Design thinking in teacher education: Morphing preservice teachers’ mindsets and conceptualizations

Abstract

Design thinking has received considerable global attention in the education community given its focus on creative problem solving, human-centered design, and empathetic understanding. In response to the need for exemplary practices for teacher educators, we designed and implemented a design thinking module in a college-level learning technologies course offered in the teacher preparation program. Preservice teachers were asked to solve educational design challenges using learning technologies within specific problem spaces. We examined preservice teachers’ (n = 19) perceptions of design thinking mindsets and processes as well as perceived changes in their understanding of “teachers as designers.” A qualitative analysis of weekly student reflections and final reflection reports revealed that design thinking processes contributed to preservice teachers’ understanding of the design thinking role in education, its challenges, and design mindsets. A thematic analysis of their reflections revealed that their conceptualizations of teachers’ capacities for design had shifted. Subsequent to participating in the design thinking module, they perceived teachers as design thinkers, innovators and change agents. The implications of design thinking for preservice teacher education are discussed.