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Edutopia Video on Design Thinking Process

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Edutopia Video on Design Thinking Process

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Design Thinking: Prioritizing Process Skills

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Watch kids become master problem solvers and collaborators by designing, building, and iterating on prototypes.

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This is a set of worksheets to help students move through each "mode" (or element) of design thinking.

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This video talks about the LAUNCH cycle. Although we feel it's important to use the Design Thinking Language (Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype and Test) here is another perspective using different language.

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The LAUNCH Cycle: A Design Thinking Framework for Education

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We are a hub for innovation, collaboration and creativity at Stanford. Our mission is to help people become everyday innovators, everywhere.

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Design Kit - Examples of Design Thinking Units/Projects

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Design Kit - Examples of Design Thinking Units/Projects

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Design Kit is IDEO.org's platform to learn human-centered design, a creative approach to solving the world's most difficult problems.

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John Spencer's (co-authour of "Launch" Video Resources 

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John Spencer's (co-authour of "Launch" Video Resources 

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Videos for Design Thinking, and for design thinking challenges.

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education creativity teaching learning teachers teacher "design thinking" sketch-note "maker projects" maker "writing prompts" "language arts"

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I want to make something each day. Sometimes I make things. Sometimes I make a difference. On a good day, I get to do both. See, I believe all children are naturally creative. Using design thinking, teachers can transform classrooms into spaces of imagination and wonder.

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For Parents and Educators

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Use DESIGN SQUAD GLOBAL hands-on activities and videos in classrooms and afterschool programs, in libraries and museums, at events and at home, along with our newest resource DESIGN SQUAD GLOBAL CLUBS that connect 10- to 13-year-olds in out-of-school programs around the world.

Newsletter

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Parents & Educators . DESIGN SQUAD GLOBAL | PBS KIDS

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Use DESIGN SQUAD GLOBAL hands-on activities and videos in classrooms and afterschool programs, in libraries and museums, at events and at home, along with our newest resource DESIGN SQUAD GLOBAL CLUBS that connect 10- to 13-year-olds in out-of-school programs around the world. Newsletter

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English

© 2022 Instagram from Meta

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More templates for implementation

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Telus Spark Intro to Design Thinking Activity.pdf

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Looking for planning templates? Look here from some great examples!

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Borrowing a Powerful Brainstorm Protocol from IDEO

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In these meetings, we have had spirited debate and discussion regarding not only Common Core State Standards and its implementation, but also the strategic instruction required and the research to support that instruction.

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launch: using design thinking to boost creativity and bring out the maker in every student

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creative ability - study and teaching - united states

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creative thinking - study and teaching - united states

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creative thinking - study and teaching - united states

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creative ability - study and teaching - united states

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Launch: Using Design Thinking to Boost Creativity and Bring Out the Maker in Every Student

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Launch: Using Design Thinking to Boost Creativity and Bring Out the Maker in Every Student: Amazon.ca: Spencer, John, Juliani, A.J.: Books

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This is a nice concise summary of the elements

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Stanford Design thinking handbook - very helpful

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Discover how the competencies "live" in Design Thinking

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Read this guide for learning about Teaching with PBL

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Blog article about using design thinking in social studies 

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Blog article about using design thinking in social studies 

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Warning* It is American, but still a lot of great points

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A MiddleWeb Blog
By Jody Passanisi
I usually have a clear idea of what I am going to do in my first unit. I have my set historiography activities that I expect (well, hope) will blow the students' minds when they realize that history is an interpretative narrative and not necessarily a string of facts.

This year, however, is different. This year I've decided to embark on a Design Thinking challenge for every regular unit that I teach. That means that my units on the Constitution, the Revolutionary War, the Federalists and Democratic Republicans, Westward Expansion, Causes of the Civil War, Civil War, and Reconstruction (and, if I'm lucky, the Progressive Era) will all be looked at through the lens of Design Thinking.

It's the wild west of teaching, and I am both excited and nervous to embark on the journey.

The elements of Design Thinking

Design Thinking is a process for creativity and innovation (Kelley & Kelley, 2013).

This method is being used now in some classrooms to encourage students to problem solve, to look at inquiries in new ways, and to invent and create solutions to challenges. This is an emerging educational strategy, with many methodological similarities to Project Based Learning.

I strongly recommend the resources put forth by IDEO if you want to delve more deeply into the strategy. The process that I will follow with my students will be broken into the following steps:

1. Empathize

2. Define and Research

3. Ideate

4. Experiment, Reflect, Revise

5. Share

While Design Thinking and its best friend, Project Based Learning, are found in many a science classroom, it seems to me that history classrooms are a bit more reticent to take up the mantle of, especially, Design Thinking pedagogy. Why?

Why Design Thinking belongs in history class

Any teacher reluctance may have to do with the fact that Design Thinking is a truly relevant and engaging pedagogy that is meant for students to solve problems that exist now. And, obviously, in history class we are dealing with the stuff of the past. Also, history is a subject where content often is king. It's hard to cede control of the content and relinquish the goal that students might hit every content mark that's expected.

So applying Design Thinking in history courses could be seen as challenging, but I see it as a great opportunity. For my U.S. history students, what could be more relevant than looking for solutions to challenges that were created in the past and are still having impact on our lives today?

For my students' first challenge, they are going to head to a local college and interview the students about what they think needs to be fixed in government. This will help my eighth graders come to a place of empathy - the problems they will hear about are problems that real people have.

Then, my students will choose one problem that spoke to them or possibly relates to their own life. That's their design challenge: to create a solution to the problem that they heard about.

Will they get to every bit of content about the Constitution that I would have hoped? Possibly not, but on the other hand, the students are going to find themselves hard pressed to be able to solve a problem in government without a great deal of context to support their ideas. They will have to delve into federal, state, and local issues, I expect.

Discovering solutions, whether past or present

Later, the students will identify a problem in the Civil War or Reconstruction. You don't have to be a history teacher to draw a through line from those 19th century events to current civil rights issues (as this map demonstrates). So the students will look at history, go back in time, choose a problem in Reconstruction and solve it - either in the past to affect the present OR in the present by implementing something that would fix a problem Reconstruction had created.

Design Thinking in history requires the same tools as in other disciplines: strong and rigorous research, free and creative brainstorming with wild ideas, convergence with analysis of desirability, feasibility, and viability, and reiteration and reflection.

The stakes can be high for these students engaged in Design Thinking in history - they really could get in there and help to think of new solutions for problems we face. They will just be looking at history to guide them.

Bringing together writing, soft skills and content

I see the history classroom with Design Thinking as a three pronged approach. Students still need to write - I will have my students stop periodically to do workshops on expository reading, research skills, and writing (all based on what they are need for their projects) and then do an on-demand writing after the unit/project.

Additionally, there has been much talk of the "soft skills" that students will need to get along in this new world that awaits them: collaboration, perseverance, creativity, etc. Design Thinking activates these skills and more: it creates self-efficacy, risk-taking - all of the things we say we want to see in our students.

And, finally, a promise to those who love history and the details of history: students will learn content. It may be not precisely what one might expect that content to be: it may be deeper, it may be better, and it may surprise us what they learn and understand as a result of looking at the content in this new way. And it may reinvigorate teachers, too.
Have you used Design Thinking in your history class? How has it gone?
Reference: Tom Kelley & David Kelley, Creative Confidence (2013).

Image credit: Map from Strange Maps contributor Mark Root-Willey, used in The Black Belt: How soil types determined the 2008 election in the deep South, November 17, 2008, The Vigorous North.

Jody Passanisi is the author of History Class Revisited: Tools and Practices to Engage Middle School Students in Social Studies. Co-published by Routledge and MiddleWeb, this practical guide will help teachers consider the unique needs of middle schoolers, who are in the midst of many social and emotional changes and need to see why the study of history matters to their own lives. Use the code MWEB1 at the publisher's website for a 20% discount.

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Design Thinking in the History Classroom

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A MiddleWeb Blog By Jody Passanisi I usually have a clear idea of what I am going to do in my first unit. I have my set historiography activities that I expect (well, hope) will blow the students' minds when they realize that history is an interpretative narrative and not necessarily a string of facts.

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Article on how one teacher uses Design Thinking in Social Studies 

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Article on how one teacher uses Design Thinking in Social Studies 

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Edutopia is a free source of information, inspiration, and practical strategies for learning and teaching in preK-12 education. We are published by the George Lucas Educational Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization.

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Ted Talk about using Design Thinking and new curriculum expectations

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Ted Talk about using Design Thinking and new curriculum expectations

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Design Thinking -- Maximizing Your Students' Creative Talent: Co Barry at TEDxDenverTeachers

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Ted Talk on using Design Thinking to reach the ultimate goal of Inclusive Classes

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Ted Talk on using Design Thinking to reach the ultimate goal of Inclusive Classes

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Five Rules of Design Thinking to Reach All Students | Michael Roush | TEDxWorthingtonED

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What can you do tomorrow?

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Editable version - for use with a interview step in Empathize stage

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Spaghetti and Marshmallow Science project

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Spaghetti and Marshmallow Science project

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Goal: To encourage students to work together to practice several design thinking mindsets: Radical Collaboration, Bias to Action, Build to Think, Failing Fast, Test and Iterate.

Design Thinking Modes: Prototype, Test

Difficulty: Beginner
Duration: 45 minutes
Group Size: Groups of 3-4, up to 40 participants

WHAT is it?

To encourage students to work together to practice several design thinking mindsets: Radical Collaboration, Bias to Action, Build to Think, Failing Fast, Test and Iterate.

The Spaghetti Marshmallow activity is designed to get students working together to build and test their designs with an emphasis on radical collaboration and bias to action.

WHY teach it?

This exercise is a great way to push students to build, test and iterate. This activity also encourages critical thinking by asking students to synthesize what they learned quickly to create new designs. Students must also demonstrate resilience in the face of challenges or frustrations.

Lesson Plan
Materials:
Each group gets:
Instructions:
Teamwork Exercise Introduction - 5 minutes

We are not going to get to go through the entire design process today, but instead, we are going to focus on prototyping and testing

Also going to focus on teamwork and bias to action

At the d.school we believe in prototyping using cheap and easy-to-find materials. If you build something made out of expensive materials, put a ton of work into it, and then take it to the testing phase you are less likely to accept the constructive feedback and change, or iterate, your design.

In your groups of four you are going to be building/prototyping a structure using really basic materials: 20 sticks of spaghetti + one yard of tape + one yard of string + one marshmallow

Your design challenge - 10 minutes In groups of four, build the tallest freestanding tower you can in 10 minutes using only these materials

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Goal: To encourage students to work together to practice several design thinking mindsets: Radical Collaboration, Bias to Action, Build to Think, Failing Fast, Test and Iterate. Design Thinking Modes: Prototype, Test Difficulty: Beginner Duration: 45 minutes Group Size: Groups of 3-4, up to 40 participants To encourage students to work together to practice several design thinking mindsets: Radical Collaboration, Bias to Action, Build to Think, Failing Fast, Test and Iterate.

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Design Thinking: Lessons for the Classroom

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Design Thinking: Lessons for the Classroom

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Design Thinking: Lessons for the Classroom

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Edutopia community manager Betty Ray presents a simple yet elegant strategy to bring real-world thinking into the classroom.

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Professor suggests Hamster-Like Living Conditions for Middle School - Project

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Professor suggests Hamster-Like Living Conditions for Middle School - Project

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Prove this professor WRONG

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Students plan a playground using shape and measurement objectives

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How do I assess if my solution is working?

How do I get started?

How do I conduct an interview?

How do I make sense of what I've heard?

What tools can I use to understand people?

How do I come up with ideas?

How do I choose a solution to take forward?

How do I prototype my ideas?

How do I prepare for launch?

How do I prepare for scale?
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