Design thinking to leverage diversity in higher education
Session Abstract
Design thinking is a structured approach to generating and evolving ideas that is human-centered, collaborative, optimistic, and experimental (Brown, 2008). In this session, we will share our experience facilitating this process with students and faculty to answer the question, “How might we better leverage diversity in the MA program?"
Target Audience
This session will benefit adult educators working with diverse students as well as those who prepare adult educators to work with diverse learners. Adult educators and those who plan programs of study will consider how the process of design thinking might be applied to more meaningfully engage diversity in higher education.
Session Description
Design thinking can be particularly useful under conditions of complexity and ambiguity and as applied to challenges that have multiple possible solutions. Although initially used in product design, design thinking methods are increasingly advocated across the higher education landscape; for example, to promote innovation in management education (Dunne & Martin, 2006), to develop critical thinking skills (Razzouk & Shute, 2012), and to increase safety among engineering students (Behm, Culvenor, & Dixon, 2014).
This year’s conference theme recognizes the rich landscape of adult learning, a landscape that is increasingly diverse with respect to culture, ethnicity, country of origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation, physical ability, family background, learning style, educational history, and age. Based on interviews and focus groups with current and former students, one master’s program in adult education recognized a need to improve the representation of diverse viewpoints across the curriculum and opportunities to meaningfully engage diversity in the classroom. Using a design thinking process, the authors convened a group of faculty and students to address the question, "How might we better leverage diversity in the MA program?” This multiphase, iterative process involved the use of materials from IDEO's (2012) Design Thinking for Educators.