Using Design Thinking in Mathematics for Middle School Students: A Multiple Case Study of Teacher Perspectives

This multiple case study focused on the perception of teachers implementing a problem solving strategy called design thinking to help students master the Common Core Standards in Mathematics specifically in middle school classrooms. The analysis of the data provided evidence that teachers saw Design thinking as a strategy in which students were able to master math concepts. Participants participated in semi-constructed interviews then provided digital portfolios as artifacts. The digital portfolios contained two lesson plans along with pre and post-lesson reflections. The artifacts and interview data were coded for main themes. The themes included critical thinking, failure, communication, collaboration, and real-world problems. These themes were correlated with a definition of mastery to show that the majority of the teachers did perceive that using design thinking did help students master mathematical standard