Design Thinking Adila
Design Thinking Adila
Design Thinking Adila
ABSTRACT
This paper explores the benefits of empathy skill for school students. The encouragement of
empathy skill in school was discussed in two situations: 1. Using design thinking approach
for project-based learning and 2. Promoting as a classroom culture. Empathy is an act of
understanding, being conscious and experiencing the feeling and thoughts of other people. It
is the key to inspire social innovation and diminishing prejudice against others. Empathy skill
has affected our feeling of wellbeing and human centeredness to provide an understanding of
people’s needs. By integrating design thinking process in school, students will equip
themselves with empathy-related skills such as communication, observation, decision-making
and positive relationship with others as part of their active learning process. Adapting design
thinking in project-based learning requires students to be aware and concern in exploring
human-driven design which leads to user satisfaction for any problem’s solution. Empathy
also has the advantage of forming a positive classroom culture and sustaining a good teacher-
student relationship. This paper discussed how the design thinking process can promote
empathy skill during project-based learning for humanizing decision-making and the
opportunity for empathy integration in the classroom to engage in positive collaboration and
teamwork.
1. INTRODUCTION
Empathy is about people and a deep understanding of their expectations and needs.
The focus of empathy is to develop the consideration of other people’s point of view. By
empathy and going underneath the surface, sometimes, the actual needs are beyond the basic
request. Thus, empathy is crucial to find and realize what is really going on. By insights and
observations, we can interpret what they say and do to what they actually think and feel
(Desai & Nemade, 2016). Therefore, it is important to identify the differences in perspectives
to focus only on relevant information. Being empathetic to the affected people require
thorough observation and analysis to define the actual problems.
Empathy is the core characteristic of design thinking to explore human-driven
innovation (Efeoglu et al., 2013). Design thinking is about asking the correct questions and
elaborate interpretation and assumptions. Using contextual inquiry and deep understanding,
design thinkers learn how to observe, listen and develop empathetic insights that lead to
human-centered ways of solving problems (Carroll, 2015). Design thinking is a human-
centered innovation process that provides a robust basis for divergent problem-solving. The
process which has energized business and entrepreneurship is being applied to primary and
secondary school level for consideration. Because of its key emphasis on people needs is
through empathy, design thinking focuses on the curriculum and assessment mainly to solve
real-world problems. Students engage in hands-on projects that focus on building empathy,
suggesting ideation and encouraging active problem solving (Lor, 2017). Students need to
know how to be empathetic towards others, understand problems and generate creative
solutions. They also need to engage people in the empathy stage of the design thinking
process. They look, listen and communicate to people about what they are doing, ask
questions and reflect on what they see. The understanding and observation in design thinking
help students develop a sense of empathy and feel their anxiety (Carroll et al., 2010). Figure 1
shows the empathy step in the design thinking process.
Empathy plays an important role in design thinking process to search for rich stories
and discover what the people truly need. Students empathize to understand what they exactly
feel, determine their perspective and enlighten the problem to solve. After the root problem
has been clarified, the next steps to be performed are generating ideas by brainstorming,
clustering ideas and creating solutions, prototypes of the solution and test to gain feedback.
Reviewing on the user feedback, these whole processes will be repeated to continually
improve the solution (Fouché & Crowley, 2017). It was agreed by many practitioners and
researchers that the biggest challenge in design thinking process is not in the creation of the
prototypes or the application of content. Actually, the most difficult process is to be in users’
shoes and generating empathy for them because empathy goes beyond recognition of the
subjectivity of the design domain and describe the whole process of design thinking as
human-driven as its core value (Carlgren et al., 2016; Glen et al., 2015; Liedtka, 2015).
Empathy is involved with emotion and cognition. Empathy can be described as being an
instinctive, affective and shared experience which one can feel what other people experience.
Moreover, the ability to understand how others may feel from their point of view (Gasparini,
2015).
In order to define users’ perspective through their point of view, designers will adopt
the empathy map. Most of design thinking practitioners also apply an empathy map to reveal
the real needs of the users (Desai & Nemade, 2016). An empathy map is a method that assists
designers to develop their business model based on the clients’ requirement. Empathy map
can be used during interviews or observation of what the target users are doing. The empathy
map aim is to generate a degree of empathy for a specific person. The focus is to understand
others by looking at the world through their eyes. When the designers understand the user,
they will realize that a small change in design would give a big impact on the particular user
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(Bratsberg, 2012). The original version of empathy map was created by Dave Gray in 2012.
The Empathy Map template was created with a specific set of ideas and designed to portray
empathy development. Later, the empathy map template was improved to make it more
usable and bring better experiences and outcomes (Gray, 2017). Figure 2 shows the template
of the improved empathy map of a person. The empathy map is proved as a tool that easy to
use and useful to describe users’ perspectives. The empathy map provides more flexibility
than a textual description. It is also able to guide and enhance empathy skill for novice
designers to view other people experience and feeling (Ferreira et al., 2015).
Applying empathy skill in students learning experience especially project-based
learning can go a long way toward improving students’ engagement towards their projects.
Furthermore, they help to humanize the topic being explored and encourage empathy among
the students. By connecting empathy with project-based learning, students will be able to
innovate to solve not only local challenges but also those faced by people around the world
(Klein, 2016). Most importantly, by grounding their projects in empathy perspective and user
observation, students were challenged to witness the world as it is and begin crafting the
world as it might be.
Nowadays, we face simultaneously complex problems which are not easily be solved
by utilizing traditional problem-solving processes. In design education context, problem-
based learning has always been confused with project-based learning. Project-based learning
needs the students to establish the problem from the start, while problem-based learning
needs the students to follow accepted principles to solve the clearly defined problem
(Spencer, 2018). Integrating empathy in project-based learning is where students perform
observation and interview sessions to the target user to gain a deep understanding of the
project. It is the roots of constructivism which can be found in the Dewey theory of
experiential learning (Dewey, 1986). Dewey proposes that learning truly occurs when
education incorporates and utilizes with experiences (Miettinen, 2000). Project-based
learning is sort of inquiry-based learning and agreed by the idea that knowledge is formed by
the learner himself and continuously grown based on previous experiences (Hutchison,
2016). The problem definition and difficulties in project-based learning play an important
role in the effectiveness of student outcomes at the end of the project. The goal is to foster
students’ skills in people-oriented attitude and deep-rooted understanding of design thinking
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and making (Melles et al., 2015). This attitude and understanding, if applied in service for
people and from the perspective of human needs may contribute towards generating a culture
of entrepreneurs that pursue the ‘global good’ in all their endeavors. To achieve the goal,
empathy skill plays an important role to create awareness of human perspectives (Cassim,
2013).
Empathy is used in different ways in design thinking. It can be a tool to design with
which requires the transformation of the emotional feeling into attributes in design projects.
Empathy also can be used to acquire insight into users’ needs and in doing so, involved in the
design process (Gasparini, 2015). The interconnections between project-based learning and
design thinking have gained more interest from many educators. Using authentic design
challenges and design thinking strategies in a project-based learning context will explore
more innovative and creative products from students. When students have a chance to and
redesign by design thinking, their project-based learning products will be necessarily
innovative. On the other hand, their creativity will be enhanced and we may be fostering the
next generation of inventors who can solve any kind of problems (Klein, 2016). Hence, by
connecting design thinking with project-based learning, the students can see how innovation
and imagination can solve not just local challenges, but also the challenges faced by people
around the world via social innovation project.
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be encouraged in their design concepts. Engaging in an empathy project also allows students
to explore and enhance skills with interdisciplinary thinking and collaborative learning while
improving core skills such as communication, ethical and critical thinking (Hutchison, 2016).
Social Innovation is the process of developing effective and systematic solutions for
social and environmental issues to support social progress. However, most designers still
focused their attention on improving the appearance and functionality of products compared
to consider the needs of a certain group of people or communities (Brown & Wyatt, 2010).
The social innovation in design thinking can create transformational changes in underserved,
underrepresented, and disadvantaged communities worldwide’ and hence, the use of design
thinking method perhaps can address vital issues such as poverty, health, basic facilities and
gender inequality. By working within these communities in a certain project, students will
engage and interact with the particular group and it will encourage the students to attain new
stories and perspectives through the lens of a broader and more empathetic worldview
(Souleles, 2017). Thus, the human-centered nature of design thinking makes the empathy
approach relevant as the students are trying to solve problems that affect people. The ability
to demonstrate empathy in innovation will contribute to addressing social issues. Design for
social changes requires the adoption of various strategies for socially useful design and meet
the particular group needs such as the visually impaired people or the elderly.
Empathy has been recognized as the key to effective teaching. Addressing the
emotional needs that students bring into the classroom demands the teachers to look beyond
the surface and understand what the cause of a particular set of behaviors is. Without
empathy mindset, it will narrow the focus of the teacher and prevent him from accurately
identify learning barriers that would face by the students. Hence, it will turn out that students
would be viewed as academic producers rather than socio-emotional beings (Crowley &
Salde, 2016). If teachers treat students as respected co-learners and peers, it will develop the
students’ belief and affect their behavior on how to treat others. Students often observe
teachers constantly, and their actions could unintentionally model unempathetic behavior.
Taking the time to demonstrate empathy can also develop student-teacher relationships
(Blazar & Kraft, 2017). Teaching students to understand others by showing concern about
their problems is a powerful message. While there is a specific process that design thinking
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needs to follow, perhaps the greatest impact on students is the establishment of a mindset that
promotes an understanding of others. Teaching students to have empathy not only makes
them better innovators, but it will also make them better people (Fisher, 2016; Owen, 2015).
In accordance with the vision of the Malaysia Minister of Education, he outlined three
core values to be implemented and nurturing the culture of happiness, love and mutual
respect in schools to create fun and positive learning environment (Tharanya Arumugam,
2018). It coincides with the objectives of empathy where students need to embrace
differences and reject hatred or prejudice among each other. Empathy skill can be developed
and cultivated by discussing issues of social justice and demonstrate their concern and deeper
understanding of some of the more marginalized members in their own society (Jamieson,
2015). Cultivating empathy among students has been connected to some desired outcomes
such as positive peer relationships and better communication and collaboration skills. It is
important for the teacher to express empathy and how it has the power to influence a variety
of contexts and interactions. Thus, nurturing the well-being of students and promotes a
positive, empathic culture are able to make classrooms and schools as a safe place for
children. Using empathy as part of students’ social skill, they will learn to understand each
other, as well as helps them to build a connection based on positive relationships of trust
(Owen, 2015). However, this assumption is challenged by demonstrating that empathy levels
have been declining over the past 30 years. A research done by Konrath et al. (2011) has
found that college students’ self-reported empathy has declined since 1980 especially a steep
drop in the past 10 years perhaps due to the increase in social isolation which resulted to a
society of self-obsessed loners. To make matters worse, during this crucial period students’
self-report on narcissism also has reached new heights based on research by Twenge et al.
(2008) which has coincided with the drop in empathy (Jamil Zaki, 2011). Therefore, it is very
important to teach students to be more conscious of other people’s experiences and feelings.
Empathy able to cultivate patient and tolerance among students and may even
decrease the number of bullying cases in schools. When we put ourselves in other people’s
shoes, we become more sensitive to what that person is really experiencing and would less
likely to tease or bully them (Fisher, 2016). Teachers are encouraged to integrating empathy-
based learning as their classroom culture to cultivate empathy towards others. As an example,
Roots of Empathy (ROT) is a classroom program since 1996 has been implemented in
schools in Canada. It was proved that the program has shown a substantial effect in reducing
levels of aggression and violence among schoolchildren. The program also successfully
cultivating positive connection among peers instead of bullies or aggressive actions towards
others (Gordon & Green, 2008). Students with higher levels of empathy are proved to be
more productive in cooperative learning and work environments. Empathy-based learning in
the classroom had stronger positive effects on students’ empathy as well as academic
engagement compared to traditional teaching-oriented instruction because of they have
realized the importance of empathy-based activities to foster their connection to learning
contents and promoting good relations with peers and the teacher in the classroom (Borba,
2016; Lee et al., 2018). Empathy-integrated learning in education has been proven to boost
traditional academic success as well (Moraine, 2017). An empathic student is better able to
share and experience their feelings with their peers. Students with empathic skill tend to seek
understanding in a challenge of a particular context, prior to developing a problem statement.
If the role of empathy was absent in design thinking process, students’ decisions could easily
represent dominant assumptions, thus reacting to false realities and creating misleading
solutions to perceived problems. Then, it will prevent the students from accurately identifying
the barriers and the real situations that are faced by the users (Crowley & Salde, 2016).
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4. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Empathy requires a deep insight into the problem area and the user perspective in the
design process for project-based learning. Empathy is about reaching greater concern,
extended sympathy and sensitivity towards other people’s world in a strong, delicate and
memorable way. Empathic awareness is a way of knowing intuitively about people and things
outside of our own personal world. Empathy also considered as important outside of the
school compound. Students need to look into other experiences, social backgrounds and
knowledge as broadly as possible (McDonagh & Thomas, 2010). Empathy can be a valuable
source of information to find a deep understanding of how to interpret different contexts
based on other people point of view which may contribute to the process of design thinking.
The engagement of emotional and cognitive empathy in the design thinking process needs to
be addressed by the students immensely for better understanding on how it can be used to
gain more user insights (Gasparini, 2015). Furthermore, a deeper understanding of users’
needs is critical for students to respond with more effective outcomes. Instead of aiming to
design products for the ideal user, empathy is utilized to reveal product opportunities in order
to discover the real people in need (McDonagh & Thomas, 2010). To develop empathy with
users, students need to be able to engage, listen, and understand the views of other people,
which means involving actual people in their projects. Empathy will deepen students’
understanding of people with different background, language, race and culture from their
own. By acquiring insights into user’s emotions, expectations and fears, students would be
able to provide critical issues and inspiration to create more focused and functional outcomes
(McDonagh & Thomas, 2010).
This paper proposes that empathy is a vital skill to be adopted in the classroom
especially for project-based learning. Future initiatives to embed empathy in the classroom is
to implement design thinking approach in students’ learning in order to integrate the empathy
step within their projects. In addition, nurturing empathy culture in the classroom should be
done in regular basis where the teachers treat the students as their respected co-learners and
keep a helpful, empathic response fairly to all students and also encourage them to express
their own feeling and perception in learning. This culture will create an accepting and
comforting atmosphere that embraces the students and at the same time, a positive
relationship will be bonded among their peers and with the teachers themselves.
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