Reflection On Using Design Thinking to Leverage the Making of Teaching and Learning Resources by Dr. Wachira ( 4th Practicum workshop)
The workshop on design thinking to leverage teaching and learning resources facilitated by Dr. Wachira on Wednesday 4th August 2021 stressed on the role of teaching and learning resources in enhancing quality education and the whole process of designing teaching and learning resources. During the workshop, I learnt that to be a great teacher, I must be able to design resources for instructing a particular concept, rather than just having knowledge about the concept. Design thinking transforms challenges into opportunities, leading to improved outcomes. It is therefore imperative that teachers should apply design thinking approach to solve crises in education like mass failure and disengagement among the learners.
The workshop sensitised me that there is need for design thinking pedagogy if focus on content and cramming are to be replaced by competencies like creativity, problem solving and critical thinking. To a very great extent, this shift is able to solve most of the teacher issues.
The worship further guided me on all the steps in design thinking, from empathy to testing stages. I also learnt about the process of designing a maker space and learning resources, identification of the users and their needs being key.
Thinking of the classes I teach in comparison to design thinking, I realise there is so much I ignore while doing my planning and even in the entire lesson process. Ignorantly, I attend classes minus designing a teaching and learning resource to support my pedagogy, and for a very long time, my learners have been unable to develop competency skills even after several weeks of learning. Developing competency skills like innovation, creativity and digital literacy among the learners demands a Design thinking pedagogy.
Having known the steps of design thinking and the requirements of designing teaching and learning resources, I must make at least one science teaching and learning during this practicum period. After this course, I will make it a routine to design teaching and learning resources for each of the concepts I will be handling.
