Integrating Problem-Based Learning and Design Thinking for Sustainability

Design thinking, recognised as a human-centred approach to problem-solving, has garnered attention as a pedagogical framework across various disciplines, including higher education, for its potential to cultivate innovation, creativity, and problem-solving skills. In chemical engineering education, integrating design thinking methodologies holds promise for enhancing students' problem-solving skills and innovation capabilities. However, despite its potential benefits, its specific application and impact within chemical engineering education have not been extensively explored. Hence, this critical review paper aims to comprehensively analyse the application of design thinking pedagogy in chemical engineering education within higher education settings. This study contributes a systematic review and a case study from DUT, demonstrating the integration of design thinking pedagogy in chemical engineering education. The methodology involved in this review encompassed systematically searching academic databases, selecting relevant studies based on specific criteria, extracting data, synthesising findings, and reporting adapted from Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The overarching question that guided this investigation was: How could the integration of design thinking pedagogy in chemical engineering education enhance student learning outcomes and prepare them for the challenges of the engineering profession? Integrating design thinking pedagogy in chemical engineering education aims to improve student learning outcomes by fostering a holistic approach to problem-solving, emphasising empathy, creativity, and collaboration. By incorporating design thinking principles into the curriculum, educators seek to cultivate a mindset of innovation and critical thinking among students, preparing them to tackle complex engineering challenges in a dynamic and rapidly evolving global context, such as the shift towards ‘green engineering’. Design thinking pedagogy could potentially bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical application of engineering principles, concurrent with developing essential soft skills such as communication, teamwork, and adaptability, which are crucial for success in the engineering profession. Through active learning, interdisciplinary collaboration, and realworld application of engineering principles, design thinking in engineering education could equip students with the skills and mindset to become creative problem solvers, effective communicators, and ethical leaders. It is evident that design thinking offers a promising avenue to concurrently enhance student engagement, develop conceptual learning, critical thinking skills, promote interdisciplinary collaboration, and prepare students for the demands of the chemical engineering profession. The findings highlight the importance of integrating design thinking principles in chemical engineering education to cultivate a culture of innovation, creativity, and adaptability among students. Moving forward, further research is needed to evaluate the effectiveness of design thinking pedagogy in enhancing student learning outcomes and to identify best practices for its implementation in chemical engineering education. Furthermore, researchers are encouraged to conduct empirical studies to assess the impact of design thinking pedagogy on student learning outcomes, engagement, and professional development in chemical engineering education.

Design thinking is not a new concept, but it is a tool that could potentially be very useful in the classroom. It is deeply rooted in the scientific method and works well with the concepts of problem solving as well as critical thinking. It is an especially worthwhile learning method in conjunction with project-based learning. Traditionally the term design thinking might be associated with business and industry, but it is a process that can be practiced in all educational disciplines. Just as with other existing concepts, design thinking is a worthwhile tool that educators can use to help their students be successful in the classroom. The core tenets of design thinking are Empathy, Define, Ideate, Prototype, and Test. Each stage of the process allows students to work through a project step by step thereby allowing students to skillfully master a learning process can be used for a variety of projects, in all their classes. Today’s college students are very adept at creating a final project, but many are not aware of the design thinking process and how it can potentially help them be more successful. Far too often students simply go with their first idea to create a project and don’t take the time to analyze the steps needed to create a worthwhile project. By sharing the design thinking process as part of a class students will then be able to transfer the five tenets of the process into creating a higher quality final project. This study began by including the design thinking process in a sophomore level Graphic Communication course and then moved onto including the design thinking process in a senior level Graphic Communication course. Students in both classes were surveyed on their past experiences with the design thinking process, as well as their experience with the five tenets of the process. Both class formats were traditional in-person courses. Students were instructed on how they could use the design thinking process in a classroom project. Upon completion of the project students were then surveyed to find out their overall experiences with the design thinking process. Certain areas of the design thinking process including critique and reflection were emphasized as part of the project in both classes. This paper will explore the design thinking process though a literature review and how the process was implemented in two university level courses. Student’s prior experience with the design thinking process will be examined and student’s will be surveyed upon completion of a project based on the design thinking process to explore what elements they enjoyed of the overall process.

This article presents our findings concerning a MOOC named Introduction to R programming language, in which we applied design thinking combined with problem-based learning to enhance student engagement and improve the learning experience. The course was delivered to 575 students from Brazil between February 28 and March 18, 2022. Our research goal was to analyse the design and implementation of this program quantitatively and qualitatively. We followed a design-based research approach and collected quantitative and qualitative data through questionnaires. The quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, while the qualitative data were processed using the five-phased language processing method. The main findings are as follows: 1) The use of personas enabled the design and delivery of a course aligned with students' interests. 2) The problem-based learning approach elevated students' engagement and bolstered their learning journey. 3) Demonstrating empathy, thoughtfulness, and providing swift feedback served as potent motivators for the students. 4) Combining problem-based learning with design thinking resulted in a heavy workload for the instructor, but it also boosted student engagement, leading to a completion rate higher than the average for MOOCs. These findings suggest that integrating Design Thinking and Problem-Based Learning in MOOC design can meaningfully enhance learner engagement and course alignment with student needs. Although this approach imposes a greater instructional burden, it proves effective in fostering motivation, improving the learning experience, and increasing completion rates. As such, this study contributes valuable insights for educators and instructional designers seeking to improve the impact and retention of learners in large-scale online courses.

This study presents a conceptual framework that integrates Educational Technology (EdTech) and Design Thinking (DT) to develop sustainability competencies among secondary school science students. Grounded in UNESCO’s Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4), the framework promotes systems thinking, strategic action, collaboration, and critical problem-solving. It blends Design-Based Learning (DBL) principles with the iterative stages of the Design Thinking process—Empathise, Define, Ideate, Prototype, and Test—supporting curriculum-aligned, competency-based learning. By incorporating advanced EdTech tools such as augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), gamification, and learning analytics, the framework enhances student engagement and enables comprehensive assessment practices. Teachers act as facilitators of active, problem-based learning, equipping students with the skills and knowledge needed to address sustainability challenges. This structured and scalable framework bridges the gap between theory and practice, offering valuable insights for educators, curriculum designers, and policymakers. By integrating DT and EdTech, the framework empowers students with the essential competencies required for sustainable development, advancing educational innovation and contributing to global sustainability goals.

Active learning is a set of activities that allow the student to actively participate in the learning process. Active learning can be implemented using various methods and strategies. design thinking is a creative human-centric approach used for innovation. In this article, the authors consider learning the design thinking process as a strategy for active learning. After performing a thorough literature review, the authors display the results of pilot research conducted with business economics graduate students enrolled in the Disruptive Innovations and Design Thinking elective course. The research consisted of a survey and an experiment, and it was executed as part of the project “a/AR-Learning: Active learning by applying augmented reality”. The goal was to study the effects of learning the design thinking process and whether it could be used as an active learning method in order to influence the development of innovative thinking among students. The research question was, “How does learning the design thinking process affect the development of students’ innovative way of thinking?” The results of the pilot study confirmed all three hypotheses (H1 = After learning the design thinking process, students recognize the main characteristics of innovation; H2 = Active learning of the design thinking process affects critical assessment; H3 = The innovative way of thinking developed through active learning of the design thinking process differs among students), as well as showing effectiveness and a change in critical assessment, but also the need for an even more active approach. The authors suggest that broader research be undertaken involving a bigger sample and a larger scale.

General Biology course learning material on the basics of Genetics in the Biology Education Study Program, University of KH. A. Wahab Hasbullah, where the learning process is still just to remember and understand so that it is focused on memorizing the material, then the learning process has not maximally utilized the information technology and multimedia use that integrates STEM learning models, and the learning process has not reflected the empowerment of critical thinking skills in students, and also the low average student learning outcomes in the previous material. So the solution to the finding of the problem is to apply the PjBL model based on the STEM Design Thinking Process. The research method uses Pre-Experimental Design, One Group Pretest Postest Design research design, then analyzes data including validity test, reliability test, learning outcome value, hypothesis testing through normality test, homogeneity test and paired t-test it was found that Ho was rejected and Ha was accepted. So there is the effect of project based learning based on STEM design thinking process to improve student learning outcomes in biology education. KEYWORDS: project based learning, STEM design thinking process, learning outcome ABSTRAK Pembelajaran matakuliah Biologi Umum materi dasar-dasar Genetika di Program Studi Pendidikan Biologi Universitas KH. A. Wahab Hasbullah, dimana dalam proses pembelajaran masih sekedar mengingat dan memahami sehingga terfokus pada hafalan materinya saja, kemudian proses pembelajaran belum memanfaatkan secara maksimal adanya teknologi informasi dan penggunaan multimedia yang mengintegrasikan model pembelajaran STEM, dan proses pembelajaran belum mencerminkan pemberdayaan keterampilan berpikir kritis pada mahasiswa, dan juga rendahnya rerata hasil belajar mahasiswa pada materi sebelumnya. Sehingga solusi atas temuan masalah tersebut adalah menerapkan model PJBL berbasis STEM Design Thinking Process. Metode penelitian menggunakan Pre-Experimental Design, desain penelitian One Group Pretest Postest Design, kemudian menganalisis data antara lain uji validitas, uji reabilitas, nilai hasil belajar, uji hipotesis melalui uji normalitas, uji homogenitas dan uji statistik paired t-test (t berpasangan) yang diperoleh bahwa Ho ditolak dan Ha diterima. Jadi terdapat pengaruh project based learning berbasis STEM design thinking process untuk meningkatkan hasil belajar mahasiswa pendidikan biologi. Kata kunci : project based learning, STEM design thinking process, hasil belajar

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.

Although Design thinking originated as a process to solve wicked problems such as environmental issues and inequality (Rittel and Webber, 1973: Buchanan, 1992), the approach tends to focus on a conventional linear growth paradigm rather than a sustainable transition with nature at the core. Design thinking arose in a time (mid 90s - 00s) when climate and environment did not receive the same attention as in recent years. We believe that Design thinking still has its justification as a process tool, however, the authors are convinced that the tool can be strengthened if we focus more on materials and early use of prototyping, and if the process is supplemented with a consistent focus on natural interdependencies and systems thinking. We will address and discuss this as a perspective to re-balance the Design thinking process in the current context, where natural recovery and green transition should be highest priority. Design thinking emphasizes research as the first step of defining a relevant problem. This can typically be in the form of ‘empathizing’ (Ideo, Stanford), ‘discovering’ (Double Diamond, British Design Council) or ‘finding’ (5F, VIA University College). That is, with a human-centered focus. In this paper, we discuss ways in which systems thinking can serve as an entrance point to a re-balanced Design thinking process model with nature in the center. In two projects we have employed systems thinking at different phases in the design thinking process. One project has used systems thinking throughout the whole process with an intensified focus on the solution. The other project has used system thinking specifically in the initial phases to find and re-frame the problem through system mapping. The focus in the paper is to evaluate in which ways and to what extent system thinking has contributed to the process. In this paper we use interviews with participating students from both projects as a foundation for our discussions. The projects are respectively an internal project with local students and an external project with multiple international partner universities and students. We present the two projects, the participating students, and the partners involved together with the insights from the interviews. The local project Design for Change is a three-week project with 48 students from the 5th semester specialty ‘Entrepreneurship and Innovation’. The GPA Map the System is a 10-week long learning experience offered in collaboration between Humber College, Otago Polytechnic and VIA University College for students to build key competencies for sustainable development (Rieckmann, Mindt and Gardiner, 2017) through activities focused on systems thinking and mapping. Systems thinking allows us to reorient our thinking from being entity-focused (a product, a local problem, a specific person) to include multiple entities (products and services, multiple problems, multiple stakeholders), their interrelations, the dynamics of the system, and very importantly the different scales of the system (Hunt, 2020) Based on the insights from the two projects, this paper discuss the didactic approaches to system thinking, the potentials and challenges in connecting it to design thinking processes and summarize with recommendations.

Design thinking, here defined as a team-based innovation method, helps to deal with complex design problems by sustaining in-depth learning processes on problem perception and diverse solution paths. To carry out design thinking processes successfully, motivation is a central psychological aspect to ensure creativity of the project outcome. In this paper, we ask how motivation is affected by the design thinking process and how it is related to team member’s emotions throughout the process. We adopted regulatory focus theory to conceptualize motivational variables. Experience Sampling Method within a field study with two samples was used, investigating people’s motivation of setting and approaching goals throughout real-life design projects that used design thinking. Results of this study show that the different phases carried out in design thinking processes significantly impact motivation and emotions of the members of a design team.

Co-constructing educational innovations for an uncertain future: Design thinking and developmental evaluation in the school reform process.

Early childhood teachers making multiliterate learning environments: The emergence of a spatial design thinking process

Purpose: This study aims to examine the effect of integrating Design Thinking with GEMATH (GeoGebra and MATLAB) on vocational students’ critical thinking skills in mathematics learning. Method: The study employed a quasi-experimental research design using a pretest–posttest control group framework. The participants consisted of 50 eleventh-grade students from a vocational high school in Semarang, Indonesia, selected through cluster random sampling. Students were divided into an experimental group and a control group. The experimental group received mathematics instruction through a Design Thinking approach integrated with GEMATH, while the control group was taught using conventional teaching methods. Data were collected using a critical thinking test developed based on Ennis’ indicators, supported by observation sheets and technology readiness questionnaires. The data were analyzed using normality and homogeneity tests, followed by an independent sample t-test and effect size analysis. Findings: The findings reveal a statistically significant improvement in the critical thinking skills of students who participated in the Design Thinking–GEMATH learning environment compared with those receiving conventional instruction. Significance: The results indicate that integrating Design Thinking with digital mathematical tools can effectively promote higher-order thinking skills and provide an innovative pedagogical strategy for improving mathematics learning in vocational education.

Background Power asymmetries between global health actors based in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) and those based in High-Income Countries persist. Often actors in low-resource settings are seen solely as implementers of projects designed in High-Income Countries and are often not involved in the decision-making. To tackle the problem of power imbalances, a human-centered framework of design thinking was used for inclusive strategy development. This paper discusses how design thinking was used as a framework for the co-creation of Operation Smile Malawi’s (OSM) long-term strategy in a collaborative environment with in-country and international partners. Methods The strategic planning process included a situation analysis, priority setting workshop and participant feedback. A four-question design thinking framework was used to frame the three-day priority setting sessions; ‘what is’, ‘what if’, ‘what wows’, and ‘what works’. Design thinking tools that were used during the priority setting workshop included; visualization, journey mapping, mind mapping, brainstorming and concept development. At the end of the priority-setting sessions, an e-survey was used to assess the participants’ understanding and perception of the use of design thinking for strategic planning. Results The product of the process was a long-term strategy with goals, activities and strategies that were understood and agreed upon by all stakeholders. The post-workshop e-survey revealed that all participants responded that the design thinking process fostered team spirit during the entire process. The design thinking process also made the strategic planning workshop more productive and enabled participants to incorporate their own ideas into the five-year strategy. Furthermore, participants reported learning something outside their area of expertise. Conclusions As global health organizations increasingly recognize the need for equitable partnerships in the design and implementation of global health programs, the human-centred approach of design thinking can be used to create open and collaborative program design.

Purpose Creativity as an outcome of our thoughts and actions is a controversial concept that has been discussed by many disciplines in different ways. In the light of cognitive research on creativity, this study aims to deal with the components of the idea generation process specific to interior design education. Based on the study conducted in the interior design studio, this paper introduces the infographic model of design thinking. the main purpose of the model is to summarize how design students initiate the design process, create their own design ideas, and also how they lead design thinking for a spatial solution. Design/Methodology/Approach The cross-disciplinary research paper within the context of the psychological studies on creative cognition consists of a detailed analysis of the design process in the design studio. A case study was conducted in the second-year undergraduate interior design studio at Hacettepe University in order to observe the students’ experiences during one semester. In the wake of this qualitative research, the data obtained from 15 design students selected have been analyzed gradually and a design thinking model has been generated with the findings. Findings In addition to the interpretation of the creativity models from the literature, initial analyses showed that design thinking can be explained in three main stages as preparation, conceptualization, and spatialization that underlie the internal and external process of design thinking in the design studio. With subsequent analyses, these stages have been divided into different strategical layers according to students’ experiences. As a result, the infographic model of the design thinking process is structured based on the evaluations of these components and the design approaches identified. Research Limitations/Implications The data acquired from the case study undertaken by the author were compared so as to identify the similarities and diversities of these processes. More research on different stages of the design process can shed more light on design thinking. In addition to this, qualitative data are based on a small group of students to get detailed information about the process. The proposed model can be adapted for different studies in the context of the design studio with more participants. Practical/Social Implications The proposed model in the research is intended to be used as a content map that shows the alternative ways of thinking in design ideation, and also an analysis method of the design process for future studies. In other words, the paper shows the two-way implications of the design thinking model on design education. One of which is a guide for practical use for design students and the other is an analytical tool for studio instructors or researchers. Originality/Value This study brings to focus on conceptualization and spatialization for creative idea generation in design studio education. On the basis of drawn from creativity models, the paper introduces a new process model that provides an original interpretation of existing models in design. The proposed model differs from previous cognitive studies, as it expands the ideation process with both internal and external operations.

Design Thinking: A Tool to Solve Challenging Problems