1. Empathy Map and Problem Statement
By Fernando Murillo
Design Thinking Action Lab
Stanford University
August 2013

2. Conversation with two Teacher Students from two different universities:
SAY:
1. “There are no options for practicum experiences for us other than schools, which is terrible because there
are other places where we could put our skills to use, like ONGs”
2. “…professors here have a lot of experience as advisors in public policy making, and that makes a difference
in the way they teach their classes”
3. “Yeah, there is a strong focus here on critical pedagogy, so we do a lot of educational policy analysis, we
have several courses that focus on the political side of education”
4. “…but what I like about students from your university is that they know some stuff very well, like, you guys
know and can explain every stage of a child's developmental stage, by heart!
5. “yeah…we do focus a lot on learning contents about technicalities, but it's like they prepare you just to
teach at school, and follow the national curriculum obediently, and that's a bummer, because that's not the
reason why we wanted to become teachers in the first place”.
6. “When I finish I'd like to do a masters or something like that here, this university is known for having a
different approach to education, with professors that are really good, committed to important aspects like
social justice…”
7. “it's true that we are known here for having a more critical and committed stance, but one weakness we
have is that we just seem to brush over important technical stuff”
8. “the good thing is that things are starting to change at our university, there are younger professors who
are coming with fresher approaches, that are more connected with this idea of teachers as public
intellectuals”
9. “but at the same time we have lots of work to do if we want to win the next student federation elections,
otherwise we'regonna lose everything we've been wanting to do and change at our Faculty…”
10….”and sometimes is hard to make things like these happen, because very few professors at our university
are accessible, or even interested in listening and including in their courses more interesting stuff…. Most of
them just want to keep repeating the same old things”….

3. Inferences:
1. Teacher students think their Education Program does not
consider other career opportunities besides teaching at schools
2. They feel their university looks down on their professional career
choice by treating them as mere guideline executioners.
3. Their program does not prepare them well for what they want to
do, and the reasons why they want to go into the profession.
4. They think the insistence on learning subject matter and
contents by heart is not enough to fulfill their professional
expectations.
5. Their interests in social and political activities do not resonate in
the traditional old-fashioned structure of their program and
professors.
6. They find it inspiring to be around professors who are open
about their commitment and who share their perspectives and
experiences in the public arena.

4. • Interviewees:
Smart, engaged, socially committed, outspoken
and inspired teacher students from two
different and renowned universities in Chile.

5. Problem Statement
• Pre-service teachers need a better way to
connect their program with their professional
interests, as they think the curriculum does
not prepare them for interventions outside
the classroom.