This year I have been looking at Design thinking from a few different angles. Via building structures to solve a problem, Using Scratch coding to design an outcome or planning a program of learning for our students.
At the recent Social Sciences Conference of NZ I attended a workshop on Social Action and how to design authentic outcomes for our students.
The links between Design thinking and Social Action became very clear to me. We often embark on Social Action in Social Studies with the action as the key component. Students will often focus on this then decide who they will help by doing the action eg bake sales, car wash, webpage etc and this can lead to a half hearted effort focused on the action not the need.
By applying the design thinking model to the Social Action task the motivation is more intrinsic in nature and thus more authentic.
The Students should begin by empathising, finding a problem that requires some action. Why is it a problem ? What is the problem and the need ?
Next they Define the problem and need in plain terms so that they and their group understand the issue as the focus.
Then we enter the creation of an action phase and apply the 10x idea to this now defined problem – what can we do ? each group member should aim tocome up with at least 10 things they can do to help the people or situation.
Next a prototype action is devised, the group is understanding of the need, the motivation is more intrinsic and well understood and this should lead to an action that is more authentic and well planned.
The action is tested and then carried out.
As we move through the steps of the process we bring in reflection to look back as we move forward. The ability to become reflective as students move through the process is an important lesson to learn as this embraces the idea of iteration at each stage to examine the overall process
The Design thinking process will lead to a more involved and understanding Social Action process. A move from focusing on the action to focusing on the needs for the action. This should be the essence of Social Action . The need not the action