Edutopia: Improving Schools Through Design Thinking

A growing number of schools around the world are utilizing design thinking in classrooms to improve the overall school experience, according to an Edutopia article. Design Thinking is “a human-centered approach to problem solving that begins with developing empathy for those facing a particular challenge,” wrote author and Assistant Director of Roper Mountain Science Center Thomas Riddle.

According to Riddle, design thinking

Serves as a framework that helps to define problems, empathize with others, develop prototypes of possible solutions, and hone those prototypes through multiple iterations until they have generated a viable solution to the challenge at hand.

The article continues by outlining the following five main stages of the design thinking process:

1. Empathize
2. Define
3. Ideate
4. Prototype
5. Test

To learn more about how each stage of the design thinking process serves to improve experiences for both students and teachers inside and outside of the classroom, click here to read the full article on Edutopia.com.