Design thinking as a means of enhancing the creative and innovative abilities of undergraduate students when creating web based learning activities

Abstract: The paper examines the use of a design thinking framework to enhance the creative and innovative capacities of undergraduate teacher education students at an Australian university. The framework was used as a scaffold for teacher education, undergraduate students when they completed an assessment task that required them to construct web based learning activities using the webquest model. Recently, Razzouk and Shute (2012) posed the question: 'What is design thinking and why is it so important?' They concluded that "helping students to think like designers may better prepare them to deal with difficult situations and solve complex problems in school, in their careers, and in life in general" (p.343)