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Design Thinking core Elements

Scheer, A., Noweski, C., & Meinel, C. (2012). Transforming constructivist learning into action: Design thinking in education. Design and Technology Education: an International Journal, 17(3).

The Design cycle

Scheer, Andrea, Christine Noweski, and Christoph Meinel. "Transforming constructivist learning into action: Design thinking in education." Design and Technology Education: an International Journal 17.3 (2012).

The Design Thinking process fosters several competences in different phases, in which expansion and consolidation take turns. This is the heartbeat of Design Thinking. The phases are as follows:

Understand and Observe (Expanding)
The first step in the design process is to build up empathy and understanding of the people and the situation the problem or challenge is set in. The goal is to get a clue of relations between the problem and its context, and to find out hidden needs. Empathy is the competence of recognising feelings, thoughts, intentions and characteristics of others.

Synthesis (Consolidating)
In order to solve a problem and generate meaningful ideas, one has to define the problem and its context. As seen in the phase of understanding, there are different perspectives on one particular problem and a lot of information is generated to describe the problem. In the synthesis phase, all this information needs to be interpreted and condensed to meaningful insights, in order to be able to generate actionable solutions. It involves critical thinking and interpretation skills to condense a lot of information into a compelling point of view and clear direction for ideation.

Ideate (Expanding)
Ideation means opening up the mind, being imaginative and generating lots of ideas for solving the problem.Brainstorming in the team helps to build on the ideas of others and collaboratively transforming the knowledge about the problem and its origins into actionable problem
solving ideas. This is what pedagogy describes as the competence of applying knowledge.

Prototype (Consolidating)
The prototype phase is all about experimentation to bring ideas alive, to make them tangible, actionable, testable.
Learning more about the ideas, its possibilities in form and function through building them. The goal of prototyping is to be able to share ideas with others, to specify your abstract imaginations and to get the mental concept of an idea into the physical world.

Test (Expanding)
Testing means bringing the idea, the solution generated through the design process into action in order to get feedback on which to build on. Feedback from other persons, from experts, from novices, from users, everyone involved in the problem context. Through testing a lot of information is gathered, in that it is similar to the observe and understand phase. However, this information is
focused on the solution, and shows how well the problem has been understood. It is important to be able to communicate the idea you want to get feedback on, and to capture and interpret that feedback in order to refine your idea.

Iteration
Basically, the process follows these six steps that build on each other while preserving a cyclical and iterative nature.
It is possible and desired to move from one phase to any other at any point of time, as well as to repeat the whole process or certain stages. The testing phase already implies a smooth transition to the observing and understand phase, as the problem context has changed with your idea. Its iterative nature unfolds the whole concept of constructivism – there is no such thing as a fixed and one dimensional reality, rather different situations apply different perspectives and new perspectives generate new situations. Knowledge is individually self-organised, and proofed in and adapted to
the context.

The learning continuum

From The Australian Curriculum: Technologies. Technologies across Foundation to Year 10

The Early Years

In the early years students are curious about their world and are interested in exploring it. In Technologies, students have opportunities to learn through purposeful and directed play to develop attitudes of care about the places and resources they use. Through these processes they identify relationships between imagined and virtual worlds and the real world, between people and products, and between resources and environments (systems thinking). They explore materials, tools and equipment and use drawing and modelling to communicate their design ideas. Students learn about and experience connections between technologies and the designed world (design thinking). They begin to learn the importance of preparing precise instructions when solving problems using digital systems (computational thinking), creating ideas and information and sharing them online with known people.

Middle-Primary

 During these years of schooling, students’ thought processes become more complex and consistent, and they gradually become more independent. Students also develop their capacity to work in teams. They develop a sense of social, ethical and environmental responsibility and are interested in and concerned about the future (systems thinking). Students may share changes in their own thinking and making, giving reasons for their actions and explaining and demonstrating their organisation and sequence of ideas. They begin to recognise and appreciate the different ways in which others think and respond to problems and situations, including those with a regional perspective. They respond resourcefully to a range of design and computing problems and situations using creative and innovative ideas to realise solutions. They communicate and record their ideas in diagrams and drawings using a range of technologies. They explain the main functions of their solutions and the systems, materials, tools and equipment which could be used.

Informed Design

Burghardt, M. & Hacker, M. (2003). Informed design: A contemporary approach to design pedagogy. Retrieved from https://www.e-education.psu.edu/drupal6/files/sgam/pedagogy_ctl_informeddesign_003.pdf 

Informed design is a pedagogical approach to design that was developed and validated through the NSF-funded NYSCATE Project (New York State Curriculum for Advanced Technological Education) (Burghardt and Hacker, 2003).
Informed design enables students to enhance their own related knowledge and skill base before attempting to suggest design solutions. In this way, students reach design solutions informed by prior knowledge and research, as opposed to trial-and-error problem solving, where conceptual closure is often not attained. Informed design emphasizes design challenges that rely on math and science knowledge to improve design performance. The approach prompts research, inquiry, and analysis;
fosters student and teacher discourse; and cultivates language proficiency.
Engineers and other designers do not always follow these steps in a sequence. As with most design
cycles, the informed design cycle is iterative and allows, even encourages, users to revisit earlier
assumptions and findings as they proceed. It was created with knowledge gained from works in cognitive science and learning.
The phases of design are described as follows:

1. Clarify design specifications and constraints.
2. Research and investigate the problem: Complete a series of guided knowledge and skill builder activities that will help students identify the variables that affect the performance of the design, and inform students’ knowledge and skill base.
3. Generate alternative designs:. Don’t stop when you have one solution. Approach the challenge in new ways and describe  alternatives.
4. Choose and justify optimal design.:Rate and rank the alternatives against the design specifications and constraints. Reflect on what is the best design; justify your choice based upon ratings, and new learning acquired from knowledge and skill builders. Your chosen alternative will guide your preliminary design.
5. Develop a prototype.
6. Make a model of the solution. Identify modifications to refine the design, and make these modifications.
7. Test and evaluate the design solution
8. Redesign the solution with modifications
9. Communicate your achievements.

Complete a design portfolio or design report that documents the previously mentioned steps. Make a group presentation to the class justifying your design solution.

Developing sound Conceptual Knowledge

From: Lunn, S., Davidson, M. & Murphy, P. (2002). Developing an effective pedagogy for creative problem-solving in design and technology.  Design and Technology Association International Research Conference, 12-14 April, pp. 51-55. Retrieved from https://dspace.lboro.ac.uk/2134/3170

Roger described problem-solving as follows: they can see the need in their mind ... they can then focus their mind on ways of fulfilling that need to solve that problem  .... sometimes complicated to make ... but they always come up with ideas: why can’t we do this that and the other. I say well because we haven’t got the facilities here to do that but try and keep it simple …and they are quite good about discussing and bringing their ideas into something realistic. And that's problem-solving.

His comments suggest he understood the need to maintain the students’ autonomy by providing them with support to reflect critically on their ideas.

The key elements of Roger’s pedagogy that enabled him to provide a supportive environment for problem-solving were judged to be:

(i)        An effective introduction to the task that included: a discussion of need in the context of charities; the opportunity for the students to share their knowledge of charities and their personal experience of commercial collecting boxes; a critical examination of similar boxes made by earlier classes; and discussion and explanation of how the effects were produced.

(ii)       Support for conceptual knowledge by provision of model mechanisms and circuit diagrams which students could adapt to their situation.

(iii)      A style of interaction with the students that supported their thinking processes but left decision making with them and so maintained their autonomy.

Problem solving in D&T

Lunn, S., Davidson, M. & Murphy, P. (2002). Developing an effective pedagogy for creative problem-solving in design and technology.  Design and Technology Association International Research Conference, 12-14 April, pp. 51-55Retrieved from https://dspace.lboro.ac.uk/2134/3170

 

Research into learning continues to advocate a central role for problem-solving activity. This advocacy embraces two distinct educational aims. First, problem-solving is seen as a crucial means by which students construct conceptual meaning. Second, problem-solving is seen as a goal in itself, i.e. students need to learn how to problem-solve in context as part of the process of enculturation into a domain such as D&T. The link between problem-solving and creativity also has two distinct aspects. First, perceiving a problem is in itself a creative act of an agentive mind. In addition, problems are not given, they are personally experienced and shaped, and in seeking to understand, communicate and solve problems students improve their own practice.

Our views of the nature of knowledge and learning (discussed more fully elsewhere, see Murphy & McCormick, 1997) lead us to suggest the following conditions for creative problem-solving across the curriculum:

·         students are engaged in activities which are authentic, i.e. relate both to the actions of design in the real world and are personally meaningful;

·         the problems are dilemmas that the students perceive, they cannot be given;

·         the students are active, reflective, purposeful and  knowledgeable: the knowledge that they use integrates both procedural and conceptual knowledge;

·         students draw on social resources that develop as they collaborate with each other and the teacher to achieve common goals.