Teaching with Design Thinking

Creativity… Innovation... Design Thinking... Design Intelligence? The last fifteen years of design centered buildup has generated a slew of hot topics and claims of newness, but what do these terms mean? What do they offer? And how can we make the most of them? The design disciplines hardly have monopoly on design processes and methodologies. Design thinking is used throughout the curriculum, from creative writing to research design. Design thinking is process, analysis and synthesize… solve et coagula. Design thinking uses both analytic and holistic thinking and attractive catch phrases such as “wicked problems”, “problem seeking”, “strategic analysis”, “programming”, “scenario building” and “solution-orientation”. Ok, so what is it? How do I use it? This presentation attempts to clear up the main concepts, theories, methodologies, processes and models of problem solving and decision making that are used in and define design thinking. The topics and materials covered attempt to provide an approachable and coherent view and framework for the classroom; they include using design thinking to foster creativity, facilitate critical thinking and engage students in metacognitive self-awareness, as well as how to get the most out of design thinking to promote dialogue between the instructor and student. While design thinking can still be thought of a “buzz” word, much can be applied to learning and teaching