By the time our current 4th graders enter the workforce in the year 2026, more than 1.4 million U.S. jobs will be disrupted (changed or eliminated) by technology (World Economic Forum, 2018). At that same time, however, 48 new types of career opportunities will have been created. What is more, children today can expect to have more career changes than any previous generation. To prepare our youngest citizens for an exciting and uncertain future, schools must build skills such as creative thinking, problem solving, perseverance, and effective communication. Teaching our children to think like designers can foster this type of thinking.
From its origins in an engineering classroom several decades ago (Atman & Bursic, 1996), design thinking can be applied across the curriculum and with learners from preK to higher education. The only requirement is an open, curious mind and a desire to innovate. Plattner's (2010) model for design thinking (see Figure 1) provides an ideal canvas for learners to develop a sense of agency in their learning, and autonomy in their ability to innovate and iterate on problems that are most meaningful to their lives. The five, iterative stages of this model—empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and test—integrate "soft skills" like communication, collaboration, problem solving, and perspective-taking with the "hard skills" taught across the curriculum. Moreover, this model for design thinking engages students in the three-dimensional thinking presented in the Next Generation Science Standards (2013) framework, including domain-specific content (disciplinary core ideas), interdisciplinary connections (cross-cutting concepts), and skills and practices of successful problem solvers (science and engineering practices).
Figure 1: Plattner's Model for Design Thinking
As designers in residence at the New York Hall of Science (NYSCI), we've used design thinking to help museum "explainers" revitalize museum exhibits by improving learning and connecting exhibits in new and exciting ways. Explainers at NYSCI are high school or college-age students who are deeply vested in learning and exploring science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), and want to share their passion with diverse visitors of all ages. Using design thinking, we worked with explainers to engage visitors in the exhibits by taking their points of view, defining opportunities to extend inquiry, and later creating possible solutions and testing those solutions with visitors.
Empathize with Users
The first stage of design thinking asks us to empathize with users. Empathizing requires both active engagement and passive reflection and observation. In classrooms, empathizing means identifying potential physical limitations (such as the placement of cubbies) or determining local issues that affect the community (such as water or air quality) that students are motivated to solve.
To empathize with museum visitors, we set off through the halls to identify the strengths, areas for improvement, and the science content shared in each exhibit. After several hours dissecting the exhibits, taking notes and asking questions, we headed back to the lab to define opportunities for innovation.
Define the Problem
Documenting observations helps define problems—stage two of thinking like a designer. The goal is to synthesize the data to determine if patterns emerge. These patterns help designers define problems. Students may work collaboratively or independently to define problems based on their observations. In elementary school, this might involve students making observations about litter on the playground or as they walk their neighborhood. Middle school students might document how areas of urbanization are affecting the local water supply.
To bring the explainers into our process, we created a concept map with the exhibits (see Figure 2). As explainers took turns sharing their thoughts, a pattern emerged. It became clear that the connection between exhibits and the rationale for how visitors progressed through the halls was an opportunity to innovate.
Figure 2: Concept Map of Exhibits
Ideate the Data
At this stage of design thinking, the data gathered through, for example, a neighborhood walk or a research project on the human impacts on water quality, is now a driving force in the classroom. It is time to ideate, or to use the data while empathizing with the user to come up with potential solutions to the identified problems.
Much like the students in our classes, explainers were eager to brainstorm solutions for the missing connections between exhibits. Looking at our giant concept maps, one student suggested a digital game to lead visitors through the museum on a scavenger hunt for clues, while another thought of a virtual tour guide who connects exhibits to the overarching science themes. Playing a game during lunch to rest our tired brains brought forth a eureka moment: let's develop a simple game to see if people can find connections between objects found across the museum!
Prototype the Solution
The ideation stage brings out an abundance of potential innovations begging to be prototyped and tested with users. At this point, elementary school students may have come up with the idea to create brightly colored trash cans labeled with friendly reminders to please keep the neighborhood clean. Middle school students may have isolated issues with piping notorious for leaching waste into soil and discussed potential substitutes. What is exciting about the prototyping is that students take ideas that run the gamut of level of impact and feasibility, and get to work creating a solution.
Figure 3: User-Centered Design Matrix
Source: From the Customer-Driven Playbook: Converting Customer Feedback into Successful Products (p. 87), by T. Lowdermilk and J. Rich, 2017, Sebastopol, CA: O'Reilly Media, Inc. Copyright 2017 by O'Reilly Media, Inc. Reprinted with permission.
The goal with the prototype is to move forward with potential solutions that may have impact and feasibility while using fewer resources. This process ensures that students are focused on design and not perfection and allows them to see that failing is not something to fear but rather an opportunity to learn (Carroll et al., 2010).
The user-centered design matrix (see Figure 3) helped us select ideas to prototype that would be quick wins (high impact, low effort) while saving the long-term strategies (high impact, high effort) and pet projects (low impact, low effort) for the future (Lowdermilk & Rich, 2017). Explainers at NYSCI decided to create a paper prototype of a game highlighting shared features of museum objects across exhibits.
Test the Prototype
The testing stages helps determine if the prototype solves the user problem. If it doesn't, that does not mean failure. Rather, an unworkable solution provides more information about the problem and how to best modify the design. Elementary school students may place colorful signs using paper to decorate trash bins to observe if neighbors are more likely to pick up litter. Middle school students may conduct tests on alternative piping to see if it is better able to prevent liquids from leaching. For our group, it was time to play the game with visitors and see if they made connections between exhibits.
Plattner (2010) suggests placing prototypes in the hands of users and showing, not telling, the experience. By stepping back and observing, we can collect feedback that helps to modify the design. Did the pipe successfully contain liquids similar to those leaching into the soil? Did the colorful garbage cans reduce litter in the nearby park? Were museum visitors able to connect science content across the museum? Answers to these questions help plan next steps in iteration—to either return to the matrix and select a new idea, or maybe to identify weaknesses in the prototype and keep revising the design.
Design Thinking Is Good Thinking
Preparing our students to be successful citizens means ensuring they can synthesize interdisciplinary content learned through formal education while successfully communicating, collaborating, and persistently problem-solving with others. Design thinking is a lens by which we model good thinking. It encourages students to take perspective and empathize with others in their classroom and in the wider community. In identifying problems, students learn to work effectively with others, listen to varying perspectives, and support their thoughts with evidence. While using data to ideate and prototype, students learn to identify salient features of successful designs and how to fail forward.
Decades of research have informed the curriculum we teach and the "what" of learning, while learning sciences provide ways to shift and improve the "how" of teaching. Our task in preparing our students for the future is to provide the "why" of learning by making content relevant, useful, and applied. Design thinking is good thinking, and ensures you'll never again hear: why do we have to learn this?
