Design Thinking is changing the way many companies and organizations innovate. It can also be used in the classroom to prepare our kids for the challenges of the future. Teachers should use their creativity to introduce Design Thinking to our kids.
Recently, I wanted to apply my theory to my kids. I worked with them on a Design Thinking project I saw on the Stanford d.school website. The project is called "The Gift-Giving Project". I adapted it and applied it to my 2nd and 4th grade kids.
I asked them to "Design a useful and meaningful gift for your teacher". My main goal was to put them in their teacher's shoes to be able to learn and understand Empathy.
Step 1: Empathize
This step was a little difficult for them to understand as I needed to give them some examples. And the main problem for them was that they don't know very well what their teachers liked and what was important to them. So we had to play with the teachers a little. The kids had to use their memory and for a few days, get to know more about their teachers.
They learned that Empathy is to put themselves into their teachers' shoes.
Step 2: Define
This is a very important step where we defined the "problem" statement. This is where we understand what we will be designing.
My teacher appreciates when ___.
My teacher feels loved and appreciated when ___.
Step 3: Ideate
Step 4: Prototype
Step 5: Test