David Lee EdTech

null  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvovLzwA-1g This pair of sneakers is one of the favorites in my collection. It’s not just the fit or the look; it’s the story behind them. This New Balance collaboration was designed by Jeff Staple, the founder of Staple Pigeon and a creative force I have admired for years. Jeff is legendary for the 2005 Nike Pigeon Dunk, a release that effectively birthed modern sneaker culture and the "campout" phenomenon. But beyond the hype, Jeff is a master communicator. Recently, I had the incredible opportunity to meet him at Sneaker Con Singapore. It was a surreal moment to see someone so influential be so authentic and down-to-earth. Reflecting on his work, here are four lessons from Jeff that have shaped me as an educator. 1. Message and Medium Jeff uses streetwear to express the grit and hustle of New York City. He realized that a t-shirt allows "mad people" to see his message on the subway, unlike art hidden in a gallery. I try to m...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVOlS5mUjHk I was honored to learn that a Design & Technology Book Club selected my book as their featured read for the month. It is always a privilege to engage with fellow educators who are passionate about innovation, and the members sent over some truly thought-provoking questions regarding the text and how my perspective has evolved since its publication. I wanted to share those questions and my responses with you here, as they sparked some deep reflection on my own journey with Design Thinking. Here are some key takeaways from our discussion. Has the Vision Changed? : A common question was whether my view of Design Thinking has evolved. The short answer is yes. While I still believe it is a powerful, human-centered toolkit for navigating a world of constant change, I’ve realized that Design Thinking is only as effective—or as harmful—as the person using it. As designer Jennifer Daniel noted, "Design is not good unto itself. D...

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaZ0COelJ34 Project-Based Learning (PBL) has a unique power: it makes learning come alive. It transforms abstract standards into essential tools for solving real problems. I recently experienced this firsthand while collaborating with educators Mary Kate Burke, Matt Kish, and Sean Smith on a Grade 5 science unit rooted in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). The Challenge: Hand Sanitizer Shortages   We started with a real-world problem. During a time of panic buying and empty shelves, we posed a driving question to our students: “How might we create our own hand sanitizer for our classmates due to shortages?” This wasn’t just about mixing chemicals. It was about becoming product development chemists. By framing the unit this way, we created a learning narrative  — a story where the students were the heroes and the science standards were the tools they needed to succeed. Empathy & Design Thinking   Before mixing anything,...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M05mEpYq6KQ One of the essential elements of Project-Based Learning (PBL) is Sustained Inquiry . According to PBLworks.org, this implies an active, in-depth process where students “seek information or investigate,” rather than just looking things up online. A powerful way to facilitate this is by tapping into real-world experts. I saw the value of this during a 1st-grade STEM project led by Ms. Gillian Lait. The students were tasked with designing their own instruments to create music for a puppet show. To help them understand the science of sound, we invited James McMullen, our Middle School Makerspace Specialist and a former engineer who builds guitars out of cigar boxes. James didn’t just show his instruments; he explained the engineering behind them. He taught the students how to choose materials that vibrate effectively (like springy spruce) and how to design the structure so that nothing limits those vibrations. He transferred professional strategi...

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAbl4c6z4-E I recently spent a morning at Tombalek, a traditional craft workshop, with my friend Shaun. We are both makers at heart, but this was a new challenge: forging a knife. It was an incredible experience—taking raw steel, heating it to high temperatures, hammering it into shape, and carefully grinding the blade. But as I stood there covered in dust and sweat, I wasn't just thinking about the knife. I was thinking about our responsibility as educators. Our job is to connect what students learn in school to the real world. We need to show them that the knowledge they acquire is actually used by professionals. The Hidden Connection: PBL and Standards In my new video series, I examine real-world projects alongside Project-Based Learning (PBL) elements and student content standards. By looking at my knife-making experience through an academic lens, we can see how to design truly authentic learning experiences—even using 2nd Grade Science standa...

 When designing learning experiences, it is easy for educators to get fixated on the What —"What will the students learn?" We list out the standards, the concepts, and the vocabulary. But to create truly impactful learning, we must also focus on the Why . Why do they need to learn this? What problem could they solve? What could they create? I like to think of this as the “Brownie” within the educational context. Traditional lessons often feel like we are just handing students individual ingredients—flour, sugar, eggs. But lessons need to be designed so that students don’t just hold the ingredients; they mix, heat, and blend them to bake a brownie. A Case Study Let’s look at a concrete example using Grade 5 Science standards focused on the Structure and Properties of Matter . Students are required to know: 5-PS1-1: Matter is made of particles too small to be seen. 5-PS1-2: Regardless of heating, cooling, or mixing, the total weight of matter is conserved. 5-PS1-3: Identifyi...

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UeCyZcHoTLU Student agency is defined as having the ability and the will to positively influence one’s own life and the world around them. It is the capacity to set a goal, reflect, and act responsibly to effect change. I had the honor of witnessing this firsthand with a team of six elementary school students who used Design Thinking to solve a very unique problem: a monkey in the cafeteria. The Context During the summer semester, our Director, Ms. Colley, presented a challenge. An adolescent male macaque had been visiting our elementary school, searching for food in the rubbish and even drinking hand sanitizer. The goal was clear: What could we do to keep both the monkey and the students safe so the animal wouldn't need to be relocated? Empathy and Understanding To solve this, we couldn't just guess; we needed to understand the "users." We started by learning about the power of empathy through a case study of an innovation architect...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_qcvqrvu44 Johnny Harris is a journalist and YouTuber with over a million followers, known for traveling the world to capture and share compelling stories. Watching his work, I found myself asking a question: What if we could create the next generation of Johnny Harrises with a group of third graders? To answer that, we decided to adapt a standard social studies unit into a Project-Based Learning (PBL) experience. For those unfamiliar, PBL is an educational method where students engage in authentic, real-world projects. It fosters critical thinking and problem-solving by asking students to actively construct knowledge and connect it to practical applications. Connecting Standards to the Real World When designing this unit, I looked at two specific "Enduring Understandings" from the curriculum: Maps help us understand and appreciate the interconnectedness of our world. Changing conditions may influence the way people modify and ad...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PiUmYnBOKpw Recently, I found myself lost in a project that was 6,167 pieces of pure joy: The Rivendell Lego set. As I assembled this feat of engineering, taking in the intricate details of the Council of Elrond, I wasn't just admiring the bricks. As a lifelong   Lord of the Rings   fan—one who rewatches the trilogy and   The Rings of Power   annually—I started thinking about the group that formed there. The Fellowship of the Ring was the ultimate team. They were a mix of races and backgrounds—Hobbits, Elves, Dwarves, Humans, and a Wizard—united by a single, impossible goal. Whether you are in a boardroom, a classroom, or working with your family, the traits of these nine heroes offer a blueprint for becoming a more unified and effective team. The Anatomy of a High-Performing Team Determination (Frodo): Frodo proved that impact isn't about size or status. His courage to carry the burden inspired the rest of the group. In any professio...

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAir_oy6Hs8 I received an exciting invitation from my colleague Jennifer Osbourne to facilitate a Design Thinking workshop for the "Quest" program . Quest is a unique, yearlong initiative where high school students step away from traditional coursework to pursue interdisciplinary projects with professional clients. It involves internships, fieldwork, and rigorous research guided by the Quest team: Jennifer, Mare Stewart, and Tom Flanagan. For me, this was the ideal scenario to demonstrate the synergy between two specific methodologies. Project-Based Learning (PBL) acts as the vehicle educators use to create authentic, real-world contexts. Design Thinking is the engine students use to navigate those challenges creatively. During the day-long workshop, students moved through the design phases—conducting empathy interviews, brainstorming, and building prototypes. We focused heavily on iteration, using Pixar’s "Plussing" technique to...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWLXf8BWK4k Last year, I visited the Flower Dome and the Cloud Forest at Gardens by the Bay in Singapore with my family. Standing in front of the magnificent 35-meter indoor waterfall and walking through the cooled conservatories (kept perfectly between 23°C and 25°C), I was blown away. These aren't just tourist attractions; they are marvels of design. Horticulturalists and soil specialists utilized a deep understanding of light levels, plant physiology, and soil science to bring together over 250,000 diverse plant species. They didn't just plant them; they coordinated a complex system to help them thrive harmoniously. It struck me immediately: Educators need this same "designer’s mindset." We shouldn't just be managing schools; we should be utilizing our knowledge of the educational landscape to skillfully foster environments where students thrive academically, socially, and emotionally. The best approach for this? Systems Thinking...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6SBWEB6A0Q In Project-Based Learning (PBL), the beginning is everything. We don't want to just assign a project; we want to ignite a fire. This is the purpose of the Entry Event . An entry event is a learning moment at the start of a unit designed to provoke curiosity within an authentic context. The goal isn't just excitement; it is to inspire students to take action and generate the "Need to Know" questions that will drive their inquiry. I collaborated with Gillian Lait, a 1st-grade teacher at Singapore American School, to transform a standard science unit on light and sound into a fully immersive project. Our Driving Question was: "How might we perform a shadow puppet show?" To kick this off, we needed an entry event that would make the abstract concepts of physics feel real. We didn't just read about it; we went to the experts. We visited our school’s Performance Arts Spaces, guided by Schoolwide Thea...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hik_zwqtgeg Why is it so critical for us to design learning experiences that mirror real-world scenarios? The answer lies in preparation. When we create authentic scenarios, we help students develop the practical skills, critical thinking abilities, and problem-solving capabilities they will actually need outside the education system. It bridges the gap between theory and practice, allowing students to see the purpose behind their work. I often think of an analogy involving two awe-inspiring structures here in Singapore: the Flower Dome and the Cloud Forest . These artificially designed environments showcase the extraordinary beauty of plant life. But what makes them truly special is how they were created. Horticulturists meticulously studied the ideal conditions found in nature and replicated them within these structures. Through the careful control of temperature, humidity, light, and water supply, they created microclimates that closely resemble nativ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEiPCvM73o0 It had been about three years since I last saw my mom. Because of everything that happened in the last couple of years, she hadn’t even met my youngest child yet. When she finally visited, I wanted to be intentional about how I documented the experience. I didn't just take photos; I turned to videography. For me, short films capture the essence of a moment—the emotions and depth—in a way that static images cannot. I don’t have any video footage of myself as a child; all our old VHS tapes were lost. That is why, now that I have a family, I try to record our experiences, big or small. Mixing and blending these clips into a visual storyline creates a priceless "portal to the past." From Memory Keeping to Professional Growth But there is a hidden benefit to filmmaking that I didn't expect: Reflection. When you sit down to edit a film, you are forced to process the moment. You interpret what happened and express yo...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EmgK2ATdHk We often think of Formula 1 as just a sport, but I view it as the ultimate STEM learning experience. The real-world context is high-stakes: designing, building, and racing the fastest cars in the world for the most prestigious competition. To achieve this, teams must blend science, technology, engineering, and mathematics seamlessly. As highlighted in Animagraffs’s analysis of F1 cars, these machines are a masterclass in applying STEM concepts—from designing suspension and sensors to mastering aerodynamics, braking, and energy recovery. Beyond the Engine But it’s not just about the car. F1 demands intense 21st-century skills, particularly in logistics. Teams must build temporary headquarters, strip cars down to the last component, ship them to the next country, and rebuild them from scratch. This requires immense agency and innovation. These professionals possess strong STEM identities, viewing themselves as scientists, technologists, and en...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwHekggV_OU Change is formidable, especially in schools with deep heritage. Last year, I had the privilege of leading the Technology, Computer Science, and Robotics (TCR) curriculum review. Our goal? To move from our current state to an "ideal state" of high-quality STEM learning. To guide this process, I looked to IDEO for their design thinking approach and strategy advisor Roger Martin , who defines strategy as “a set of choices that you can make today, in the face of uncertainty, in order to increase the likelihood that you will win now, and into the future.” Here is the journey our team took to design strategies with intention, rigor, and creativity. 1. Defining the Ideal State We started by asking: What does it mean to "win" in our context? Through literature reviews and team brainstorming, two key themes emerged: Authentic Application and Interdisciplinary Learning . This pointed us directly to a STEM approach —...

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IriZ2b_kp5g We often talk about equipping students with 21st-century skills, yet many of our school models are still built on the architecture of the industrial era—prioritizing efficiency and batching students by "manufacturing date." Sydney Schaef, from the organization reDesign , believes there is a better way. Her work focuses on helping educators transition from these industrial roots toward "learner-centered communities." The primary tool for this shift? Design Thinking. Because this methodology is grounded in the specific needs and aspirations of the user, it allows educators to step outside of what they take for granted as normative. Instead of a one-size-fits-all approach, Design Thinking helps schools make decisions based on the nuances of their specific context—their unique students, families, and community. Empowering Students However, this isn't just a strategy for leadership; it is a powerful toolkit for students....