Design Thinking is the term given to a series of creative strategies used during the process of designing. However it is being applied increasingly as an approach to resolve issues in business, foster innovation and by educators to encourage critical thinking, collaboration and communication.
As a contribution to the ‘Open Geneva’ event this April (http://opengeneva.org), GES Secondary held a workshop day, applying Design Thinking to a series of problem solving tasks that required research, reflection and rapid prototyping! Thanks to the talented community of parents they were able to start the session with 3 dynamic presentations, giving real life examples of effective communication, empathy and creative thinking in various business fields. The pupils were divided into teams and given a problem to solve for a crew of space explorers on Mars. Investigating with Empathy the children researched to Define the needs of their subject. They then moved on to Ideate – generate a range of creative ideas letting their imaginations run wild. Next they built a Prototype which they had to Test and Evaluate before presenting to their client – the Space Explorers on Mars.
The children were asked to ignore the constraints of contemporary technology and use their imaginations to invent and ask What if? Although Science and Technology featured in their research throughout the day, experiencing the importance of communication and empathy will resonate across the curriculum. The day was a lot of fun, filled with activity and an impressive display of free-spirited creativity.
