This month I've been having a great time working with students on creative projects where they follow a process called "Design Thinking". If you've worked in engineering, product development, advertising or marketing, you probably used some kind of process model to guide a project. Usually this consists of understanding the problem, creating a concept or prototype, testing it, refining it, and delivering it to the market. Design Thinking is this same process, and I'm excited about the opportunities it offers students to enhance their critical thinking.
According to Tim Brown, CEO and president of the famous design firm IDEO, the goal of Design Thinking is "matching people’s needs with what is technologically feasible and viable as a business strategy". I know, this sounds high-minded and esoteric for student work. However, Stanford University's Design School has developed an excellent model for students to follow and it works really well in producing creative solutions to almost any problem. Let's take a look at the steps in the process:
As you would expect, this is an iterative process. Students will jump back and forth in the process based on errors in their thinking and new insights. Once they are comfortable in Design Thinking, they will iterate between prototype and test to refine their ideas. Also, failure is a welcome and required step in the process. I try to encourage my students to work through rough spots by honoring the process. The wonderful aspect of Design Thinking is that it works for almost any lesson on any topic. If you're interested in this idea and other cutting-edge developments in education, I invite you to visit Stanford's K12 Lab Network.
According to Tim Brown, CEO and president of the famous design firm IDEO, the goal of Design Thinking is "matching people’s needs with what is technologically feasible and viable as a business strategy". I know, this sounds high-minded and esoteric for student work. However, Stanford University's Design School has developed an excellent model for students to follow and it works really well in producing creative solutions to almost any problem. Let's take a look at the steps in the process:
- Empathize - Understand the problem, do research, make observations, communicate with stakeholders
- Define - Fully define the problem, and develop insight
- Ideate - Produce a variety of possible solutions
- Prototype - Select your best solution and build it
- Test - Find weaknesses in your solution and make it better
As you would expect, this is an iterative process. Students will jump back and forth in the process based on errors in their thinking and new insights. Once they are comfortable in Design Thinking, they will iterate between prototype and test to refine their ideas. Also, failure is a welcome and required step in the process. I try to encourage my students to work through rough spots by honoring the process. The wonderful aspect of Design Thinking is that it works for almost any lesson on any topic. If you're interested in this idea and other cutting-edge developments in education, I invite you to visit Stanford's K12 Lab Network.