Introduction:
Hello and welcome to my site. I hope you take a minute or two to look around and learn a little about some of the work both myself and my students have been up to in the last few years. I am currently a Middle School and High School MYP Design educator at the United Nations International School in Hanoi, Vietnam. Myself and my wife are both qualified teachers with many years experience in different educational fields. If, after browsing this website, you would like to contact me with regard to a possible appointment, please click here or visit the "contact" page using the links above.
About me:
The common thread that has cut across all of my work, both as a professional designer and more recently as a Design educator, is a constant quest for innovative pathways for gaining empathy for others and developing creative solutions that address real needs in a community. My experience of the product development process in industry has enabled me to help students see the real world relevance of what they do in the classroom, access their creativity, work successfully in teams and, as a result, gain high quality learning experiences.
I grew up in the rural midlands of England and graduated from the University of Coventry (UK) with a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Industrial Design. At the age of 24, I moved overseas to work as an Industrial Designer for Royal Dutch Philips, one of the largest electronics manufacturers in the world, working in many different areas of design, including architectural lighting, personal care products, business devices and consumer electronics. I was based initially in Eindhoven, Netherlands and subsequently in Vienna, Austria. This phase of my career took me to many different parts of the world including Asia and taught me that successful working environment, be it virtual or tangible, is achieved through positive team collaboration transcending national boundaries and cultures. During this time, I also met my wife, Lori, who is a teacher of English (MS/HS), Humanities (MS) and a certified educational diagnostician.
2006 was a momentous year in that we moved to Beijing and also began the transition to the next stage of my career as a Design educator, working at Western Academy Beijing as a Technician in the Design department where I was able to learn from first-rate educators while gaining a Post-graduate certificate in Education from the University of Sunderland (UK). Since that time, I have thrown myself wholeheartedly into education as an MYP and DP Design (Technology) teacher - firstly at Beijing City International School and latterly at the United Nations International School in Hanoi, Vietnam.
“To design is to develop empathy - a basic human skill which is an essential requirement of well-functioning communities, both global and local.”
In October 2013, I reached the milestone of having lived longer outside of my home country that I had lived in it. I now feel qualified to truly call myself a citizen of the world!
Most recently, I have been developing Product and Digital Design units which are rooted in the tenets of the UN sustainable development goals and service based learning.
My Beliefs:
I believe that Design teaches the fundamental problem solving skills demanded by employers. However, to achieve this, students need to be given permission to take risks and learn from failure. For this reason, my projects embrace the “Fail fast, fail often” approach championed in Design Thinking. My units encourage students to develop iterative prototyping skills as a path to effective design solutions.
To design is to develop empathy - a basic human skill which is an essential requirement of well-functioning communities, both global and local. When students are challenged to develop ideas that address the needs of others, they are intrinsically challenged to develop empathy for their user or client’s needs.
I hope you enjoy browsing my website