Design Thinking in Higher Education

Abstract

This chapter introduces design thinking as an educational approach to enhance creative problem-solving skills. It is a problem-based learning paradigm that builds on three pillars: A creative problem solving process, creative work-spaces and collaboration in multi-perspective teams. This chapter discusses central elements of design thinking education and contrasts the approach to conventional education as well as other problem-based learning paradigms. In particular, design thinking classes harness a unique “look and feel” and “verve” to help students acquire and experience creative mastery. Furthermore, the chapter overviews empirical studies on design thinking education. Four studies are described in more detail: Experiments on the three pillars of design thinking and one case study where a university class curriculum has been changed to a design thinking paradigm. Finally, the chapter provides resources for readers who want to learn more about design thinking education.