Design Thinking and Challenge-Based Education: Redesigning Learning

Challenge-Based Learning (CBL) and Design Thinking are transforming education by putting the student at the center of learning and ready him to deal with an increasingly globalized world. Both these related methodologies compel the young people to learn, think creatively, and work innovatively as well as collaborate. Students tackle real-world issues, rank issues, and construct relevant solutions—most of them defined through collaboration—so learning is contextual and experiential, not abstract and passive.

Design Thinking embeds its active position through a cyclical, empathetic process. Students start with gaining insight into other people’s needs, proceed to ideation, test the solutions, and iterate based on testing and feedback. Students become change-resilient, innovative problem solvers who are proficient at change management.

These pedagogies blended together close the gap between traditional content transmission and the requirement of society—creativity, collaboration, flexibility. Best practices that result from their interaction include interdisciplinary course design, universal learning, external partner co-design, and tech-enabled experience. Evaluation also changes, to competency and actual impact assessment and from rote memorization.

Teachers and scholars across the globe are applying working models, research, and implementation of CBL and Design Thinking at all education levels with the vision of turning learning and teaching on its head in the direction of triggering motivation, interest, and future-readiness. The revolution is positioning schooling systems as adaptive, inclusive, and heterogeneous as the students will encounter.