(1) The document reflects on applying the skills learned from a design thinking course to other areas of work and interests. It discusses using a systematic problem-solving approach and refining one's toolbox. (2) The author will apply design thinking to their volunteer work with a community garden, art museum, and computer club, and plans to teach a class on design thinking. Knowledge changes behavior while learning teaches skills. (3) The author will continue sharing what they've learned through teaching, blogging, and their book on creativity. They see applying their new skills on projects, getting feedback, as a way to test ideas and feel appreciated.

1. The goal for this final week of the d. thinking course is for you to reflect on your experience with the design
challenge and how you might apply the skills and mindsets of design thinking to your own work and
interests.
Taking It Home: Applying Design Thinking
My takeaways and learning are numbered, below:
(1) I already learned that a systematic approach to problem solving involves all the steps
shown in the figure, below. I may have different names for them, or additional, descriptive,
“sub” names for each step along the way, but it has proved to be a useful guide. I may have it
tattooed on my fesse.
Where will I go next with my new learning? (2) I cannot help but use what I've learned to
approach invention, problem-solving, etc., and to perfect and refine my toolbox. I will also
integrate some of the steps into ordinary and minor problems that surface day to day.
My context - in the past years of my retirement, has been that of a volunteer for the local
community garden, the local art and history museum, the local chapter of the Science Cafe
and the computer club. I've taught classes for the computer club in a variety of subjects,
including: procedures, security, hardware, research, software and business applications.
The Design Thinking Process can be applied to any and all of these engagements. I have an
idea I will do a class on Design Thinking for the computer club this fall. We meet at the local
high school, and have an open invitation to any student or teacher that would like to attend.
Thus, any learning and knowledge is passed on, documented, photographed, and published
on line or on the club website. I should distinguish between learning and knowledge. I believe
that Learning is the teaching of skills, while knowledge changes behavior.
The next MOOC that I will be taking is the Creativity, Innovation and Change class offered by
Penn State, starting in early September. I already have a BLOG that deals with creativity <
http://creativejuijitsu.blogspot.com/ > and what I learn and the resources I collect are included
there for my readers. My book, Creative Juijitsu < http://goo.gl/E7sgeU >, is available through
Amazon, and grew out of a class I did on line for a private university several years ago. (3) I
Illustration 1: d. thinking steps; rubric

2. continue to enjoy the topic, get satisfaction from sharing what I learned, and teaching classes
related to my new “learnings”.
I wrote the following letter to myself the first week:
Since high school, I’ve considered myself creative, but lacked the discipline and processes in order to focus and
refine my abilities.
As an adult, I have offered my opinions, ideas and talents to others, but I did not sense that
my contributions were appreciated. I hope that it is so because I am not communicating
clearly..thus my ideas and explanation are misunderstood. I may be fooling myself to some
extent, I am seeking confirmation and acknowledgment of my latent talents and ability.
Your old friend, Tom
(3) I feel that I have a working knowledge of pertinent processes and procedures, and have
the ability to focus throughout the process – all the way to completion and resolution. My
present task is to find a way to solve the problem I've had in proving to myself that my
contributions are appreciated and understood. I think that I will have to work on more
projects, see them promulgated, and get feedback from my viewers and readers. This will be
my method for testing my personal prototypes.
Illustration 2: Process for Observing and Reflecting