Design thinking is a hot topic in education from elementary school to continuing professional education in a wide variety of industries. According to IDEO, a global design firm and one of the key players in this space, design thinking is “a human-centered approach to innovation that draws from the designer's toolkit to integrate the needs of people, the possibilities of technology, and the requirements for business success.” While not dramatically different than other approaches to creative problem solving, the focus on empathy, rapid prototyping and iteration make design thinking highly relevant in courses and programs that attempt to encourage innovative thinking.
Interest in design thinking in higher education in particular has exploded in recent years. I was introduced to design thinking through Professor Michael Luchs from the Mason School of Business at the College of William & Mary. In this Luminaris podcast episode, Luchs explains why design thinking resonates with him and how he leverages the approach in a course he teaches on Sustainability Inspired Innovation and Design. Since their initial forays into design thinking, the Mason School has launched the Jim and Bobbie Ukrop Innovation and Design Studio – an amazing space that encourages innovation and creativity. Under the guidance of Mason professor Graham Henshaw, we recently engaged in a design thinking bootcamp to help reimagine a more student-centered approach to high school.
Just as with personalized learning, it can be difficult to wade through the myriad resources available online to learn more about design thinking. In this post, I wanted to provide a quick annotated list of resources related to design thinking that I’ve found helpful. Like in the personalized learning post, I hope that these resources will help to get you started on your own exploration of this engaging approach to innovation and problem solving.
Curated list of design thinking resources
Design Thinking – A Unified Framework for Innovation – In this article from Forbes written by Reuven Cohen, readers are introduced to design thinking. Cohen walks us through his three-day bootcamp experience at the Stanford d.school. This walkthrough of engaging in a substantive design thinking experience really provides some insights on the process from a participant’s perspective.
Virtual Crash Course in Design Thinking – Offered through the d.school at Stanford, this toolkit provides everything you need to host a design thinking short course using the design thinking methodology. The site provides step-by-step instructions on how to prepare for the short course, a playbook for facilitators, videos, and sets of really interesting “mixtapes” to go for a deeper dive into understanding and experimenting.
Design Thinking for Educators – IDEO has created this helpful toolkit for educators to integrate design thinking in their teaching. The site provides a great overview of IDEO’s approach to design thinking, four great examples of design thinking in schools, a number of high quality videos, and a free design thinking toolkit. While designed for K-12 teachers, the toolkit can be useful for educators at all levels to create design thinking activities for the classroom.
IDEO U – IDEO has designed and offers three online courses exploring different aspects of design thinking. While I haven’t taken any of the courses, given the high quality of IDEO’s materials and deep expertise in design thinking, I’m sure they will be good.
Design Kit: Facilitator’s Guide – This free, online course will equip you to offer your own design thinking workshop. The outcome of this asynchronous course is that you will develop the plan for a full-day, hands-on, introductory workshop for 5-20 participants on design thinking. The Facilitator’s Guide includes all of the materials you’ll need as well. I’m looking forward to beginning this experience in early February.
What resources have you found useful for design thinking?
Please post your comments below.
Interest in design thinking in higher education in particular has exploded in recent years. I was introduced to design thinking through Professor Michael Luchs from the Mason School of Business at the College of William & Mary. In this Luminaris podcast episode, Luchs explains why design thinking resonates with him and how he leverages the approach in a course he teaches on Sustainability Inspired Innovation and Design. Since their initial forays into design thinking, the Mason School has launched the Jim and Bobbie Ukrop Innovation and Design Studio – an amazing space that encourages innovation and creativity. Under the guidance of Mason professor Graham Henshaw, we recently engaged in a design thinking bootcamp to help reimagine a more student-centered approach to high school.
Just as with personalized learning, it can be difficult to wade through the myriad resources available online to learn more about design thinking. In this post, I wanted to provide a quick annotated list of resources related to design thinking that I’ve found helpful. Like in the personalized learning post, I hope that these resources will help to get you started on your own exploration of this engaging approach to innovation and problem solving.
Curated list of design thinking resources
Design Thinking – A Unified Framework for Innovation – In this article from Forbes written by Reuven Cohen, readers are introduced to design thinking. Cohen walks us through his three-day bootcamp experience at the Stanford d.school. This walkthrough of engaging in a substantive design thinking experience really provides some insights on the process from a participant’s perspective.
Virtual Crash Course in Design Thinking – Offered through the d.school at Stanford, this toolkit provides everything you need to host a design thinking short course using the design thinking methodology. The site provides step-by-step instructions on how to prepare for the short course, a playbook for facilitators, videos, and sets of really interesting “mixtapes” to go for a deeper dive into understanding and experimenting.
Design Thinking for Educators – IDEO has created this helpful toolkit for educators to integrate design thinking in their teaching. The site provides a great overview of IDEO’s approach to design thinking, four great examples of design thinking in schools, a number of high quality videos, and a free design thinking toolkit. While designed for K-12 teachers, the toolkit can be useful for educators at all levels to create design thinking activities for the classroom.
IDEO U – IDEO has designed and offers three online courses exploring different aspects of design thinking. While I haven’t taken any of the courses, given the high quality of IDEO’s materials and deep expertise in design thinking, I’m sure they will be good.
Design Kit: Facilitator’s Guide – This free, online course will equip you to offer your own design thinking workshop. The outcome of this asynchronous course is that you will develop the plan for a full-day, hands-on, introductory workshop for 5-20 participants on design thinking. The Facilitator’s Guide includes all of the materials you’ll need as well. I’m looking forward to beginning this experience in early February.
What resources have you found useful for design thinking?
Please post your comments below.
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