This document outlines how to teach design thinking methodology to students through a chair design challenge. It describes the design thinking process which includes empathizing with end users through interviews and observations, rapidly prototyping ideas using paper, testing prototypes with users, building the chairs, testing throughout the building process, critiquing, and sharing lessons learned. The goal is for students to learn creative problem solving and experience the full design process.

1. DESIGN
THINKING IN
THE ART ROOM
AMY BONNER OLIVERI
ALLENDALE COLUMBIA SCHOOL

2. Design thinking is a
methodology for creative
problem solving. You can
use it to inform your own
teaching practice, or you can
teach it to your students as
a framework for real-world
projects.
https://dschool.stanford.edu/groups/k12/
What is Design Thinking?
#DTK12

3. https://dschool.stanford.edu/groups/k12/wiki/6c04c/Visual_Resources.html
DESIGN THINKING
A visual guide

4. DESIGN
CHALLENGE
BUILD A CHAIR FOR A LOWER SCHOOL CLASSROOM
USING ONLY CARDBOARD AND PACKING TAPE
https://dschool.stanford.edu/groups/k12/wiki/613e8/Creating_Design_Challenges.html

5. Students will empathize with the Lower School students by observing,
engaging, and immersing. Students will interview each class group to find
out what their ultimate needs and wants are.
EMPATHY AND INTERVIEW

6. Students will utilize information gained in the interview phase to create a
character composite. Students will observe each classroom for 5-10 minutes
at different times of day (before school, break, lunch, end of school). During observation
students will take notes, photos, and observations about the room and how it is used.
OBSERVATION

8. Students will rapidly test ideas, models, concepts, using white copy paper.
Students will work to generate many ideas and think divergently.
RAPID PROTOTYPE

10. 1. Let your user experience the prototype. Show don’t tell. Put your prototype in the user’s hands
(or your user in the prototype) and give just the minimum context so they understand what to do.
Don’t explain your thinking or reasoning for your prototype.
2. Have them talk through their experience. For example, when appropriate, as the host, ask “Tell
me what you are thinking as you are doing this.”
TESTING PROTOTYPES WITH USERS

11. 3. Actively observe. Watch how they use (and misuse!) what you have given them. Don’t
immediately “correct” what your user tester is doing.
4. Follow up with questions. . This is important; often this is the most valuable part of testing.
“Show me why this would [not] work for you.” “Can you tell me more about how this made you
feel?” “Why?” Answer questions with questions (i.e “well, what do you think that button does”).
TESTING PROTOTYPE WITH USERS

13. BUILDING

14. TESTING

15. TESTING THROUGHOUT THE
BUILD PROCESS

16. Kindergarteners come in to
learn about the building process
in a studio art class.
They are overheard later in the
week outside a different Upper
School classroom saying,
“Shhhh, be quiet, they’re making
chairs in there.”
SHARING THE PROCESS

17. CRITIQUE

18. CRITIQUE

19. Shared with permission from the artist http://roryosullivan.com/
Student: “Mrs. Oliveri, I learned so
much from this project.”
Oliveri: “What did you learn?
Student: “I learned how NOT to build
a chair.”

20. RESOURCES
Go to www.artwitholiveri.com for this presentation and a list of links
to help you get started with Design Thinking
Thank You,
Amy Oliveri
@artwitholiveri
#dtk12chat