Learning and Behavioral Sciences

Thinking & Acting like a Designer: How design thinking supports innovation in K-12 education

Date:

September 23, 2017

The needs of the twenty-first century demand new approaches to learning. Today, student success requires skills for collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, and problem solving, and these skills are increasingly becoming a focus in both K-12 and higher education settings. But twenty-first century learning needs to be much more if we are to expect young people to both navigate an unknown and complex future and meet the challenges that accompany it. We need change-makers, people who will rede ne problems, inspire new ideas, take informed risks, and never stop learning. Change-makers implement and evolve solutions that aim to better the individual and the whole, be it a classroom, a school, a community, or a society. This is the approach of a designer and the focus of this publication.

 

This report has been reviewed by:

  • Dr. Gavin Melles, Senior Lecturer, Swinburne University of Technology
  • Dr. Joyce Koh Hwee Ling, Associate Professor, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University

Research Organization

Authors:

Ms Annette Diefenthaler

Portfolio Director, Education, IDEO

Ms Sandy Speicher

Partner and Managing Director, Education, IDEO

Dr. Laura Moorhead

Assistant Professor, San Francisco State University’s Journalism Department

Ms Deirdre Cerminaro

Systems Design Lead, Education, IDEO

Ms Charla Bear

Senior Design Researcher & Journalist, Education, IDEO

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