RE-DESIGNING A DESIGN THINKING COURSE WITH AN ACTIVE LEARNING APPROACH

The paper presents the innovation of the theoretical course “Design Thinking and Processes”, part of the curriculum of the Design and Engineering MSc of Politecnico di Milano. The theoretical framework presented throughout the course is aimed at stimulating critical reflection through the understanding of how design has evolved from its birth to nowadays. To this extent four socio-economical perspectives in product design are introduced: technical, human, digital and social. The course innovation has been carried out with an action research approach, re-designing its activities to foster students’ active learning. The course is now coherently designed in terms of intended learning outcomes, assessment strategy, activities and contents. All this is illustrated in the paper. The overall course was assessed by students throughout the first semester of the last academic year. The paper aims at discussing the results of this assessment offering to teachers and scholars an example of an active-learning approach to support students’ learning about the societal and historical contexts in which design thinking evolved.