Education Commons^™

Innovations For Communication: Innovations For Improving Honors Faculty-Student Communication, Caroline Simko, Sierra Grogan, Brianne Nickel, Ryan Elliot

Undergraduate Research

Prepare to embark on a journey of discovery in the realm of the Frederik Meijer Honors College (FMHC) and the student psyche that drives its operations. Over the course of the Winter 2019 semester, the Honors Course: Design Thinking to Meet Real World Needs addressed a problem as proposed by the Honors College Director, Roger Gilles. Using the Stanford method of Design Thinking, our team of four innovators empathized with our problem stakeholders, properly defined our problem, and innovated in order to create potential solutions which will later be prototyped and tested for efficacy. The following report outlines the entirety …

The Dynamic Developers Innovation Portfolio, Carrie Warner, Rosalie Gagnon, Brianna Newcomb, Hannah Samaan, Tyler Mckarge

Undergraduate Research

We appreciate your interest in the work of our team, The Dynamic Developers. We take great pride in the work we have done over the course of four months. Our research consisted of reading numerous scholarly articles, interviewing multiple stakeholders, and collecting feedback on our work through collaborator debriefs. From this portfolio, you will be able to see the Design Thinking Process we followed to develop a solution that will better student engagement at the Frederik Meijer Honors College. Our team consisted of five Honors College Students with diverse backgrounds and areas of study. Each team member brought different perspectives …

The Faculty Landing Page: Easy Access To Both Faculty Administrators Schedules, Ryan Vanoss, Sydney Sprau, Charity Foster, Rachel Mckay, Madelyn Conklin

Undergraduate Research

Despite the obvious successes that the Frederik Meijer Honors College has enjoyed in recent years, there are noticeable ways in which it can grow, the most visible of which, is the current agency that the students claim in the Honors College. Lack of student agency, or governance, is likely the manifestation of a deeper problem, however. We seek to solve the inability for the Honors College students and faculty/administration to develop rich and meaningful relationships, through which the students will be able to voice their concerns and thus help govern the Honors College. We believe that effective governance is built …

Preparing Fmhc Students For Life After Graduation, Emily Ruth Driscoll, Emma Kolar, Hannah Rojas, Carly Sutkewicz, Sam Ventocilla, Nathan Wagner

Undergraduate Research

The pages you have before you are a complete chronicle of our journey through the design thinking process. We were asked a pressing question: “how can Honors students better prepare for life after graduation?” This question launched a four-month journey, for which we were given the map of the design thinking process. This map was unique in that it told us what terrain we would be navigating, but not how to get to the next destination. Not directly, anyway. Every section of terrain had many paths, and plenty of open space to forge our own.

From the rolling moors of …

Emphasizing The Honors College Experience, Kara Rickenberg, Kylee Scholten, Matt Smit, Claire Thomassen, Monica Van Til, Rio Weikum

Undergraduate Research

Thank you for taking the time to engage with our Innovation Portfolio chronicling our design challenge of improving the post-graduation preparation of Frederik Meijer Honors College students. This past semester we have conducted intensive research and utilized the design thinking process to arrive at a definitive solution. This portfolio presents the process that our team learned and implemented, and visualizes our innovations and prototype concepts. We know our solution will improve the readiness of Honors students for life after graduation, as well as continue to enhance the awesome FHMC experience! Thank you again for your interest in our design challenge.

Innovating To Help The Students Of Fmhc Transition Into The Real World, Bee Fink, Leo Brisita, Kate Hubbard, Alex Broek, Kelsey Bredeweg, Reilly Olson

Undergraduate Research

We appreciate your interest in our team, and all of the work we put into creating a solution for the future leaders of the Frederik Meijer Honors College. Over the span of four months, we conducted hours of research, interviews, team collaboration, thinking critically, prototyping, and designing. Through this portfolio, an overview will be provided of how we developed our final innovation to assist students of the Frederik Meijer Honors College to comfortably transition to life after Grand Valley.

Trailblazers: Innovation Portfolio, Keegan Barth, Samantha Frankhouse, Taylor Keppel, Andrew Marckini, Melaura Rice

Undergraduate Research

We are so grateful for your interest in our proposal of redesigning the Frederick Meijer Honors College Curriculum. This journey spanned four months and included countless hours of researching, interviewing, collaborating, ideating, and prototyping. Our portfolio will navigate through the process to provide an in-depth overview of our insights and show how we used Design Thinking to create our final prototype concept. We would like to express our sincere gratitude toward our professor Linda Chamberlain, fellow classmates, collaborators, and stakeholders who were involved in the process. All of these individuals guided us through the Design Thinking process and allowed us …

Building Bridges, Benjamin R. Cousino, Nathan P. Gillespie, Shelby Miller, Sue Pete, Elizabeth A. Shepherd, Philip M. Sheridan

Undergraduate Research

Throughout the winter 2017 semester our interdisciplinary team utilized the design thinking process to redefine the purpose of the Grand Valley Holland Meijer Campus. As a process for collaborative and creative problem solving on complex challenges, Design Thinking requires empathizing with community stakeholders, iterative integration of insights, ideation, prototyping and testing. Through this process we have identified creative possibilities designed to support and enhance both Grand Valley State University’s Holland campus as well as the community of Holland. Our final prototype optimizes engagement with the campus. While an incredibly large and challenging undertaking, this experience confirmed that the design thinking …

Multi-Generational Design Thinking School, Kyle Mcdowell, Payton Mills, Joseph Seder, Nichole Sloan, Hannah Fernando, Andrew Hereza

Undergraduate Research

Every great story is full of interesting characters, and one of those characters is always the hero. In each and every story, that hero wants something. Our hero is the GVSU Meijer Campus in Holland, Michigan, but as it is now, that hero is weak, lonely, and not flourishing. Our hero wants to be relevant for the Holland community, but it needs to overcome underutilization to get there. However, what makes a story great is not the resolution; rather, it is the transformation of the hero. Join us in our journey as we design thinkers work to transform the identity …

Restore Innovation Portfolio Team Four, Tyler P. Alcantara, Luciano M. Delorenzo, Kayla R. Dora, Laura C. Sample, Hannah M. Swanson

Undergraduate Research

No abstract provided.

Transformative Possibilities: Liberal Education At Grand Valley State University, Judy D. Whipps

Other Faculty Publications

The readings in the book Reflect, Connect, Engage (2013) offer both an invitation and a challenge as they open the reader to possibilities of transformation. By engaging these voices you are welcomed into a community of learners that includes all of us at Grand Valley, students, faculty and staff, all of us learning from each other as well as from work of great thinkers and activists. GVSU is founded on the practice of liberal education -- an education that holds the possibility of permanently enriching our lives, assisting in the development of the capacities and skills necessary for our vocations, …