Design Thinking Mindsets: Reconstituting Failure to Increase Students’ Problem-solving Skills View Digital Media

Workshop Presentation
Dr. Dawn Fichera  

The researcher conducted an ex-post facto evaluation to investigate whether design thinking mindset curriculum has a positive effect on self-efficacy and belief in the students’ ability to problem-solve. All students included in the evaluation were part of a sixth-grade Team 1 team day and participated remotely due to COVID-19. By analyzing both quantitative and qualitative data, the researcher sought to identify the extent to which self-efficacy and belief in one’s ability to problem-solve increased, how we might create problem-seekers of our secondary students, and to gauge to what extent language acquisition for design thinking mindsets occurs with minimal exposure. Based on this dissertation in practice, the researcher adds understanding about the effects of design thinking mindsets on the youngest secondary students, and determines the relationship between exposure to design thinking mindsets and belief in the ability to problem-solve.