Continuing on with theories related to thinking, I’ve seen several articles in recent weeks discussing Design Thinking, so I figured it would be a timely term to discuss.
Design Thinking
The concept of design thinking came to be as a method for solution-based thinking. This idea ties in with last week’s discussion of convergent and divergent thinking (considering one, solitary, correct solution, and considering many solutions), as design thinking begins with divergent thinking to identify many potential solutions and ends with convergent thinking to identify one of the many potential solutions that will be employed as THE solution.
The process of design thinking includes several phases (define, research, ideate, prototype, choose, implement, and learn), which in education can be easily compared to Instructional Design models, such as ADDIE. Define/Research = Analysis, Ideate = Design, Prototype = Develop, Choose/Implement = Implement, and Learn = Evaluate. Very familiar, no?
If you’ve participated in workshops or interactive conference sessions, you’ve likely witnessed design thinking first hand. Last year, I was involved in a workshop-style presentation of research findings. In this presentation, participants were prompted to provide some guided feedback at several junctures. At the end of the presentation, it was then revealed that the researchers were conducting data collection throughout the workshop, and our feedback would be used within their research. Genius! Design thinking in action!
Design thinking isn’t a new concept, and it isn’t always employable within our organizations and/or institutions, but it is a great method for eliciting creativity to solve broader problems.
Interested in reading more?
‘Design thinking’ is changing the way we approach problems big and small by T. Johnson
Design Thinking and How it Will Change Management Education: An Interview and Discussion by D. Dunne and R. Martin
Thank you for posting, it’s a topic I quite like, just like most kinds of solution-based ways of thinking.