Design thinking
Design thinking is commonly used as a Service Design, but the same methods and tools can also be used when designing the learning process or as an activating learning method.
From this page, you find the basics of the methodology of design thinking. What is it, what does it offer to the learning design process, and how can it be used in vocational education? You can also get to know the different design thinking methods with the method cards at the end of the page.
What is Design Thinking about?
Human centered design
By these videos you can familiarize yourself to the Methodology of Design Thinking in general.
Some key elements about Design Thinking
Empathize
Define
Three ways of Design Thinking in Vocational Education
Desing Thinking by Joxerra Gómez TeamWe
Learning design as a Design Thinking
Learning processes can also be designed with the tools of Design Thinking. Then we are talking about Learning Design.
Design Thinking Methods can also be used as a learning methods. Below you can find some examples of Desing Thinking tools used as a pedagogical method
Design Thinking as a Team Learning method - Examples of the methods
A hackathon is an event in which teams of participants work non-stop to come up with solutions to presented cases within a short period of time. On a very structured method (a clear roadmap, bounded by time duration), the team goes to work (by constantly diverging and converging), to come up with solutions to the issue. A hackathon can last from half a day to a whole week.
In Team WE, we opted for a day and a half. We worked on three cases from health care organization IJsselheem.
5 times why
A Brief description of how the method was utilized during the LTT week
5 x Why conversation about doubts / suspicions about multisectoral welfare technology teaching
First one says his / her doubts
The other asks a Why -question trying to clarify the doubt
First one answers
The other asks another Why-question and so on.. until 5 x Why? is reached
Pullaukko - BunBuddy
A Brief description of how the method was utilized during the LTT week
What kind of student is the "client" of the LTT week?
Create an imaginary character with
Name and age
The field of studies
Personality traits
Hobbies
Important persons in life
Most meaningful events in life so far
Personal objectives for LTT week
Fears and dreams when working in multicultural and teams
Empathy map
A Brief description of how the method was utilized during the LTT week
Interviewing the BunBuddies with Empathy Map
Who are you and what is your role in this LTT week?
How did you feel when the LTT week started? How are you feeling now?
What have you done or explored? What have the others done?
What is your goals for the week? What is truly important for you?
What kind of ideas you got by listening the others?
What are your concerns about this LTT-week?
What did your friends / parents /teachers say when you told you are coming here?
Who influenced you to come here?
What do you want to achieve during this LTT week?
What frustrates you when working in multisectoral teams?
What obstacles you have had during the LTT week? What kind of risks you are trying to avoid?
Imagine
What is she / he really thinking about?
What are his / her fears or doubts?
Future telling
Tell us, How did this happen?
Future telling
Think and Write down (some sentences) “How did this happen”, by your self
Have a “How did this happen“ -conversation in your team
Have a conversation with the whole group
A Brief description of how the method was utilized during the LTT week
Multiprofessional teacher team is designing and providing welfare technology teaching as a service for multisectoral student group in 2025
We are living on September 2025. It’s been three years since we finished TeamWe-project. Everything is going fine. After the TeamWe –project you have practiced team teaching and had opportunity to teach with multisectoral teacher and student teams. In fact, that is your daily life now and you are enjoying it. Case-based learning, team learning, flipped learning and design thinking methods are used as base of your team's pedagogical methodology and it has developed your students’ knowledge and skills both in welfare technology and in lifelong learning skills. You are commonly thanked of your effort for developing the “TeamWe” –pedagogy in your organization
Future Headlines
A Brief description of how the method was utilized during the LTT week
In five years – short speech for the interview
In five years’, time, when this projects’ results are hugely successful, what will the president / principal of your school says at the Christmas party about this TeamWe?
In five years’, time, when this projects’ results are amazingly successful, what will you tell your family or friends about your role in TeamWe
When this projects’ results are incredibly successful, what will you overhear students talking to each other about this TeamWe type of multisectoral learning?
What will you hear your competitors saying about TeamWe –project in five years’ time when this project is wildly successful