Over the summer, teaching staff were introduced to the concept of Design Thinking with Ben Rouse.

“Design Thinking is a human-centered approach to innovation that draws from the designer’s toolkit to integrate the needs of people, the possibilities of technology, and the requirements for business success.”  Tim Brown, president and CEO, IDEO.

“Design Thinking supports the ethos of an International Baccalaureate education, in that the IB aspires to develop self-directed learners, who are able to generate and explore their own learning, and have excellent problem-solving skills which are transferable across many disciplines. As adults, we need to commit to the same expectations, so we come together to improve our curriculum through a collaborative, design-led, approach. The workshop, therefore, helps us to innovate - create fresh ideas and approaches - and build our community at Halcyon through collaboration. Finally, all the learning routines and skills of a Design Thinking approach will be brought to the classroom next year, for the students to try.” Barry Mansfield, Director at Halcyon.

Design Thinking refers to the creative strategies designers use during the process of designing. It has also been developed as an approach to resolve issues outside of professional design practice, such as in business and social contexts. It is extremely applicable in the education environment.

Teachers and staff worked through the following process in order to research, design and test, new approaches to students’ self-directed learning time at Halcyon, from environmental flexibility to broadening scope for independent learning. Ben Rouse guided the Halcyon staff team through Design Thinking and worked with staff over 4 different days to develop innovative and creative resolutions.