How can you teach product design skills to students using the Design Thinking for Educators framework?

1 Define the challenge

The first step of the Design Thinking for Educators framework is to define the challenge you want to address with your product design. This could be a real-world problem that affects your students, your school, or your community, or a hypothetical scenario that sparks your students' curiosity and creativity. To define the challenge, you need to ask questions, do research, and gather insights from different perspectives. You also need to frame the challenge as a "how might we" question that invites multiple possible solutions.

2 Interpret the findings

The second step of the Design Thinking for Educators framework is to interpret the findings from your research and identify patterns, themes, and insights. This will help you understand the needs, motivations, and emotions of your users and stakeholders, and the context and constraints of your challenge. To interpret the findings, you need to synthesize your data, create personas and empathy maps, and generate point-of-view statements that articulate the user's problem and opportunity.

3 Ideate solutions

The third step of the Design Thinking for Educators framework is to ideate solutions that address the user's problem and opportunity. This is where you can unleash your students' imagination and creativity, and encourage them to brainstorm as many ideas as possible, without judging or filtering them. To ideate solutions, you need to use divergent and convergent thinking, apply different ideation techniques, and select the most promising ideas to prototype.

4 Prototype solutions

The fourth step of the Design Thinking for Educators framework is to prototype solutions that make your ideas tangible and testable. This is where you can involve your students in hands-on and collaborative activities, and use low-fidelity materials and tools to create simple and quick prototypes. To prototype solutions, you need to plan your prototype, build your prototype, and share your prototype with others.

5 Test solutions

The fifth and final step of the Design Thinking for Educators framework is to test solutions that gather feedback and learn from your users and stakeholders. This is where you can validate your assumptions, measure your outcomes, and identify what works and what doesn't in your product design. To test solutions, you need to prepare your test, conduct your test, and document your test results.

By following the Design Thinking for Educators framework, you can teach product design skills to students in a way that is relevant, engaging, and fun. You can also help them develop critical thinking, collaboration, communication, and creativity skills that are essential for product design and beyond.