In the rapidly evolving landscape of the 21st century, traditional educational paradigms are being scrutinised and revamped. Kundan International School, One of the Best International School in Chandigarh believes that the innovative methodologies gaining momentum is design thinking, a problem-solving approach traditionally utilised in fields such as product design and business innovation.
The Core of Design Thinking:
At its core, design thinking is a human-centred process that places empathy, iteration, and creative problem-solving at its heart. It follows five stages: empathise, define, ideate, prototype, and test. These stages provide students with a structured yet flexible way to approach problems and create innovative solutions.
Promoting Active Learning:
Introducing design thinking in schools reshapes the learning process by promoting active learning over the passive reception of information. This hands-on approach encourages students to become architects of their knowledge, which enhances retention and understanding.
Developing Emotional Intelligence:
In the empathise stage, students learn to appreciate multiple perspectives, enhancing their emotional intelligence and promoting inclusivity. They immerse themselves in the problem’s context, thereby fostering a deeper understanding of real-world issues.
Refining Critical Thinking Skills:
Defining the problem pushes students to refine their critical thinking skills. It’s here that they learn to distil complex situations into clear, manageable issues, a key skill for their future professional lives.
Fostering Creativity and Resilience:
During the ideation stage, students are encouraged to brainstorm freely and generate diverse solutions. This stage not only fosters creativity but also builds resilience, as students must often traverse through a wealth of ideas, some of which may not be feasible.
Learning from Failure:
Prototyping and testing translate abstract concepts into tangible results. These stages teach students the value of trial and error and iterative learning, helping them understand that failure is not a setback, but a step forward in the learning process.
Equipping Students for the Future:
Incorporating design thinking into the curriculum also equips students with essential soft skills for the 21st century. Collaboration, creativity, problem-solving, and adaptability are some of the key skills students develop during the design thinking process, better preparing them for an unpredictable and dynamic future job market.
Instilling an Entrepreneurial Mindset:
Beyond skill development, design thinking instils an entrepreneurial mindset in students. They learn to approach problems as opportunities for innovation and are encouraged to seek and create value in the world around them.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, design thinking in schools is more than just a novel approach to learning. It’s an investment in our future generations, equipping them with the tools, mindset, and resilience necessary to navigate and shape the rapidly evolving world we inhabit. Being counted as Top 10 CBSE Schools in Chandigarh, we embrace design thinking as a pledge to prepare our students for the challenges and opportunities of tomorrow.
Ms. Sabita Ahuja
TGT
Kundan International School