Trends, 21st Century Learning, and Design Thinking

I read a book this summer called Twenty-One Trends for the 21st Century and it gave me some things to think about while reinforcing my belief that Design Thinking is a powerful way to prepare our students to take their place in 21st century society. The book by Gary Marx, with the help of a panel of people from various walks of life and from different generations, explores twenty-one ideas or concepts that are already changing society in profound ways. For example, one trend discusses the fact that more living generations than ever are working together, each with their own strengths, worldview, and issues. Each chapter explains a trend and its impact, then ends with a section on the implications for society, and education in particular. While each trend had some unique implications, almost all of them had several commonalities when it comes to educating our children.

• Across the board, children of the twenty-first century must be creative thinkers. 
• They must know how to collaborate with diverse members of society since solving many global problems requires the expertise of more than one discipline. 
• Newer generations are more concerned with social justice and how that concept plays a role in fixing global problems As a result, educational systems must help students develop human centered skills such as empathy. 
• Students must be critical thinkers, able to logically and methodically analyze and solve problems.

Each of these commonalities are addressed as an integral part of the design process. Students who are trained in using the design process are encouraged to think outside of the box. They are required to work collaboratively to solve problems and are given opportunities to work in interdisciplinary settings. Students who use the design process are encouraged to seek out and solve authentic problems faced by real people. As a result, they learn early on to put themselves in others' shoes. Lastly, the design process is a method for problem solving that allows students to work methodically but not rigidly. The flow of the process changes as the needs of the problem dictate, and yet makes logical sense. I believe that teaching our students how to use the design thinking process will prepare them to take their place as leading thinkers and doers in the twenty-first century!