The human brain and mind is a truly spectacular system. It creates efficient ways of processing information, also known as schemas. These patterns of thoughts make it easier for your mind to grasp concepts you have encountered in the past, and apply them to a current situation. These schemas can also impede the way you think. Design thinking is a nonlinear, computational process that encourages the mind to look beyond existing assumptions and understanding.
Design Thinking Lesson Plans, the purpose of design thinking is to facilitate creative thinking to find solutions to a problem. Often this problem may not be clearly defined. Design Thinking lesson plans will focus on a five step process. Each step in this process is important but not sequential. This is what sets this style of thinking apart from others. One can approach the lesson plans in several ways because that is the very basis of Design Thinking.
Empathy
The lesson plans will focus on empathy for the target audience. Students learn to put away their assumptions and gain a clearer and deeper understanding of the target group. The insight they gain from this process helps them define the problem, and accordingly the solution, in a better light.
Define the Problem
A clear and precise definition of the problem makes it easier to identify potential solutions. The problem would be better defined after developing empathy for the target group. For product developers and marketing teams, this step would need them to list their prospective customer’s requirements regarding the product at hand.
Ideate
With a good understanding of the target audience and by defining the problem, now students are ready to learn to ideate. They must consider all the available information and look beyond the obvious solutions. Innovation and flexibility are key factors in this process. The lesson plan must offer a scope for brainstorming.
Build a Prototype
The process of building the prototype is an experimental stage, and is critical to the Design Thinking process. Based on the ideas generated by empathizing and understanding the problem, students will build a prototype. The viability of the solution will be tested in the real world.
Test Solutions
The prototype will be critically examined and evaluated. It may offer the solution the team seeks. It may also bring to light additional problems that would require students to return to a previous step in the Design Learning process. The steps are not sequential and can run parallel. They can be taken out of order and then followed iteratively.
