Integrating Design Thinking and Metacognition

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Abstract

In my secondary science teaching experience, students are capable of great ingenuity when given the freedom to self-regulate and create with the topics they are in the process of learning. In both arts and science classroom settings, students design wondrous solutions to real-life challenges by applying their learning collaboratively in a potentially endless array of ways. Instructor-designed tasks that encourage students to utilize the multimodal and unique skills at their disposal encourages a deep engagement with their learning. This increases the emphasis on metacognition and designs solutions with a knowledge framework for pedagogical change. The shift in paradigm could lead to students becoming more strategic, expressive contributors to our growing knowledge economy. Strategic, lateral thinkers can be cultivated starting with a shift from competency to application in the type of assignment handed out in classrooms. Culminating tasks that necessitate that students reflect on their learning, make decisions and create with their knowledge, can foster high-order thinking and strategic learners. In this paper, a set of guidelines drawn from the author’s teaching experience and grounded in scholarly literature will illustrate the feasibility and the synergistic effect of integrating metacognition and student-centred design thinking components into the tasks that are assigned in classrooms.