Design Thinking for Kids – How is it Shaping the Future of Education

The concept of design thinking originated as a solution to business problems, user testing and mostly existed and thrived in the commercial world.

However, over the past few years, more and more prominent education experts have been looking for ways to implement design thinking as an idea in elementary education as well as in high school.

In this article, we focus on how design thinking can be used effectively, particularly in the world of early childhood education.

What is design thinking?

How does it work in business?

As we touched on above, design thinking has its roots in the business world – UX design and user experience, not education. It is defined as both a design and innovation process in which “we seek to understand the user, define the problem, challenge assumptions, and rethink problems, trying to identify alternative strategies and solutions that may not be obvious…” (interaction-design.org).

The entire model used in business has been focused on looking at the user or target audience; people who use a particular product or service.

Rather than using a linear process of looking at a problem and brainstorming possible solutions, the design thinking process requires us to study very carefully the target audience using the product, observe the user with empathy in the process, and develop possible solutions.

Step 1: Empathize with your users

Step 2: Define the problem – what are your user’s needs and problems and what are yours

Step 3: Generate ideas by generating ideas for innovative solutions that also challenge preconceived assumptions made about the product/service or user experience

Step 4: Prototype the solution

Step 5: Test the prototype

Step 6: Repeat steps 4 and 5 until you have a fully working solution

Another interesting aspect of design thinking is that it’s not just stages 4 and 5 that can be repeated—or iterated, as design thinkers would say—but any stage at any time, as long as it means you’re working toward the same goal of innovative solutions that challenge previous assumptions that have been proven wrong.

Who discussed its use in education?

This all sounds very business-like, so how does it translate into education? It’s actually a lot easier than you might think.

In the case of education, the problem solvers are teachers, school management and school governing bodies and organisations, and the ‘users’ are the children themselves, and you may also argue with parents depending on the particular educational problem you are trying to deal with.

This is the simplest way to look at the design process, but it should also be an idea where students themselves can also solve problems and their teachers only helpers to provide them with resources and opportunities to use their design thinking skills to solve problems, complete tasks and improve their knowledge and understanding.

In conclusion, we have two ways in which design thinking can be integrated into education:

● From the perspective of teachers, school leaders and governing bodies who use it to address the challenges of successfully delivering public education to students, their ‘users’.

● From the perspective of children learning design skills. thinking as an integral part of their overall learning experience.

We will take a closer look at the latter in the next chapter, where we will focus on implementing and integrating design thinking in early childhood education.

How can design thinking be incorporated into early childhood education?

In education systems around the world, design education has become an integral part of secondary education, especially in Great Britain, where design has been. was introduced as part of technology education in the 1970s.

In the US, design thinking has been integrated at the university level, first initiated mainly by Stanford University in California since 2003, notably its Hasso Plattner Institute of Design (the so-called “d.school”).

And what about the first years of study? If it is a more natural fit as a component of secondary and higher education, how can design thinking then be transferred to the preschool and elementary school levels? This is what we hope to demonstrate in this chapter.

For junior high, there are 3 main learning elements needed to lay the foundations of design thinking—in other words, learning about design thinking without any use of the technical terminology behind it—and these are: learning to empathize; teaching “doing” and teaching reflection

Teaching compassion

By teaching children to empathize, early childhood educators lay the foundation for their students to become competent and effective design thinkers.

Many experts have put forward ideas and frameworks on how this can be achieved, and below is an example:

Dr. Marilyn Price-Mitchell

Development psychologist; Founder of Roots of Action; author of the book “Tomorrow’s Change Makers: Reclaiming the Power of Citizenship for a New Generation”

The Price-Mitchell framework for teaching empathy is built around four simple steps: Feel, Imagine, Do, Share, or “FIDS,” and has gained particular attention for its ability to easily transition from classroom practice to real life at home.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Mitchell-Price encouraged students to use FIDS to create content for the #DoGoodFromHome hashtag on social media. Here is a brief description of how FIDS works:

● Experience – Children engage with news, articles and social media posts to learn more about people in need

● Imagine – Children brainstorm ideas for safe ways to interact with and influence this community

● Do – children take action to turn ideas into reality

● Share – children report on what they did and reflect on what it meant to them

A very simple example of how this relates to design thinking is when children recognize that the local health workers at the nearby hospital always look tired.

The hospital might have assumed that people having days off would ensure that their staff were never tired.

Now, kids who learn empathy—and design thinking—can imagine that something that cheers them up and boosts their morale will help them overcome fatigue, like a nice plate of cookies.

So the kids jump into action to make a cookie and then take it to the health workers.

By trying to imagine and feel how medical professionals feel, children first learn to empathize, and then, in addition, how to act accordingly.

Training “Manufacturing”

Empathy is the most important first step because the first stage of design thinking is the ability to understand how your “target audience or users” think and feel about something.

The next step is to further develop the third phase of Price-Mitchell’s “Do”. One of the best modern examples of how this can be implemented in early childhood education is the phenomenon known as Maker Education:

“Maker Education”

a term coined by Dale Dougherty in 2013; the “father” of the Maker Movement; founder of Maker Media, owner of Make magazine; founder of the Maker Faires movement and more.

Dauteri’s principles and ideas are used across the spectrum of K-12 and higher education systems, but we want to focus specifically on the younger ages.

Maker education has a strong focus on STEM, which of course builds the core practical skills needed within design thinking to help young people take action and improve things around them.

Related: Try Building Straw Bridges is a great hands-on design thinking exercise to use.

Makerspaces

At the center of Dougherty’s educational vision was the creation of makerspaces in schools at all levels.

According to them, it is “a collaborative space within a school, library, or individual public/private institution for creation, learning, research, and sharing, whether or not it uses high-tech tools.”

At the higher end, they include 3D printers, laser cutters, and other equipment, but early learners don’t need all of that.

In the creative space, kids can do almost anything creatively—there are few, if any, restrictions.

They can take things and take them apart to see individual parts, learn about the different textures, colors and appearances of things in nature, they can do arts and crafts and work together on group projects.

Research. The value of Makerspaces

A team from the University of Sheffield, led by Jackie Marsh, worked to determine the value of so-called ‘Makerspaces’ – a product of Dougherty’s Maker Education revolution – for early and older learners.

Play has been identified as “an important factor in creating jobs that promote engagement, creativity and social participation”. In his article, Marsh reports on a number of case studies in the north of England, 2 from nurseries and 2 from primary schools.

Marsh’s research found compelling evidence that “creative spaces can develop children’s agency and enable them to explore personal interests.”

It also emphasizes the importance of children doing their own creative time to get the most out of it.

Marsh also points to the wonderful way makerspaces teach ‘making’ across a range of digital and non-digital platforms, giving children a wide range of experiences and opportunities to develop their creative skills.

Learning reflection

When it comes to teaching reflection, there is perhaps no system that brings it better to early childhood education classrooms than the International Baccalaureate (IB).

Below we take a closer look at IB research and development. organizations and schools have done to implement reflection, which is also an important part of the design process.

Susan Powers

IB Primary Years Program (PYP) expert; IB PYP Educator; PYP training practice coach; expert in “student-led research”

At the heart of the IB PYP (as well as the MYP and DP for middle and high school students respectively) is the concept of ‘research’.

Students inquire about the world around them using a central prompt or question that comes from the IB PYP framework. After studying and following up on these central ideas, students engage in a reflection process.

The reflection phase is an important part of personal, social and emotional education, and a critical step in the design process.

As Powers writes, it’s all about creating a so-called “growth mindset.” Students “assess our progress toward our goals, consider next steps, and take action.”

Powers lists among the benefits of a reflective approach to learning the development of skills: self-evaluation, goal setting, critical thinking, observation, problem solving, creative thinking and communication.

At the elementary school level, children can do this by creating their own reflection journal. For younger students, it’s mostly an idea to get them thinking about what they’ve done and what they’re getting out of it.

The process of reflection goes a long way toward developing children’s empathy, which then feeds back into the design process when it’s time to act and solve problems.

Conclusion: Can Design Thinking Change Education in the Future?

Design thinking is based on basic skills and abilities. found in most STEM fields. The US Department of Commerce found that STEM occupations are growing much faster than other occupations.

Therefore, STEM degree holders have an advantage when it comes to income and career development.

Design thinking is a brilliant and simple way to promote essential STEM skills in young and older students. In fact, it is a completely new culture; it is a developmental language that we definitely want our children to know in the future.

Rather than stopping at a limited linear system of progress, design thinking opens up the process to a whole network of interconnected paths that problem solvers explore to find alternative and innovative solutions to today’s problems.

In a world where we can’t wait years for the next innovation, we need design thinkers to be a dominant force in the future. for generations

When the next global storm hits, we’ll need their collective strength to create control and prevention solutions that conventional thinking simply can’t handle.

Source: Design Thinking for Kids – How is it Shaping the Future of Education