The Design Thinking Method Applied In Education
The Design Thinking method (which could be literally translated as “design thinking”) comes from the entrepreneurial and marketing fields. It consists of a creative thinking methodology aimed at dealing with products and services that meet customer needs.
However, it has certain characteristics that can also be applied in school settings as a means of finding solutions to problems and needs of an educational nature.
What does the Design Thinking method consist of?
The Design Thinking is a method of teamwork that is adopted to solve problems and achieve innovative solutions. According to one of its creators, Tim Brown, it is a method that focuses on the person and the process of the design, rather than on the final result.
The method consists in the application of five phases which constitute a real process. These stages are as follows:
- Empathize : it’s about putting yourself in the users’ shoes and learning from this identification.
- Define : users’ needs and perceptions are established. It is about finding a starting point.
- Conceiving : it consists in imagining several possible creative solutions.
- Prototype : it is the moment in which the most suitable ideas are given shape and are represented that will be put into practice.
- Evaluate : evaluation tells us which phase of the process we need to return to to improve or change some aspects. Through the process of exchanging feedback with users, we will know if the project of all the phases and the subsequent implementation have managed to satisfy your needs.
How does the Design Thinking method work in education?
Transposed into the educational field, the method is based on an innovative tool whose purpose is to improve the educational centers and the relationships and processes that develop within them, offering simple solutions to the problems that arise, based on collaboration, observation, experimentation and a continuous evaluation process.
In this way, the Design Thinking method in education can be used to solve problems associated with the climate and school coexistence, or with the organization of educational spaces, such as the library or the computer room.
It also serves to offer a solution to concrete learning needs, whether they belong to a particular group or pupil. Furthermore, it is a way of working that allows you to design the best path to develop any type of educational project.
It is a method that allows all educational actors to participate and offer agreed solutions to the educational needs that arise daily. The collaboration of both teachers and pupils and parents is fundamental for the improvement of practices and the school climate.
Application of the Design Thinking method in school centers
As has been said, the Design Thinking method helps to find creative and innovative answers to problems of an educational nature. Taking into account the steps involved in applying this method, the steps to follow will be as follows:
Empathize with educational actors
Just as the first step of the method indicates, we must, first and foremost, empathize with the users. Whether it is the pupils, the teachers or the parents, we need to know what their needs, problems and desires are. We have to put ourselves in their shoes, understand them and analyze their situation and the context in which it develops. At this stage, listening, observing and recording data and information are important.
Design a route
The second stage foreseen by this method leads us to establish a roadmap relating to the information obtained during the previous phase. At this point, it is a question of defining and designing a center of action. Around this axis we will organize this information, to highlight those aspects, needs or problems of greater urgency or relevance.
Then we will ask ourselves questions about the possible causes of the problems and the possibilities we have at our disposal to solve them or bring improvements.
Imagine ideas
In this third phase it is time to start devising solutions. This is a creative stage, in which all the educational actors involved must participate.
To achieve this, there are techniques, such as brainstorming or brainstorming, which serve to generate and organize all the ideas that may arise. It is important that this phase is conceived as a moment of relaxation and fun, which allows the emergence of new ideas.
Shaping ideas
In this fourth stage it is necessary to make tangible the ideas that were thought up during the previous stage. The most coherent ideas that have been accepted by all must take shape; in other words, we must concretize how they will be implemented. For this purpose, it is necessary to organize certain aspects, such as time, space and the human, material and economic resources we have, to transform ideas into reality.
Validate and evaluate
Finally, in the fifth and final stage we must validate the path we have taken in all the previous stages. In other words, we will explain and share the decisions made and, based on the feedback received from users, we will finish implementing the actions we will take.
Furthermore, the evaluation of the whole implementation process is carried out in this phase. This involves the possibility of confirming together with the users the fact that we have been able to find effective and innovative solutions to their needs, desires and concerns.
