LSUS students exercise thinking muscles in IDEA class

LSUS students exercise thinking muscles in IDEA class

SHREVEPORT - In a world in which parts of our lives and jobs can be automated, college students who can think and problem solve is a commodity of increasing value.

LSU Shreveport students are working their thinking muscles in a pair of classes designed to hone creative thinking skills.

Students in Design Thinking (class number IDEA 201) demonstrated their skills in final projects Tuesday as they identified problems in their roles as LSUS students and offered and analyzed tangible solutions. The class follows IDEA 101 (Creative Problem Solving) in which students generate "pie-in-the-sky ideas" with no restraints before grounding those types of ideas in real-world settings in IDEA 201.

"This class is about human centered design that focuses on the creative process," said Allen Garcie, a digital arts associate professor who started this two-course series nearly a decade ago to improve students' creative problem-solving skills. "We're solving problems for each other by collaborating and communicating better."

Many of the student projects focused on some aspect of study habits, motivation, and communication among their peers.

One group said they use a dizzying number of apps to complete and track school assignments, communicate with peers and access student services.

"We propose integrating a collaborative learning system inside Moodle (LSUS's learning management system) where we can arrange study groups remotely, share notes, and even use AI (artificial intelligence) listening power to record and summarize our study sessions."

Another group with a similar idea added a Moodle section where students could submit questions anonymously to avoid fear of judgement or distraction in class.

Other groups focused on different aspects of studying.

One idea was "home away from home" single pod study areas on campus complete with comfortable furniture like bean bags or massage chairs - citing that actually studying from home offered too many distractions.

A separate idea proposed a lab solely for studying that includes kiosks where students can buy flash drives, headphones or other materials they may have forgotten.

Another group put forth a rewards system where students can accumulate points for completing assignments and for positive study habits.

Those points can be cashed in for school bookstore discounts or gift cards to area businesses.

"We're using positive reinforcement learning to motivate students to achieve in the classroom," this group said. "Students could even be rewarded for tutoring other students through the rewards system."

Digital arts senior Katelyn Davis said she's a big fan of the class.

"We're thinking about real issues in this class, and we learn to collaborate as groups," Davis said. "We develop skills to pitch and present ideas while learning how to give and receive feedback from our peers."

The classes are conducted in a classroom called Idea Space, a room not full of single desks but of group tables with white boards and TVs wrapping around the entire room.

Couches are at the center of the room with the overall design aimed at fostering group discussion.

Digital arts senior Jorge Mendoza said he believes the skills learned in the class will help him as he pursues a career in graphic design, interior design or set design.

"You have to think on your feet and get out of your comfort zone," Mendoza said. "This class makes you look at things differently and be creative in how you think."