Introducing the Design Thinking Approach for Teaching and Learning at Tendruk Central School in Samtse Dzongkhag

Abstract

Design thinking is a human-centric, iterative, and collaborative approach to solve complex problems. Current study has made an attempt to implement design thinking (DT) as one of the pedagogical means to respond to the need for teaching, learning, and assessment and specifically, the study was intended to explore strategies to implement DT in designing and delivering lessons in the classrooms of a higher secondary school at Samtse. The study was conducted through a participatory design approach which involved co-designing lessons using DT between the researchers and teacher participants. The data for this study was obtained from observations, semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, and reflections. Eventually, for data analysis thematic analysis and narrative descriptions were used. As such, this study provides information that broadens the understanding of the integration of the DT approach in the classroom in the Bhutanese context, and its impact on the development of skills in students. The findings of the study unveiled that using DT empowers teachers to be innovative in planning learning activities that enable lessons to become more engaging and exciting. Further, the finding also revealed that DT assists students to develop problem-solving skills and creativity.