An Introduction to Design Thinking

Assessment

We currently run three introductory modules following a core model, adapted in focus for different students and contexts:

• IL029/129 Introduction to Design Thinking (undergraduate);

• IP209 Designing Change (undergraduate)

• ES99M Design Thinking for Social Impact (postgraduate)

Our forms of assessment are common to all modules, being based on a signature pedagogy for teaching designerly activism.

Our assessment approach is designed to holistically represent the student’s development as a “designerly activist”. We therefore need to consider all assessment components together. We usually find that most students find one type of assessment to be closer to their interests and capabilities, so having this spread allows them to be confident in one approach to start with and then to develop greater confidence in the other approaches. In each of these assessments the students should use a diverse range of methods carefully selected to fit the needs of the challenge. The formats are:

a) The design study: the student’s response to an existing or a proposed design – descriptive, analytic, critical, and creative. The complexity of studies varies greatly, depending on the complexity of the design in question and the methods applied by the student. Studies may be presented linearly, or notebook style, with multimedia and diagrams.

b) Team project: a more advanced design study, considering a more complex system, in which the students identify and creatively address design challenges identified from the perspectives of people impacted by the design, or reframed to apply key values and goals (such as the Sustainable Development Goals). Ideally the students design with a community, rather than for imagined end users. The postgraduate module includes the additional requirement for the students to create a team video pitching their project to potential funders.

c) Reflective essay: a personal account of the student’s transformative journey through the module, including reflecting on their background, values, goals, and how they plan to apply their newly developed capabilities in the future. Third year undergraduates are also required to relate these methods to their home disciplines. Students should include a critical assessment of the approaches and specific methods used.

Intended Learning Outcomes:

i. Understand and articulate successful applications of designerly activism in a broad range of different contexts.

ii. Describe, analyse and evaluate varied contexts, communities and their challenges, and adapt designerly activism to fit, stick, spread, and grow appropriately in each context for the benefit of the community.

iii. Design, develop, implement and reflect on an approach to designerly activism appropriate for achieving your own goals in life.

iv. Critically evaluate a broad range of common designerly methods, so as to help designerly activists and communities to choose methods more effectively.

v. Create new designerly methods in response to identified needs and gaps, reflecting on their use and reporting more widely.

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