My Experiences with Design Thinking

Have you ever heard the same thing from multiple people in a short time period?  Then when that happens, does what they're saying begin to become engrained in your thoughts?  That's currently how I'm feeling about the design thinking model.

My first experience with design thinking took place in November 2012, when our all-school technology team was tasked with the job of picking a tablet tool to deploy school-wide.  We researched extensively, heard from subject-matter experts, voiced our own opinions, and talked to teachers.  Finally, it was time for us to tackle the question of which tool we would purchase.  I recall going through an abbreviated design thinking process, which involved lots of sticky notes.

Now that I've experienced the full, iterative process, I realized that we skipped some key points.  First, our point of view statement was very limited to the tool we would choose, not necessarily what was best for students- big problem!  Next, there was a lot of criticism among our group during the Ideate phase.  I recall being nervous to "dream big," which should've been remedied early on in the process.  Finally, we never prototyped our ideas.  This is a hugely important aspect of design thinking, which we missed out on.

My next interaction with design thinking occurred earlier this semester when my ETEC 613 group sat down to brainstorm a topic for our module.  Our first idea involved using the design thinking process in conjunction with building robots.  We got as far as writing an extensive hierarchy, then realized that it would be WAY too difficult to develop.  Although I wish that we could've carried the project through to the end, I'm glad that we honed our module to be more manageable.

Last night's workshop was the only time I've actually successfully completed a design thinking task.  While I initially had a difficult time getting into the ideating and prototyping, I ended up learning a lot and enjoying myself during the process.  It was freeing to be in an environment where "anything goes" as far as dreaming big.  As was mentioned in our debrief, I often find myself critiquing my own ideas before actually prototyping and seeing their potential.

I left last night's class excited about our workshop, but unsure about using this in my particular classroom setting.  As a resource teacher, I only have 40-minute blocks with each class.  After experiencing the entire design thinking process, I see how important it is to complete everything in one setting.  I could possibly use this model with upper grades, as I sometimes see them for special projects or extended periods.  Still thinking on that, though...

I'd love to use design thinking with my faculty, but am not sure what need we would attempt to design for.  My principal will love hearing about my experience, so I'm excited to share with her at our weekly meeting.  Perhaps we could use this as a beginning-of-the-year workshop topic?  Who knows...the possibilities are endless!

Our group's prototype of a new and improved CCC