How Can Design Thinking Change How Children Learn?

Can teaching students divergent and convergent thinking change the way we teach in our classroom or digitally?

The past eight months have been a very trying time for students, staff, and parents when it comes to the realm of education. So many questions have arisen about distance learning, will our students fall behind, and how the pandemic has affected students socially? What if school districts took a lesson from tech companies? Can we prepare our students for the future by using methodologies used in businesses all around the world?

What is Design Thinking?

“Design Thinking provides a solution-based approach to solving problems. It is a way of thinking and working as well as a collection of hands-on methods.”-The Interaction Design Foundation.

Design Thinking is an approach to problem-solving, just like strategies teachers use every day in a classroom. Now “designers” usually follow a particular methodology that allows them to solve problems successfully every time. These methodologies can differ, however, most of them follow a general flow. They always include these five phases Discover, Define, Develop, Deliver, and Evolve. The particular methodology we are going to follow for this article is The Double Diamond Design Methodology.

The Double Diamond Design Methodology:

The Double Diamond Methodology is a design methodology that utilizes divergent and convergent thinking. Divergent Thinking is when we generate ideas by exploring as many possible solutions. Convergent Thinking is when we narrow down those ideas into the best possible choice for our problem.

Divergent Convergent Thinking Model

The double diamond uses these two types of thinking to creatively solve problems. The two cognitive approaches are used to activate both sides of the brain. Divergent thinkers are typically left-brained dominant and considered more “creative”. While convergent thinkers are more right-brained and are considered more “analytical”. In education, teachers are constantly looking for ways to provide students multiple access points. What better method than the double diamond!

How Does this Work In and Out of the Classroom?

Setting up a design challenge isn’t difficult and I would argue could be done with any age group of children from K-12. There are a few things you will need to do before starting a design challenge with your students.

For the Teacher

• Teachers need to become comfortable taking the role of the facilitator. Your students will be running the show here. Your main focus is to ask questions and push their thinking.
• Teachers need to find a “People Problem”. Find a problem that resonates with your class. As their teacher, you know what would best get your students engaged. Just make sure the problem is age-appropriate and has multiple possible solutions.
• Teachers should create cooperative learning groups. Because the double diamond utilizes divergent and convergent thinking it perfectly sets up teachers to incorporate different types of students to work together. (This works well in co-teach environments)
• Teachers should model divergent and convergent thinking before setting up a design challenge. As in all teaching. modeling is best practice. You will find that many of the strategies you teach utilize these two types of thinking.
• Practice brainstorming activities with your students. Here is a great article to get you started https://www.thoughtco.com/brainstorm-in-the-classroom-3111340
• Finally, decide how the students will be interacting with each other. Will students be participating digitally? Will they be in the classroom? What devices, apps, or materials will you need for them to be successful?

For the Students

• An understanding of the problem
• a grasp of some brainstorming strategies (teacher should show some techniques before this activity)
• Engage with their group
• “There is no wrong answer”
• Creativity is encouraged

There must be parameters set up and agreed up by the teacher and the students. More than likely there should be a final product that is created for this challenge, but it is not necessary.

Why Should Teachers try this with Students?

Increase Engagement

Students are placed into groups where they are asked to solve a problem in the most creative ways possible, there are no wrong answers! So if a student wants to develop an underwater garbage collecting submarine to solve the world's water pollution problem THAT'S GREAT! Students are grouped so that they interact with each other.

Increase Problem Solving Ability

Divergent and convergent thinking are ways to increase a student’s ability to problem-solve. Divergent thinking increases the brain’s ability to become flexible and build new neural pathways, while convergent thinking has the ability to create a more analytical approach to a problem. These two approached paired together give students a synergistic approach to solving problems daily.

Increase in Creativity

Educators know the importance of creativity in the classroom and the benefits it can have on Social-Emotional Learning. Design Thinking taps into a student's creative side, as well as supports the analytical thinker. Here are some benefits of Design Thinking activities.

• Freedom of Expression
• Improve Emotional Development
• Improve Focus and Attention
• Help Instill Growth Midset
• Improve Stress and Anxiety
• Become Better Communicators

Can we implement this digitally?

The simple answer here is YES! There will be some questions that you need to answer and some initial set up digitally. You will need to answer a few questions before you begin.

• How will students communicate digitally?
• How will students collaborate digitally?
• When will they work on this?
• What will be the final product?

Once you have answered these questions you are ready to start!

Baby Steps…

• Start Small: Word problems from the math curriculum are a great way to ease into this way of thinking. Have students create as many possible solutions for the problem then choose one that best answers the question and explains why.
• Support with Graphic Organizers: Visuals always help students. especially when they are not used to thinking in this way. Show them places to diverge and converge when looking at a problem.
• Find Areas of Interest: Survey your student’s interests. You will find topics and content that need questions answered, this will increase their engagement.
• Find Websites to Support: As always it is important to research anything you are wanting to try in the classroom. There are many great sites and helpful lessons online. I would encourage you to look and see what others have done.

Training Minds for the Future

As always we have our children’s best interests at heart. We must support them so that they are better prepared for the future. Right now, companies like Facebook, Google, IBM, and JP Morgan just to name a few are utilizing methods like this to develop products students use daily. So why not train them early? Why not truly say I am preparing my students to be 21st Century Learners?