a
 new
 course,
 degree,
 educational
 system),
 physical
 space,
 and
 social
 space.
 At
 the
 end
 of
For
 the
 first
 round,
 the
 room
 was
 split
 the
 second
 round,
 these
 final
 realized
 visions
 into
8
groups.
In
order
to
encourage
meaningful
 conversations,
 an
 icebreaker
 question
 was
 were
presented.
asked:
 What
 has
 been
 your
 most
 meaningful,
 memorable
 and
 inspiring
 learning
 experience?
This
 discussion
 was
 able
 to
 flow
 into
 the
 main
 question
 for
 the
 first
 round:
 
 How
 can
 your
 education
be
designed
to
facilitate
these
kinds
 of
meaningful
learning
experiences?
What
does
 that
education
experience
look
and
feel
like?
4

Figure
1:
Double
Black
Diamond
Jam
Process iv 
 ii.
Attendees
About
50
people
attended
our
event
in
 addition
to
the
Facilitators
and
Educational
Researchers.
Most
attendees
were
either
 alumni
or
students
of
SFU;
however,
a
few
 community
members
also
attended,
including
Duane
Elverum,
the
Co‐Director
of
CityStudio,
 and
Stina
Brown,
a
trained
Facilitator
that
has
 conducted
workshops
for
Change
Lab.
Also
in
 attendance
were
John
Grant,
the
Associate
Director
of
Alumni
Relations,
and
Candy
Ho,
the
Manager
of
Residence
Life.
Many
 faculties
 and
 departments
 at
 SFU
 were
 represented
 at
 the
 event.
 These
 included:
Education,
 Communications,
 Geography,
Environmental
 Science,
 World
 Literature,
English,
 Psychology,
 International
 Studies,
 and
 the
 School
 of
 Interactive
 Arts
 and
 Technology.
Many
 minor’s
 were
 also
 represented,
 such
 as
Development
 and
 Sustainability,
 French,
Dialogue,
 and
 Biology.
 Lastly,
 a
 few
 attendees
 were
 in
 Master’s
 programs,
 including
 the
 MBA
 program
 and
 the
 PDP
 program.
 The
 remaining
 attendees
were
SFU
Alumni.
5

- Jam attendee
iii.
Outcomes
&
Student
Designs
First
Round:
Themes
Our
documentation
team
collected
numerous
ideas
from
the
group
 presentations
during
the
first
round
of
the
Double
Black
Diamond.
These
 ideas
were
developed
after
students
discussed
their
most
meaningful
 university
experiences
and
‘jammed’
about
how
to
recreate
more
 experiences.
We
listed
the
ideas
below
and
grouped
them
into
themes:
 engaging
with
others,
self‐reflectance,
how
we
learn
and
what
we
learn.
Engaging
with
others
Participation
Dialogue
Social
Learning
Community
Conversation
Mentorship
How
we
learn
Project‐based
learning
Student
centered
curriculum
No
Major
Customized
Learning:
one
size
does
 not
fit
all
Experiential
Immersion
Inquisitive
Thinking
Exploration
Self‐reflectance
Independent
thought
Self
Discovery
Discovering
your
OTAKU
Break
Process
Self
Discovery
Reflection
What
we
learn
Skills
not
majors
Real
Life
Topics
(applicability)
6

- Jam attendee
Second
Round:
Ideas
&
Designs
During
 the
 second
 part
 of
 the
 Double
Black
 Diamond,
 each
 of
 the
 eight
 groups
A
group
called
“Social
Learning”
 presented
on
the
idea
that
SFU
could
have
a
‘field
school’
in
the
local
community
which
‘jammed’
 about
 how
 the
 ideas
 they
 came
 up
 with
could
be
realized
at
SFU.

Our
research
and
 would
fully
immerse
students
in
their
role
as
 engaged
learners.

Other
ideas
included
field
 documentation
 team
 uncovered
 three
 major
 themes
 that
 were
 discussed
 by
 each
 group:
 trips
as
a
means
to
experience
the
application
of
 curriculum.

For
example,
a
trip
to
the
space,
mentorship
and
projects.
Space 
is
important
and
how
we
learn
can
Downtown
East
Side
for
social
geography
 students
would
bring
to
life
a
lesson
surrounding
 be
 affected
 by
 the
 space
 in
 which
 we
 are
 learning.
Outdoor
learning
is
important
to
many
 social
housing
issues.
Mentorship 
was
discussed
in‐depth
by
each
and
 students,
 especially
 when
 it
 comes
 to
 learning
 every
 group.
 
 Forms
 of
 mentorship
 included
 about
 the
 environment
 in
 which
 we
 live
 in.
Students
 want
 to
 engage
 with
 the
 community
 teacher‐to‐student,
 peer‐to‐peer
 mentorship
within
the
community.
and
 and
 work
 on
 issues
 that
 are
 applicable
 to
 the
 real
world.
7

A
group
called
“New
School
Degree”
 emphasized
peer‐to‐peer
mentorship
in
which
 students
could
gain
a
different
perspective
by
 being
mentored
by
students
with
a
different
 educational
or
personal
background.
The
“Social
Learning”
group
spoke
about
 teachers
being
a
resource
and
should
be
known
 as
‘Resourceful
Facilitators’.
A
new
role
for
 teachers
was
discussed
by
others
as
well,
 especially
as
a
support
system
for
student
 growth.

For
example,
teachers
could
become
 influencers
rather
than
directors
in
a
‘Dragon’s
Den’
type
curriculum.

It
was
also
made
clear
at
 the
Jam
that
there
is
a
strong
demand
for
a
 faculty
mentor
to
speak
with
who
is
not
in
participating
in
‘buffet
learning’
in
order
to
find
 their
 passion.
 
 These
 students
 would
 then
 mentor
 other
 first
 year
 students
 in
 the
 future.
They
 also
 presented
 the
 idea
 that
 educators
 should
focus
on
their
own
passions
and
fostering
 those
 passions
 within
 their
 students
 for
 their
 first
few
years.
Mentorship
is
also
important
when
it
charge
of
grading.
A
 group
 named
 “The
 Personal
 Pi”
 comes
to
the
community;
students
want
to
meet
 people
from
the
community
and
feel
engaged
 suggested
 that
 first
 year
 students
 could
 be
 mentored
by
third
or
fourth
year
students
while
and
inspired
to
know
that
they
can
make
a
 difference
in
the
world.
8

Projects 
were
an
important
part
of
each
 group’s
degree
design
at
the
Jam.
Not
just
any
 kind
of
projects,
but
projects
that
can
offer
a
 sense
of
fulfillment
and
contribution
to
the
 local
to
global
community.
One
of
the
groups
 stated
that
curriculum
begins
with
community,
 and
by
empowering
students
through
 engagement
with
the
community.
Working
 towards
their
degree,
students
could
work
on
 projects
that
may
encompass
their
four
years
of
 being
there.
Each
project
that
they
work
on
 could
be
applied
in
the
community.
Projects
are
an
important
way
for
 students
to
learn
and
make
mistakes
on
their
 own.

For
example,
one
student
highlighted
that
 she
wanted
to
learn
and
develop
her
own
 theories,
rather
than
learn
someone
else’s.

By
 developing
her
own
project,
she
could
learn
 what
works,
what
doesn’t
and
reflect
on
her
 own
progress
rather
than
being
told
what
has
 worked
for
others
in
the
past.
The
“Engage”
group
discussed
an
‘incubator’
where
students
could
walk
in
with
a
 simple
idea
or
passion
and
undergo
mentorship
 and
peer
dialogue
to
develop
a
project
idea.
This
project
could
be
proposed,
redefined,
 executed
and
reflected
upon.
9

Conclusion
The
Design
Jam
gave
students
a
space
to
discuss
and
explore
the
 possibilities
of
experiential
education
and
its
future
at
SFU.
The
design
jam
 allowed
students
and
community
members
to
discover
what
experiential
 learning
means
at
SFU.
It
also
offered
a
creative
space
for
the
students
and
other
SFU
community
members
to
come
together
to
explore
and
envision
 different
ways
in
which
experiential
learning
opportunities
can
improve
and
expand
at
SFU.
The
design
jam
gave
students
a
safe
and
creative
environment
in
which
 they
could
explore
the
endless
opportunities
of
experiential
learning.
What
became
most
evident
out
of

the
entire
evening
was
that
students
 have
a
strong
desire
to
experience
their
education
and
they
want
to
do
 that
on
campus,
in
the
community
and
in
our
world.
They
want
their
 education
to
be
the
means
and
the
tool
in
which
they
are
able
to
change
 the
world
around
them.
10

Contributions
made
by
Jennifer
McRae
Deanna
Rogers
The
Vancouver
Design
Nerds:
Alex
Grünenfelder
Sarah
Hay
Notetakers
&
Researchers:
Chantal
Broughton
Carlo
De
Fazio
Arcie
Jr.
Lim
(CJ)
Vicky
Liu
Tavleen
Purewal
Jennifer
Smith
i  The mission of the Organization for Economic Co‐operation and
Development (OECD) is to promote policies that will improve the economic  and social well‐being of people around the world.  http://www.oecd.org/canada/  ii  Globe and Mail article series.  http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report‐on‐business/economy/jobs/job‐ fears‐for‐a‐lost‐generation/article564876/  iii  The Vancouver Design Nerds (VDN) are a network of individuals that  collaborate to host Design Jams. By encouraging creativity and out‐of‐the‐box  thinking through the use of dialogue, art, and presentations, Design Jams  draw out innovative, and often surprising solutions. The VDN were chosen  because of their proven methods to encourage innovative solutions for a  complex problem in a short amount of time.  http://vancouver.designnerds.org/  iv  This image was designed and customized by Sarah Hay and Alex
Grünenfelder on behalf of the Vancouver Design Nerds
11