This document discusses design thinking as a methodology for developing solutions to complex problems and its potential application in academic staff development. It provides context on challenges around technology uptake in teaching/learning. It also describes a study interviewing "eLearning champions" at a South African university, finding commonalities in their mindsets that mirror design thinking dimensions. These include taking a human-centered approach through activities like persona creation and user journeys. The document concludes by questioning whether and how design thinking skills can be learned and applied in mainstreaming technology use and a decolonized higher education project.

1. Towards design thinking in
academic staff development

2. P
Problem Statement
Wicked problems are everyday problems which are
nevertheless difficult to solve as they are ill-defined, associated
with confusing information, many decision makers and
stakeholders with competing interests, and involving whole
systems (Buchanan, 1992).
Wicked problems around uptake of technology in T&L
due to cost and maintenance, poor infrastructure, low technical
literacy, top-down and deterministic implementation, as well as
prevailing social attitudes toward technology (see Cloete &
Gillwald, 2014).
Technology potential innovation driver in HE, but slow uptake

3. Champions..
.“Individuals who emerge to take creative ideas
(which they may or may not have generated) and
bring them to life. They make a decisive
contribution to the innovation process by actively
and enthusiastically promoting the innovation,
building support, overcoming resistance, and
ensuring that the innovation is implemented”.
(Beath 1991, p. 355)

4. Context of Study
● Evaluation of academic staff development activities
to support integration of technology into teaching
and learning at a large University of Technology in
the Western Cape
● Interview of eLearning champions
● Commonalities / themes emerging that mirror
‘design thinking mindset’

5. ● Methodology for developing novel solutions to complex,
real-world problems gaining popularity in various domains
● Human-centred design centres the person we design for and
the ethics of design (Brown, 2009)
● Establishment of Hasso-Plattner-Institute Schools of Design
Thinking (HPI d.schools) at Universities of Potsdam, Stanford
and Cape Town
● Little application in staff development
Design Thinking in Education

6. d.mindsets
Stanford d.school (2011, p.3)

7. Research design
● Interviews with 13 eLearning champions
across all Faculties
● Two rounds of coding:
to explore emerging themes
then framed by design thinking dimensions

8. Findings
eLearning
champions
mindset

10. Can design thinking be learnt?
Implications for staff development practice
‘it is learned best through the active process of creating and
doing’ (Koehler 2003, p. 20)
‘With sufficient practice within meaningful environments, along
with scaffolded support and formative feedback, we believe that
students can learn design thinking skills’ (Razzou and Shute 2012,
p. 343)
‘best developed through the iterative refinement of artifacts that
are being developed to represent design ideas throughout design
episodes’ (Koh et al. 2015, p. 40)

11. Persona activity
User Journey
Learning Experience Metaphors
Mind/hands/heart metaphor
Examples

12. Persona activities
...user archetypes that help define the
intended design activity.
The persona is an informed and
experienced description of a hypothetical
(end) user (in our case the learner), their
contexts, challenges and goals

13. Focus on minds,
hearts and hands
‘Neglecting the skill-based
outcomes may lead to educating
individuals with creative over-
confidence, who lack the skills and
knowledge to apply their creativity.’
(Taheri et al 2016, p.9)

14. Learning experience
metaphors
...guide the development of an activity
or a course by framing all elements of
the activity within a certain learning
scenario.

15. Open questions
Can/should we all become champions?
What in a champions mindset is problematic when it comes to
mainstreaming use of technology in teaching and learning?
Role of design thinking in the context of a decolonising project?

16. References
Buchanan, R. (1992). Wicked problems in design thinking. Design Issues, 8(2), 5–21.
Carr, T., (2013). e/merging Across Africa: Five Papers on the Use of Educational Technology in African Higher Education. African Journal of
Information Systems, 5(3): 65-70.
Cloete, N. & Gillwald, A. (2014). South Africa: Informational development and human development–Rights vs capabilities. In Castells, M.,
& Himanen, P. (Eds.), Reconceptualizing Development in the Global Information Age. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 140-174.
Beath, C. M. (1991). Supporting the information technology champion. MIS Quarterly, 15, 355–372. 10.2307/249647. Retrieved from
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/12460125.2016.1187405
Brown, T. (2009). Change by design: How design thinking transforms organizations and inspires innovation. New York, NY: HarperCollins.
d.school (2011). Bootcamp Bootleg. Institute of Design at Stanford. Retrieved from https://dschool.stanford.edu/wp-
content/uploads/2011/03/BootcampBootleg2010v2SLIM
Koh, J. H. L., Chai, C. S., Wong, B., & Hong, H. Y. (2015). Design thinking for education: Conceptions and applications in teaching and
learning. Singapore: Springer. http://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-444-3
Rauth, I., Köppen, E., Jobst, B., & Meinel, C. (2010). Design Thinking: An Educational Model towards Creative Confidence. 1st International
Conference on Design Creativity (ICDC 2010), (December), 1–8.
Razzouk, R., & Shute, V. (2012). What Is Design Thinking and Why Is It Important? Review of Educational Research, 82(3), 330–348.
http://doi.org/10.3102/0034654312457429
Taheri, M. et al., (2016). An educational perspective on design thinking learning outcomes. In The ISPIM Innovation Forum. Boston, USA:
ISPIM.
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