ADST: Design Thinking/Human Centred Design Thinking

When learning about human centred design thinking, I made connections between human centred design thinking and our school’s IB MYP Programme (International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme). The IB MYP programme is a cross-curricular learning framework that emphasizes concept and inquiry-based learning, interdisciplinary learning, service, and international mindedness for grade 5 to 10 students. Our school’s junior program, grade 8-10, is the MYP programme (not a choice program, all students are in it and all grade 8-10 teachers must follow the framework). In all subjects, students are expected to have opportunities for service, inquiry, and project-based learning. Each subject has its own assessment criterion and key and related concepts that are complementary to the BC curriculum. The IB Design curriculum also follows a similar design cycle to the one discussed in “Chapter 2: The Process of Design Thinking/Human Centred Design Thinking.” 

Diagrams comparing the MYP Design cycle and Human Centred Design Thinking

One unifying aspect of the MYP programme is the IB Learner Profile, which is a series of ten learner attributes that students will develop though all their classes from grade 8-10. These are: communicators, inquirers, knowledgeable, thinkers, caring, balanced, reflective, open-minded, risk-takers, and principled. 

Learning within the human centred design thinking framework can help students enhance their learner profile attributes. For example, in “ADST Design Thinking K-9,” Sandra Averill states that design thinking emphasizes accepting feedback and learning from mistakes, which links to the open-minded and risk-taker attributes of the learner profile. When considering human centred design thinking, students must practice being caring, reflective, and principled in addition to being inquirers and thinkers when going through the process of ideating, prototyping, and creating designs. 

It might be difficult to get all staff in a grade on board with one problem-solving challenge, as this would involve about 270 students in eight subjects in a grade. I think that some staff at our school could work towards a collective learning activity, perhaps not exactly like the one described in “Maine Schools Engage Kids with Problem-Solving Challenges,” but still with an interdisciplinary project. The possibilities for a service-based design project are intriguing- for example, in Science 9 students could investigate the impacts of climate change, in Social Studies 9 examine resource development and impacts on environment and Indigenous peoples, and in an ADST 9 class (or more than one) develop sustainable solutions and models. 

References:

Averill, Sandra. “ADST Design Thinking K-9,” Vimeo, 2020, https://vimeo.com/400420774. Accessed 15 April 2022. 

Averill, Sandra and Stacey Bernier. Applied Design Skills and Technologies: Design Thinking and Human Centred Design Thinking, Langley Schools, 22 Oct 2017. https://issuu.com/av3rill/docs/applied_design_skills_and_technolog. Accessed 15 April 2022.

Averill, Sandra. “Using Applied Skills & Technologies image” in “Chapter 4: Human Centred Design Thinking,” Applied Design Skills and Technologies: Design Thinking and Human Centred Design Thinking, Langley Schools, 22 Oct 2017, p. 34. https://issuu.com/av3rill/docs/applied_design_skills_and_technolog. Accessed 15 April 2022.

PBS News Hour. “Maine Schools Engage Kids with Problem-Solving Challenges,” Youtube, YouTube, 6 May 2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i17F-b5GG94. Accessed 15 April 2022. 

“The IB Learner Profile.” International Baccalaureate, International Baccalaureate Organization, 2005-2002. https://www.ibo.org/benefits/learner-profile/ Accessed 15 April 2022.

Watson, Luke Cameron. “MYP Design Cycle image.” MYP Design. Mr. Luke Cameron Watson Design MYP ICT, 2022, https://www.designmyp.com/myp-design-cycle. Accessed 15 April 2022.