Introduction to design thinking
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can use and apply design thinking to come up with a creative solution to a real life urban problem.
Key learning points
- Design thinking is a structured approach to solving problems creatively.
- Empathy is the starting point for meaningful design.
- Urban environments present real-life design challenges.
- Drawing is a powerful tool to explore and share design ideas.
- Designers learn by making, testing, and improving their work.
Keywords
Design thinking - a process used by designers to solve problems creatively and effectively
Empathise - to understand and share the feelings or needs of others
Ideate - to generate and explore lots of different ideas or solutions
Prototype - a simple model or sketch that shows how a design might work
Common misconception
Design thinking is only for artists or people who are good at drawing.
Design thinking is for everyone - it's more about problem-solving than creating beautiful artworks. Sketches help communicate ideas, and they don’t have to be visually striking to be effective.
Teacher tip
Model your thinking aloud as you move through the design thinking stages - show pupils it's okay to take risks, revise ideas, and that their creative process matters more than a “perfect” final design.
Equipment
Pencils, erasers, coloured pencils or marker pens. Images of urban problems (e.g. traffic, littering).
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Annotation means writing ...
Q2.What is inspiration in art and design?
Q3.A would most likely be described as urban.
Q4.When drawing buildings or city scenes, it helps to start with simple shapes like rectangles and triangles.
Q5.What is most important when drawing an urban scene?
Q6.Which of these is not a good urban research method?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Design thinking is only for artists or people who are good at drawing.
Q2.What does it mean to ideate?
Q3.The word urban refers to ...
Q4.How can design thinking be applied in urban spaces?
Q5.Match each stage of design thinking to its correct description:.
understand the needs of people
create a simple version of your idea
clearly state the problem
try out and get feedback on your idea
brainstorm possible solutions
Q6.Put the stages of design thinking in the correct order.
To help you plan your 6 art and design lesson on: Introduction to design thinking, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 6 art and design lesson on: Introduction to design thinking, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 2 art and design lessons from the Urban Life: Drawing and design unit, dive into the full primary art and design curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.