INTRODUCING THE DESIGN THINKING CLASSROOM:
The Design Thinking Classroom leverages my 36-year career, parts of which were spent as a classroom teacher (15 years, in public high school), an administrator (12 years in instructional technology), a designer for an international design firm, and an independent freelance educational designer. My varied professional experiences have enabled me to write a book that successfully unwinds the complex narrative of advancing the educational experience of the everyday classroom.
I wrote this book to provide a guide for teachers that are interested in creating a dynamic classroom experience based on the process of design thinking. The Design Thinking Classroom provides a roadmap for creating an authentic, interesting, and meaningful learning pathway that enables students to develop the knowledge, skills, and dispositions of an empathetic and engaged learner and person. The book also addresses teachers by presenting a compelling case for the adoption of a new role for classroom practitioners - the educator-designer.
The Design Thinking Classroom is composed of eight chapters. The first three chapters of the book lay the foundation for creating a new classroom experience based on design thinking and for establishing a new role for teachers: the educator-designer. The next four chapters leverage my experience as a classroom teacher to provide a practitioner-based account of the processes, techniques, and strategies required to adopt design thinking as part of a pedagogical approach. To support this, the book provides actionable strategies that educators can use in their classrooms to begin applying design thinking to teaching and learning. I’m especially proud of the instructional design component (Chapter 5) of the book which describes a unique three-part process for developing design thinking-based learning experiences.
The final chapter presents a call to action for teachers - to go on a new journey with your students - and to provide a classroom experience that contributes to the ability of every student to launch their life.
Here is a list of the chapters of The Design Thinking Classroom:
Chapter 1: Understanding the Design Thinking Process
Chapter 2: Advancing the Educational Experience
Chapter 3: A New Role for the Classroom Teacher: the Educator-Designer
Chapter 4: The Design Thinking Classroom
Chapter 5: Designing the Student Learning Experience
Chapter 6: Classroom Tools for Design Experiences
Chapter 7: Creating Learning Environments that Support Design Experiences
Chapter 8: Embracing the Journey
Finally, the book is supported by a rich collection of online resources that any teacher can use to support their work as an educator-designer.
PURCHASING THE BOOK!
The Design Thinking Classroom is available through Amazon in both printed book format and Kindle. It is also available from Barnes and Noble.
Bulk orders: Use the information on the bulk order page accessed through the left side menu.