Why HD students are good at thinking and solving problems？

01    What is Design Thinking?

Design Thinking is usually defined as a collaborative process to solve real world problems. 

Design Thinking is a key part of our curriculum at HDQD because unlike many other schools where I have taught, the DT activities and processes do not stand alone but are linked to the children’s learning in the classroom. In fact in DT we use the same key words, the same phrases and the same concepts the children have learned in their English, Science and Topic classes. Through DT, the students use these ideas to engage in practical, ‘real world’ projects. 

Building model arm muscles with balloons helped to clarify terms like “contract, expand, relax” etc. for Grade 3 students studying Muscles and the Human Body in Science.

As a result, processes which may be vague or confusing to the students become clearly understood through enjoyable learning experiences.

At HD Qingdao, each Primary class takes part in a Design Thinking project for a least one week each Semester. It is a process through which students can learn important practical skills and knowledge!

02    The Aims of Design Thinking at HDQD

Design Thinking aims to:

help make learning creative and fun;

engage every student regardless of language ability or academic standing through interactive learning;

give children the opportunity to use the knowledge they have learned in the classroom to design an interactive or 3 dimensional project which will take learning to a new level;

develop an environmental consciousness among children and staff to create a culture of recycling which limits waste and protects the environment.

Grade 2 students examining their resources of old wrappings, empty boxes and cardboard off cuts before setting about turning them into one of four styles of Asian housing.

03    What knowledge and skills do students learn through DT?

The knowledge and skills that students learn through Design Thinking are many but there are several which are particularly noteworthy as they are also reflected in the HD graduate profile.

From the Knowledge and Skills profile, Design Thinking creates opportunities to develop leadership, problem solving and communication.

（1）  Leadership: at different times different individuals in the class must lead their team project. They must guide the team, ask questions, make decisions and consider what is best for the team. DT is a great opportunity for students to develop early leadership skills.

（2）  Problem Solving: this is the very essence of DT where students must work in a team to overcome challenges and reflect on why their project might not be working as well as they had planned. What needs to change? The materials, the process, the design? How can it be improved? The teacher will help guide the students but it is up to the students to evaluate how their project could improve.

（3）  Communication: teams must communicate between themselves and with the teacher, often switching between Chinese and English. The students also learn key presentation skills as they present their ideas to the whole class for review. From the Characteristics and Values profile, Design Thinking helps to develop resilience, creativity and collaboration.

When things get tricky, resilience and collaboration help students keep moving forward to complete the task as it did with these Grade 5s in their Inventors & Inventions project.

（4）  Resilience: an attitude of determination which stops the students from giving up. In almost every project students reach a point where they experience this challenge. As their teacher, I make it clear that we learn through mistakes and I guide students through the DT process to help them identify improvements that can help them.

（5）  Creativity: DT is a safe environment which gives opportunity to imagine, dream, create and try new ideas without fear of failure – everyone is trying out new things together. Failure is a learning opportunity to improve projects!

（6）  Collaboration: while there is opportunity to work both individually and in teams,  students must work together to complete Design Thinking projects. They must share resources and equipment, support one another and help each other. DT provides a great opportunity for children to develop their collaboration skills.

04    Summary

HDQD is a great place to learn this subject as we have a network of 5 schools around China who do similar work with DT so we can share ideas and help each other. It’s also a great place to learn DT because we have networked with other international DT groups around the world to finally develop a process which we believe works best for our students in Qingdao.

Design Thinking builds character and confidence. It develops skills through project based activities that empower learning and develop attitudes which students can use throughout their lives. We hope you will come and join us in Design Thinking at HDQD!