Design Thinking: A New Way to Look at Solving Problems

Sarah Soule, a professor at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business, tells a story about a group of students:

“Six years ago, a team of students at Stanford University used a problem-solving method called design thinking to develop a simple, portable device — a sort of sleeping bag for newborns — that so far has helped 22,000 low-birth-weight babies around the world stay warm. The Embrace Baby Warmer, which includes a phase-change material that maintains its temperature for six hours after heating, is an amazing innovation. Had it not been for a crucial shift in the way the students were thinking, the warmer might never have existed.” 

Design Thinking is a unique way of solving problems because it is human-centered. Students must empathize with the people for which they are solving the problem. It is a shift in thinking about others’ needs and wants, rather than their own.

One might hear about students participating in a Design Thinking Club at Greensboro Day and think they are students in the Upper School or Middle School. However, we have a group of 4th and 5th graders who dove into this methodology of problem-solving as part of an after-school club.

In Summer of 2012, 4th grade teacher Megan Judy attended ://FUSE 2013, an intensive 2-day workshop in Atlanta. This past summer, LS director Gillian Goodman participated in an online Design Thinking course through Stanford University. Together, Judy and Goodman launched the Lower School Design Thinking Club, in which students had to apply to take part.

The first meeting in the fall was dedicated to students understanding how they personally go about solving problems, classifying themselves as “North,” “South,” “East” and “West,” based on outlined characteristics. Students were very reflective about what strengths they brought to a group and what challenges the other “directions” might have with them.

Next, students identified problems they saw around the school which were meaningful to them. Then came

the empathy piece – students developed a list of peers, faculty and staff who would be appropriate to interview for their particular problem. Interviewing these various members of our GDS community allowed them to see multiple perspectives and needs. They stepped out of their own shoes in order to better solve the problem.

After discussing people’s needs with their group members, they finally came to the part that they had been waiting to do since their first meeting – prototype a solution! Using cardboard, pipe cleaners, Styrofoam, paper plates and other odd objects, students built a prototype to illustrate the solution to their problem. At the end of April, students presented their problems and solutions to a group of observers:

• How might we improve the speed at which cafeteria food is served?
  Ticketmaster 3000 - a machine that issues you a ticket. You get all the "other" items such as drink, sides, or dessert and go to your seat. When your number is called you go up to the serving station to pick up your hot lunch.
• How might we improve the 4th grade laptops (in terms of charging power and speed of processing)?
  One group designed a computer that was actually your desk and operated on solar panels.
  
  
  Another group created a super-charging multi-station dock. It would store a lot of unnecessary memory to help the computers run faster, and their charging system would charge your laptop in 3 minutes.
• How might we improve locker size?
  This group created a locker that had a compartment in the bottom that had a latch that would open up and you could store small items such as books, electronics, etc. The large space would then just hold your backpack and books.

The Design Thinking Club was a rewarding experience for both the students and the teachers involved. Look

for more Design Thinking ideas and spaces to pop-up around campus in the near future.