Launch

into design thinking

disclaimerS 1
 Disclaimer #1
Although I am passionate about design thinking, I realize that it
is not a magical formula. Instead, it is one of the many
frameworks that teachers can use to inspire and facilitate
creativity in the classroom. My hope is that there is something
in here that you find useful.

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 Disclaimer #2
I first learned about design thinking over a decade ago. But I
never hard the “perfect” classroom. I had moments where
students checked out, where projects failed, and where I failed
as a teacher.

But I also believe in failing forward and iterating through tons of

experiments. So, consider this a documentation of what has
worked for me — but please remember that the journey was
filled with bumpy roads and wrong turns.
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 the design
thinking manifesto 4
The following is a manifesto that A.J. Juliani and I wrote as we
were thinking through the driving idea behind the LAUNCH
Cycle. This is, to my core, what I believe about education.

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we believe
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We believe that all kids are
naturally creative and that
every classroom should be
filled with creativity and
wonder.
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 We want to see teachers unleash the creative potential in all of their
students so that kids can be makers, experimenters, designers, artists,
and engineers.

Designers

Makers Engineers
Artists
Experimenters
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We know that school can be busy. Materials can be scarce. The
creative process can seem confusing, especially when you have a tight
curriculum map. So creativity becomes a side project, an enrichment
activity you get to when you have time for it. But the thing is, there’s
never enough time.

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we can do
Better. 10
We believe that creative thinking is as vital as math or
reading or writing. There’s power in problem-solving
and experimenting and taking things from questions to
ideas to authentic products that you launch to the
world. Something happens in students when they
define themselves as makers and inventors and
creators.

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That’s the power of design thinking. It provides a flexible framework
for creative work. It’s used in engineering, publishing, business, the
humanities, in non-profit and community work. And yes, it can be
used in education! You can use it in every subject with every age
group.

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We believe all students deserve the opportunity to be their
best creative selves, both in and out of school. We believe all
kids are unique, authentic, and destined to be original.

Most importantly, we believe this is not an all-encompassing

solution, but a start. We believe our role is to empower kids to
make an impact on the world around them and fully believe in
themselves.

We believe that you have the power to inspire kids and create
a ripple effect that lasts for years to come.
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 the power of the
maker mindset 14
Our world is changing
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According to Moore’s Law, technological developments tend to
double every six months. Things that sounded like science
fiction a generation ago are now so commonplace we take them
for granted. We are in an era of rapid changes in social,
technological, and economic systems.

We live in an era where robotics and artificial intelligence will

replace many of our current jobs. Global connectivity will
continue to allow companies to outsource labor to other
countries.

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At one time, we could depend on
a formula: do well in school, go
to college, and climb the
corporate ladder.

But things have changed.

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The ladder is gone and in its place is a maze. Our students will need
to know how to problem-solve and navigate this maze. As automation
and artificial intelligence continue, they will need to know how to
work within the Creative Economy. They will need to think like
engineers and entrepreneurs. Our current students will enter a
workforce where instability is the new normal and where they will have
to be self-directed, original, and creative in order to navigate this
maze.

This might sound terrifying but there’s also a hidden opportunity. Our
students will have the opportunity to build the future.

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our students
will rewrite
the rules 20
We often hear that our current students will work in jobs that don’t exist
right now. But here’s another reality: our current students will be the
ones who create those jobs.

Not every student will create the next Google or Pixar or Lyft. Some
students will be engineers or artists or accountants. Some will work in
technology, others in traditional corporate spaces and still others in
social or civic spaces. But no matter how diverse their industries will be,
our students will all someday face a common reality. Every single one of
them will need to think like an entrepreneur in order to thrive in a
changing world.

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in other words, our students will
need a maker mindset
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 Our job is not to prepare
students for something.
our job is to help students
prepare themselves for anything.
-a.j. juliani-
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however, it isn’t
just about jobs.
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 the maker
mindset is vital
to life. 25
 Making is magic
Every day, I ask my kids, “What did you make today?” There
have been days when they describe taking a test or filling out
a packet. But then, there are days when they run through the
door and start telling me about cardboard challenges or
blogging or making a film and I’m reminded, in this moment,
that making is magic — that it is valuable, not just for a future
job, but for the deeply human drive to make stuff.

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making is the mindset.
Design thinking is the
process.
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Design thinking isn’t a subject or a topic or a class, so much as a
process for designing solutions to complex problems. It’s a
flexible process used for getting the most out of the creative
process.

Design thinking is used in the arts, in engineering, in the

corporate world, and in social and civic spaces. You can use it in
every subject with every age group. It works when creating
digital content or when building
things with duct tape
and cardboard.

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It’s a bit of a debate where design thinking originated. Some claim
that it started in the sixties with The Sciences of the Artificial. Others
point to Design Thinking, which focused more on urban planning
and architecture. Still others point to Robert McKim’s work
in Experiences in Visual Thinking. Still others place it back in the
1950’s with Buckminster Fuller and others claim It started with the
democratic design movement in Sweden and Finland. Like all great
ideas, it has been an evolution, influenced by thousands of people.
We know that our work around Design Thinking has been influenced
by people like Tom and David Kelley, Tim Brown, John Maeda, Peter
Rowe (as well as organizations like Stanford d.school and IDEO).

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the launch cycle
Although there are many models for design thinking, A.J.
Juliani and I have developed the student-friendly LAUNCH
Cycle designed with the K-12 student in mind. We added an
inquiry phase, a research component, and, most importantly,
the idea of launching to an authentic audience.

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 It can help to think of it this way:
Making is the mindset
Design thinking is the process
LAUNCH is the framework

the maker the launch

mindset design thinking framework

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the launch cycle
Let’s take a deeper dive into the LAUNCH Cycle.

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phase one
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lL a u n c h

look, listen, and learn

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lL a u n c h
In the first phase, students look, listen, and learn.The goal here
is awareness. It might be a sense of wonder at a process or an
awareness of a problem or a sense of empathy toward an
audience.

The following are some of the ways that you might start a design
thinking project. Note that each of these approaches are
designed to activate some sort of awareness or prior knowledge
in students. The goal is to motivate them to want to design
something.
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lL a u n c h

start with empathy

Some of the best design thinking projects
begin with empathy toward an audience. Here,
students care deeply about a group of people
and end up designing something that will solve
a problem for that group. This was the case
when my students noticed the issue of graffiti
on campus and ended up painting murals as a
way to prevent graffiti. The crazy thing? It
worked.

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lL a u n c h

start with a product idea

Sometimes it works the opposite way. Here,
students might know ahead of time that they
will be writing a novel in a month (NaNoWriMo)
and they are still unclear about the audience.
But there is an intrinsic desire to write the novel
that they will someday launch to the world.

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lL a u n c h

observe a natural phenomenon

Although it seems odd, Southwest Airlines
figured out how to get people to board quickly
onto airplanes by studying ants. NASA is
learning how to create better adhesives by
studying geckos. The idea is this: some of our
best inventions begin by observing nature. So,
from playing around with magnets, students
end up on a roller coaster design project.

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lL a u n c h

focus on a problem to solve

Here, students don’t necessarily know what
they will design but they have a clear picture of
a specific problem. This was the case with our
Solar Kitchen projects, where students had to
design kitchens that would be eco-friendly and
lead to a carbon footprint that was as close as
possible to zero.

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lL a u n c h

tap into geeky interests

While it can be awesome to have students
solving community problems, sometimes great
design begins with small geeky interests. This
is the case with Geek Out blog projects, where
students go through the design process during
Genius Hour and end up sharing their expertise
on anything from food to bugs to fashion to
skateboarding or video games.

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 lL a u n c h

start with awareness of an

issue in your world
Here, students begin with the driving question,
“What would you change in your community?”
or even “How would you change the world?”
Then, they work on designing solutions that
involve design thinking and service learning.

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Ll a u n c h

Resources for this phase

If you look in the Resources folder, you’ll notice
What Design Thinking Looks Like in Each
Subject. This document has a great survey of
starting places for the design thinking process.
Also, check out the free Create a Sport design
thinking project.

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phase two
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L a u n c h

Ask tons of questions

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L a u n c h
Sparked by curiosity in the Look, Listen, and Learn phase,
students move to the second phase, where they ask tons of
questions.

Note that these questions will be all over the place and that’s
okay. Some of the questions might be research questions (how
does this work?), criteria questions (how will the thing I be
creating work?), or market questions (what can you tell me about
the audience?). But that’s okay. They’ll be answering these
questions throughout the entire LAUNCH process.
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L a u n c h

the goal is to
chase your
curiosity. 48
L a u n c h

not all of the

questions will work
This phase allows students to initiate the inquiry process. Some
of the questions will be off topic. Some will be abandoned along
the way. But when they are able to ask their own questions, they
grow more curious, more excited, and more empowered to own
the creative process.

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L a u n c h

we have to reduce the

fear of asking questions. 50
L a u n c h

Michelle Baldwin is an amazing teacher in Colorado. I once had

the chance to observe her inquiry-based classroom and, honestly,
it blew me away. When I asked her how she created that type of
classroom culture, she said, “My students are not afraid to ask
questions.” Then she said something that stuck with me
forever . . .

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L a u n c h

“sometimes the bravest thing

you can do is ask a
question.”-michelle baldwin

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L a u n c h

Resources for this phase

Check out Question Stems in the Resource
Folder. You can use these with students who
need additional scaffolding for asking questions
in the Ask Tons of Questions phase of the
LAUNCH Cycle.

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phase three
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L a u n c h

understand the
process or problem 55
L a u n c h

After asking questions, students will have a clear picture of what

they need to figure out.This leads to understanding the
process or problem through an authentic research experience.
They might conduct interviews or needs assessments, research
articles, watch videos, or analyze data.Think of this as the
research part of research and development.

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L a u n c h

Research is more than just going

online and reading text. It
involves things like watching
videos, listening to audio, or
observing a phenomenon.
Students might create
community needs assessment
surveys or they might do we need a bigger
interviews with experts. definition of research
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L a u n c h

Resources for this phase

There is a video I created that goes through the
research process for informational text online.
You can find this sketch video in the Resource
folder.

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phase four
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L a u n c h

Navigate ideas
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L a u n c h
Students apply that newly acquired knowledge to potential solutions.
In this phase, they navigate ideas. Here they not only brainstorm, but
they also analyze ideas, combine ideas, and generate a concept for
what they will create.Next, they will create a plan for their initial
prototype. This plan can be a detailed plan of action or simply an
annotated sketch.

Here’s where design thinking differs compared to other projects. Each

group will be deciding on what they will design rather than following a
project paper that the teacher designs. In other words, they are
designing a prototype rather than following a recipe.
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L a u n c h

a different approach to brainstorming

Here’s a different approach to brainstorming. It’s not perfect and it takes a little bit longer,
but it’s something that’s worked well for me. Feel free to take it or leave it.

First, students brainstorm alone. Some choose a list while others choose a web. By
allowing students to choose the format, I am able to respect student agency. Student hear
the implicit message, “This is your mental space. Choose a style that works for you.”

Next, they meet together as a group. We have one rule in this phase: No judgment. This
means no criticism or commentary. Students are not analyzing the quality of ideas. The
goal is to reduce fear and boost self-efficacy. It’s a chance to take creative risks.

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 L a u n c h
I don’t set a timeframe on these first two stages. Sometimes we even brainstorm on multiple days
and students borrow ideas from seemingly unrelated fields. By coming back to a brainstorm after a
period away, students avoid some of the tunnel vision that can happen in the moment. Next, we
have a member of another group join the brainstorm and add any fresh ideas they hadn’t
considered. This helps reduce the groupthink that can occur within a team. Sometimes we run this as
a jigsaw.

The group then meets together again. They add ideas to the existing brainstorm and combine
similar ideas. It’s a final chance to engage in flexible, divergent thinking. Finally, they will analyze,
evaluate, and narrow down ideas until they have a single, coherent concept. This phase can
sometimes be tense and contentious, but it is also a vital moment for each group to engage in
healthy conflict resolution.

This entire brainstorming process reduces groupthink and while ensuring that everyone’s voice is
heard.

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L a u n c h

after brainstorming,
they find the p.a.r.t.s.
for what they will
create.
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L a u n c h

After brainstorming, students

should have a solid picture in
their mind of what kind of
product they will be creating.
Note that “product,” can also
be a digital product, a
product idea service, or an event.

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 L a u n c h

If students began with

empathy, then they will have a
strong sense of who their
audience is. But if they began
with the product in mind, this
is where they really hone in
on who their audience is and

Audience
how that will help drive their
design.

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L a u n c h

In some cases, the teacher

might assign roles. In other
cases, students will negotiate
roles on their own.

Role
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L a u n c h

This is a chance for students

to create a list of tasks they
need to accomplish as well as
the deadlines they need to
meet.

Tasks
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L a u n c h

Every great product is a solution.

Even something like a novel is
solving a problem — to entertain
you while also pushing you to
think differently about life.
Students should be able to
define how their future prototype

Solution will solve a problem.

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L a u n c h

as students navigate
ideas, they engage in
project management.
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L a u n c h

Resources for this phase

I have included the brainstorming process video
that you can use with your students. You can
find this in the Resource folder in this toolkit.

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phase five
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L a u n c h

create a prototype
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L a u n c h

In this next phase, they create a prototype. It might be a digital

work or a tangible product, a work of art or something they
engineer. It might even be an action or an event or a system.
Note that this is the part that is most often seen as “real”
creativity. However, the creative process began back when
students were asking questions, engaged in research, and
creating a concept of what they would create.

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L a u n c h

The prototype might be something

physical. Here, hands-on is actually
requiring students to use their hands.
Students might design a roller coaster
Sometimes you or engineer a bridge. But it can also be

make physical something that more closely resembles

art rather than engineering.
products
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L a u n c h

The prototype might be something

digital. Students might work on creating
blogs, podcasts, or documentaries.
They might create their own Scratch
Sometimes you video game projects.
make digital
products
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L a u n c h

In this case, the prototype is not

something physical so much as an
act of service or an event. It might
even be a system. But the idea is that
students are designing something
Sometimes you that serves the community.
make a difference
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phase six
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L a u n c h

Highlight and fix

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L a u n c h

Next, they begin to highlight what’s working and fix what’s

failing. The goal here is to view this revision process as an
experiment full of iterations, where every mistake takes
them closer to success. Revision shouldn’t feel like a
punishment so much as an opportunity to refine and
improve on a product.

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L a u n c h

every mistake is another

iteration closer to success 81
L a u n c h

every roadblock is simply a

chance to solve a problem
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L a u n c h

Resources for this phase

I have included an Assessment Toolbox with the
20-minute peer conference system, the SWOT
grid, and the 5-minute student-teacher
conferencing system. These are all designed to
help improve the formative assessment process
during a design thinking project.

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phase seven
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 launch to an audience!

it’s ready to launch!

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 launch to an audience!

When it’s done, it’s ready to launch. In the launch phase, they
send it to an authentic audience. They might send it to a
specific group in the community or they might publish their
work online for the entire world. In some cases, they might
even share their finished product with the school. But the key
idea remains the same: it needs to be authentic for the
students; which is why it’s vital that students get the
opportunity to determine who their audience will be.

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 launch to an audience!

too often,
student work only
ends up on the
refrigerator
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 launch to an audience!

Too often, students publish their work and the audience is their
backpack. Maybe they take it home. Maybe it ends up on the
refrigerator. However, when they are able to send it to an
authentic audience, they grow more confident in their
creativity. The stakes are higher and they are typically more
motivated to do their best work.

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 launch to an audience!

when you launch, you are

saying, “i’m not afraid
to be known.”
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 launch to an audience!
Students can also share their process
along with their product. When this
happens, they can learn from one
another.

When I was a kid, I loved watching

Bob Ross (you know, happy little
share your trees). I know that there are more

journey influential artists of that era but that

didn’t matter. When he shared his
process, I wanted to paint.
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“become a documentarian
of what you do.”
- Austin kLeon -
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 launch to an audience!

The same thing is true of students. When they

share their journey, they inspire other students to
be makers.

One of my favorite examples is the Global Day

of Design that we created two years ago. It was
so awesome to see students sharing their design
journey online through social media!

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 launch to an audience!

global day of design

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 launch to an audience!
A few years back, we decided to launch a global collaboration
project. Our goal was simple. Try out design thinking for one day.
We chose a “throw away” day toward the end of the semester,
once testing was over and teachers had the permission to
experiment for just one day.

Just one day.

We knew that wasn’t enough. We knew that a single day wasn’t

enough to transform classrooms into bastions of creativity and
wonder.
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 launch to an audience!

Resources for this phase

If you’re interested in learning more about the
Global Day of Design, you can visit
globaldayofdesign.com to learn more.

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okay, but let’s
be real. 98
Design thinking sounds great but does it actually work in a
classroom with tight schedules, curriculum maps, and the
pressure to get kids to pass the standardized tests?

There is no easy answer here. There is no guarantee that it will

always work. But let’s take a look at these common questions.

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 What about the
time constraints?
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Design thinking takes time. There are no easy shortcuts. But one
of the lessons I learned is that it’s not about adding another thing
to my plate. It’s about rearranging the plate — or better yet,
letting students be the chefs.

In my experience, I cut down on direct instruction, cut out the

weekly quizzes, and allowed for more time for students to work
collaboratively and independently on their design projects.

It actually felt less rushed or frantic.

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what about the
curriculum map?
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Design thinking is essentially content neutral. You can use it in
any subject. If you check out the sample design project, you’ll
see the alignment to the Common Core reading standards. In
fact, I’ve included a document in the toolkit called Standards
Alignment and Design Thinking. I hope this helps.

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What about the test?
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There is never any guarantee that students will have the highest
test scores when they use design thinking. But design thinking
does involve teaching above the test. It increases engagement
by focusing on intrinsic motivation and student voice and choice.
So, in my experience, students are more motivated, more
focused, and achieve at higher levels. But . . . there is no
guarantee and the research on this question is inconclusive.

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 what if i don’t have
the best technology?
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Design thinking isn’t about technology. True, you can do
documentaries, blogs, podcasts, and coding projects. You can
prototype with a 3D printer. You can redesign your classroom to
create a makerspace.

But . . .

The most powerful force behind design thinking is creativity. And

that doesn’t require technology. In fact, things like cardboard
challenges encourage students to prototype with low-tech
materials.

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often the best choice in
technology is a
roll of duct tape 108
1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Take the leap!

Empower your students with
design thinking!
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 focus on one
project and see how
it goes.
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go out and make something

Awesome 111
 LOOKING FOR MORE?
Check out Launch: Using Design Thinking
to Boost Creativity and Bring Out the
Maker in Every Student.