The missing voices: how design thinking can contribute to educational innovation

Abstract

Design thinking is a human-centered, prototype-driven innovation process. It is about discovering unarticulated user needs through deep empathy. And nowhere is that more important than in the world of education, where student needs are often buried under an avalanche of testing, evaluation and ever-changing instructional practices. In our work in implementing design thinking in K-12 educational settings, we have found that design thinking has a powerful effect on learning. We have discovered the power of empathy, the value of student agency, how experiential learning can bring joy to the classroom, how space impacts instructional practices and the benefits of adopting a prototyping mindset.