Introduction

At this point in any learning journey, I usually undertake a process of trying to read, watch, take notes and understand the basics of the topic.  In this topic which seems to be largely in the ‘to be definitively written category’, I’ve come back to blogging on the matter in the interest of sense-making.  Placing thoughts on virtual paper I’ve redesigned (through small iterations) my process and made a start on understanding design thinking which is at the heart of design.

Why does design matter?

To consider this question I had to come back to the question of what is design?  This was answered (at least to my satisfaction) in the following:

“When we say ‘design’, we mean: the design disciplines covering products, places and communication…design management…design theory…eco and environmental design, gender issues in design”, (Cooper, 1997).

With this definition in mind, design becomes relevant to everything. From an educational perspective, good design has the power to solve wicked problems referred to by Buchanan (1992). Equally, if the design process is done poorly, it creates problems. Good design is culturally and contextually appropriate to the end-user needs.

What are the core reasons for which we need a design process?

A structured yet fluid design process enables groups to frame and continually reframe the problem at hand, enables experimentation, provides a platform to communicate ideas and directs a multidisciplinary team to achieve an end-goal of solving a problem or issue, (Frog, 2016). The structure of the process provides the track for the group while maintaining the flexibility to backtrack and forge other paths which become relevant as participants reframe.

What might be the role of design when we think about learning spaces?

The role of design thinking when designing learning spaces is paramount.  Designing space with the end-user in mind fits into a participative, open and collaborative approach which engenders learning. It shifts the design and design process from a passive relationship between producer and consumer to being human-centred and understanding design in culture and context, (McKinley, 2016).

The role of design in learning is to take a divergent approach to create experience focused choices, along with new approaches and solutions with characteristics of optimism, human empathy, experimentation and collaboration, (Kuratko, Goldsworthy, & Hornsby; McKinley, 2016).

Conclusion

As yet I have a lot to learn regarding design and design thinking, particularly when it comes to its application to creating learning spaces. No doubt I will progress with further reading, watching and reflective practice in the matter to come to an understanding of ‘designing for learning’, but even at this early stage, I can see the significance and the depth of research which needs to occur.

REFERENCES

Buchanan, R. (1992). Wicked problems in design thinking. Design Issues, 8(2), 5-21. doi:10.2307/1511637

Cooper, R. (1997). Design research comes of age. 1(sup1), 1-1.

Frog (Producer). (2016). Learning design thinking: Lead change in your organisation. Learning design thinking:Lead change in your organisation.

Retrieved from https://www.linkedin.com/learning/learning-design-thinking-lead-change-in-your-organization?u=2096756

Kuratko, D., Goldsworthy, M., & Hornsby, G. The design-thinking process.

McKinley, T. (2016). Learning design thinking: Lead change in your organization. Carpenteria, CA: lynda.com.