Innovation & Inquiry
Teaching design thinking as a part of the undergraduate University Core Curriculum.
This course, which I developed with the support of an on-campus grant, is based on my participation in 2011 at Stanford’s D-School Design Thinking Bootcamp. The goal was to bring design thinking to a wider audience by creating a University Core offering focused on teaching creative problem-solving, flexible thinking, lateral thinking, idea generation, and testing techniques.
Improved Future. Design thinking is typically linked to the search for an improved future, unlike critical thinking, which is a process of analysis and is associated with the breaking down of ideas. Both are required for a successful solution to be reached but non-design students have very little experience with design thinking approach where, in the early stages there are no judgments. Wild ideas are welcome, since these often lead to the most creative solutions. This eliminates the fear of failure and encourages maximum input and participation.
If open to all students Design Thinking can become an integral component of the broader educational framework centered around project-based learning. Employing a systematic and creative approach, it imparts problem-solving skills to students as they navigate through the stages of Discovery, Ideation, Experimentation, and Evolution to devise inventive solutions to challenging issues. This educational methodology encompasses various activities, including observation, collaboration, rapid learning, visualization of ideas, and rapid prototyping. The incorporation of research, development, and evaluative processes renders it especially beneficial for a wide array of courses, particularly those dealing with intricate, multi-faceted, and trans-disciplinary subjects. Design Thinking is adaptable to almost any course that demands innovation and inventive problem-solving.
Design thinking fosters innovation, open-mindedness, and a results-oriented mindset in students. It encourages curiosity by exploring possibilities while also necessitating analysis and successful testing of ideas.
In 2013 this course was made part of the University Core and offered each semester to all students. This course represented the the first time the School of Design was able to get a course into the university core and was the first design thinking course offered in Oklahoma.
