Design is not just what it looks and feels like. Design is how it works.
Steve Jobs
The process of design thinking can be broken down into five stages (IDEO, 2013):
- Discovery
- Interpretation
- Ideation
- Experimentation
- Evolution
However design thinking isn’t a linear process, but instead more so reflects a tangled ball of yarn that needs to be tamed and organised before becoming a solid foundation. As a relatively new pedagogical tool, design thinking has grown drastically as the current climate of the world has quickly become obsessed with creativity in both the private and public sector (Koh, Chai, Wong, & Hong, 2015). As educators, implementing learning by design into the classroom can provide students with the opportunity to become active learners, diverse thinkers and problem solvers by drawing upon their prior knowledge (Van Haren, 2010; Koh, Chai, Wong, & Hong 2015).
Kalantzis & Cope (2010) introduce an interesting point when bringing design thinking into the classroom which is that “if we are to have ‘new learners’, we need ‘new teachers'” (p.204). This concept of new teachers according to Kalantzis & Cope (2010) refers to shifting the professional identity of a teacher into someone that can manage a multifaceted learning environment and become the students’ model for digital engagement and collaboration.
Within the tutorial, the online software SketchUp was introduced to the class and to say that it captured the entire class’ attention is an understatement. Although it was used for demonstration purposes, SketchUp is a versatile online software that does allow students to be able to be both visually stimulated and become immersed into the world of design.
Technologies such as SketchUp can be used as a tool for students to not only experience design thinking, but also enables the human-centred element of design so students can develop collaboration, cognitive and empathy skills in order to make a change to complex, real life problems (Koh, Chai, Wong, & Hong 2015; IDEO.org, 2016).
Learning by design can be used in order to promote not only creativity but to foster 21st Century skills and prepare students to venture into the contemporary world (Koh, Chai, Wong, & Hong 2015). Design thinking and technology are intertwined components that provide students with the opportunity to go beyond the curriculum and engage in content that is reflective of the real world.
As educators, something to remember about design thinking is that design is a concept that cannot be strictly taught via instruction and demonstrations. Design requires full engagement from both the teacher and the student to which only then will both parties be able to produce a creative and innovative learning environment.
References
IDEO. (2013, January). Design Thinking for Educators. Retrieved from IDEO: http://www.designthinkingforeducators.com/design-thinking/
IDEO.org. (2016). Impace. Retrieved from IDEO.org: https://s3.amazonaws.com/ideo-org-images-production/downloads/113/original/IDEOorg_Impact_A_Design_Perspective.pdf
Kalantzis, M., & Cope, B. (2010). The Teacher as Designer: Pedagogy in the new media age. E-Learning and Digitial Media, 200-222.
Koh, J. H., Chai, C. S., Wong, B., & Hong, H.-Y. (2015). Design Thinking for Education. Singapore: Springer.
Van Haren, R. (2010). Engaging Learner Diversity through Learning by Design. E-Learning and Digital Media, 258-271.
Digital Creativity & Learning 