Design thinking for educators

Design thinking is a collaborative and creative approach to solving problems that puts emphasis on the process itself, and not just the solution. Design thinking encourages experimentation, exploration, and empathy to develop innovative outcomes.

In the field of education, we can use design thinking to create powerful, transformative, and engaging student-centred learning experiences. Experiences that encourage and inspire creative thinking, problem solving, resiliency, empathy, and self-confidence.

This course is specifically designed for teachers and educators who want to build their students’ skills and competencies, develop rich and sustaining attitudes and values, and transform education into something that is relevant, meaningful, and ready for the 21st century.

Working collaboratively with other educators, this course will help you:

• Explore the ways in which design thinking can be used to design learning experiences for our students that meet their needs, hold their attention, and take them on impactful learning journeys.

• Learn how our students can use design thinking as a process and tool for learning that can unlock their creativity in new and exciting ways.

• See how design thinking can integrate with any curriculum and how we can use design thinking to elevate and enhance our teaching.

• Find inspiration for developing creative, innovative, and engaging learning experiences for our students.

This course is an experiential, project-focused exploration of how we can use design thinking to produce exceptional learning experiences. Together we will develop the skills, competencies, and knowledge necessary to master the design thinking process and to take guide others on their own design thinking journeys.

This course is eligible for funding under the Erasmus+ Key Action 1: Learning Mobility of Individuals

Find out more about Erasmus+ KA 1 here.

Find out more about Erasmus+ funding and opportunities here.

• Developing a deep knowledge and understanding of the design thinking methodology.

• Understanding the role, value, and use of the design thinking methodology in an educational context.

• Exploring the ways in which design thinking can be used both to solve problems and challenges, and as a methodology for teaching and learning.

• Experiencing using and applying the design thinking methodology to develop a learning experience.

We offer this course as both an in-person course, which is held at our learning space in Novi Sad, Serbia and as an online course. Both courses cover the same material with the same level of depth and the same high-quality of teaching. Any differences between the two courses are to allow the best possible learning experience in that particular mode of instruction.

In-Person Course

Day 1

• Introductions

• Setting the learning journey

• Introducing the design thinking process

• Exploring empathy

Day 2:

• Exploring the other stages of the process

• A mini design thinking challenge

• Reflecting on the challenge

Day 3:

• Setting the big design challenge

• Engaging with the challenge collaboratively

Day 4:

• Continued: engaging with the challenge collaboratively

• Finalising our solutions

Day 5:

• Sharing our solutions

• Collective feedback

• Appreciative feedback with our teams

• Reflecting on the design thinking experience

• Preparing our next steps

Online Workshop

Our online workshop follows the same overall format and structure and covers all of the same content as the in-person workshop. Activities are adjusted or adapted where necessary to suit an online learning environment but we work hard to ensure the same level of experience and the same exceptional outcomes.

Our online workshop is split over 7 days:

Monday: 2 hours in the evening

Wednesday: 2 hours in the evening

Friday: 2 hours in the evening

Saturday: 4 hours in the day

Sunday 4: hours in the day.

All sessions include breaks and time for questions, reflections, and queries.

This course is specifically designed for teachers and educators who are interested in using the design thinking methodology in their teaching. This approach has very strong connections to the STEAM methodology but can be used in a whole range of educational contexts, academic subjects, or situations.

This course is particularly good for:

• Classroom teachers.

• Workshop designers. and facilitators

• Teacher trainers and mentors.

• Non-formal learning staff such as those who work in museums, galleries, theatres or other such spaces.

• Teachers working in cross-disciplinary ways.

• Early years and primary school teachers.

• Teachers using project-based or problem-based learning.

• Teachers of the International Baccalaureate Early Years, Middle Years, and Diploma Programmes.

• Individuals working with social enterprises, charities, or NGOs.

• Educators in higher education settings.

At the end of the course, each participant will receive a certificate of attendance that documents their learning and certifies their participation. These certificates are issued on behalf of SWUX and are signed by the course leader or facilitator.

If requested, a Europass Mobility Certificate can also be issued.

All of our certificates meet Erasmus Quality Standards and include the course title, date, and location, a description of the course, its learning outcomes, and the course leader or facilitator.

Any additional documentation required by schools or education organisations can be supplied upon request, and we work hard to ensure that participants and organisations are supported throughout the certification and validation process.