Design Thinking: An inquiry project for education

By: Melissa Marguerite Barrett

What is “Design Thinking”?
Watch this 30-second clip to get an idea!
What is “Design Thinking”?

In short, Design Thinking is

a structured approach to
generating and developing
ideas & it can be applied to
any problem you have!
 What kind of problems have teachers solved
using Design Thinking?
I just can’t get
my students to
The pick-up and pay attention.
drop off process
Effectively managing
multiple learning-levels is a nightmare!
in one classroom feels
impossible.
Students just
aren’t interested
in learning about
fractions.

…you’ll stop seeing challenges as “problems” and start seeing them as opportunities for design! ;-)
What is the process for Design Thinking?
It sounds cool, but how can I get started?
• Probably the best resource out there for educators is the “Design
Thinking for Educators Toolkit” You can get it here 
https://designthinkingforeducators.com/toolkit/
• It guides you step-by-step through your very own design project &
it’s free!
 What do the experts say?
Ontario Ministry of Education
• The innovative design process is driven by design thinking. This process is being adopted by
classrooms across the province as a way to engage students in authentic learning experiences
that allow them to build transferable skills like critical thinking, collaboration, creativity and
communication (https://www.app2.edu.gov.on.ca/BuildingFutures/Workshops)
• Adopting “design thinking” as a mindset can provide educators with new tools and new
approaches that often yield simple solutions to complex everyday challenges that they face in
the classroom today, such as how to integrate technology and how best to engage students.
(Learning for All, 2013 http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/general/elemsec/speced/LearningforAll2013.pdf)

Stanford d-school
• Design can be applied to all kinds of problems. But, just like humans, problems are often messy
and complex—and need to be tackled with some serious creative thinking. That’s where our
approach comes in. Adding the d.school's tools and methods to a person's skill set often results
in a striking transformation. (https://dschool.stanford.edu/about/)
Can it work with my Junior Learners too?
Check out this clip to find out… (start from 2:21 for junior learner applications!)
If you’re interested…
Here’s another short clip about the design process as adapted for the K-12 learner!
Resources for you
Bibliography – in order of how useful I found them!

1. Design Thinking for Educators: https://designthinkingforeducators.com/ A

comprehensive website that explains how Design Thinking works for educators and how it
can be applied to ANY challenge you might face in your classroom. The toolkit they offer for
download will walk you step-by-step through the process!
2. K12 Lab Network: https://dschool.stanford.edu/programs/k12-lab-network A resource
created by the Stanford d.school, the K12 Lab Network features a wiki with resources and
curriculum and also has a section with workshop offerings. The site is dedicated to bringing
design thinking into the classroom.
3. Edutopia: Design Thinking: https://www.edutopia.org/blogs/tag/design-thinking
A collection of articles and resources about Design Thinking and how to implement into the
classroom.
4. I-Think Initiative, Rotman School of Management @ UofT:
http://www.rotmanithink.ca/ A local initiative offering workshops and educators looking to
bring Design Thinking into the classroom.
Final Thoughts…
Oh, the potential!

It has been said that an educator makes about 1,500 decisions a day! We also
make decisions about how to improve our practice, what methodology to include
and what to leave out. I hope that Design Thinking doesn’t seem like just One.
More. Thing. My top reasons for wanting to include it in the classroom are as
follows:
1. Empathy is built in to the Design Thinking process & students need that and
WE need it as educators
2. In the classroom, it increases student motivation and encourages them to
lead and lets us take the facilitator role
3. It encourages us to ASK our junior learners what they want and need from a
certain challenge situation.
The drawback I see is that it is difficult to develop research to test effectiveness.
It’s a model that can be applied to any situation, so it won’t look the same as it
will in language arts. I’d encourage you to use the toolkit to challenge yourself
and try out Design Thinking for yourself!
Thanks for reading to the end! –Melissa Marguerite