The process of design thinking is a crucial part in the process of designing. There are many different ideas and processes a teacher can adapt to a design thinking activity. The IDEO (2011) Design Thinking for Educators has 5 chronological phases of design thinking which aims to generate and develop students’ ideas. These stages start from discovery and proceed to interpretation, ideation, experimentation and evolution. At each stage, students experiment with a range of possibilities which help contribute to the end product. However, when planning design learning tasks, there are a number of factors a teacher must consider to ensure students engage in the task effectively. A balance of explicit instruction in combination with open-ended inquiry tasks is needed to guide students but is also important thar creative freedom is not hindered . By exposing students to work examples can also help students with the ‘discovery’ process (Bower, Stevenson, Falloon, Forbes & Hatzgianni, 2018).  Similarly, the ‘learning by design approach’ has four processes which include experiencing, conceptualising, analysing and applying (Kalantzis & Cope, 2010). This approach is a scaffolded learning process but actively allows students to enact, develop and determine rather than learn passively (van Haren, 2010).  

Tinkercad

A technology that supports design thinking is ‘Tinkercad’. Tinkercad is a free online collection of software tools for 3D design, engineering and entertainment software (‘Tinkercard, n.d.). Students are able to design 3D objects which can be printed out using a 3D printer. An example of a lesson for upper primary students that incorporates the use of a 3D printer would be asking students to design a sustainable model of a house. Cross-curricular subjects such as science and mathematics can be incorporated where students must design using accurate mathematical measurements while thinking about the use of sustainable materials. However, when using this technology, the teacher must be able to model and scaffold lessons as there is an abundant number of tools which would needed to be explained to students. Demonstrations along with video tutorials can be useful in introducing the tool to students. Another factor to consider is the accessibility of the technology. A 3D printer is needed to print the designs made on Tinkercad and not every school will have direct access to one.

References

Bower, M., Stevenson, M., Falloon, G., Forbes, A., Hatzigianni, M. (2018). Makerspaces in Primary School Settings – Advancing 21st Century and STEM capabilities using 3D Design and 3D Printing. Sydney, Australia: Macquarie University. Available at: https://primarymakers.com

IDEO (2012). Design Thinking for Educators (2nd Edition). Available at: http://designthinkingforeducators.com/

Kalantzis, M., Cope, B. (2010). The Teacher as Designer: Pedagogy in the new media age. E-Learning and Digital Media, 7(3), 200-222

Learn how to use Tinkercad. Retrieved from https://www.tinkercad.com/learn

van Haren, R. (2010). Engaging learner diversity through learning by design. E-Learning and Digital Media, 7(3), 258-271