We design information systems, smart buildings, ecological friendly communities, learning spaces and so many aspect of our society but we unfortunately do not apply this holistic approach to designing learning environments. Apple has always designed excellent hardware but with their iPhone, iPad and the whole IOS ecosystem they gone a step further and have designed a mobile communication or networking environment that just works. If we apply a similar purposeful design to our learning environments we also can create a significant learning environment that just works. Whether we are purposeful in its design or we just allow the circumstances to dictate its development education at all levels are providing learning environments. Rather than allow the environment to come together on its own and respond reactively to the learning dynamics that arise I suggest that educators become more proactive and create significant learning environments.
Therefore it is exciting to see an emphasis on purposeful design in the list of resources on Design Thinking for educators. Design thinking consists of four key elements:
Defining the Problem, Creating and Considering Multiple Options, Refining Selected Directions, and Executing the Best Plan of Action. (InformEd, 2013)
Several of the resources listed are links to a either the IDEO group or related sites that have been influenced by the working and writings of Tom Kelly and Tim Brown, who are two of the foundational thinkers behind design thinking.
