Blog Post #2: Applying Design Thinking to Learning About Race, Racism and Antiracism
Design thinking is a learning approach that focuses on understading people’s needs, defining problems, brainstorming solutions, creating prototype and testing ideas based on feedback. Instead of only learning information from readings, design thinking wants learners to apply their ideas to real-life situations. It values collaboration, reflection and empathy. Brown (2008) explains that design thinking begins wirh human needs, which makes empathy an important part of the process.
For our topic of race, racism and antiracism, design thinking connects well with my learning because I do not think this topic can be understood by only learning definitions; it requires me to listen to other’s experiences and think about how it can be applied in real situations. Learning about racism and antiracism involves understanding lived experiences and impact of decisions on different communities. Empathy stage of design thinking is important becase it encourages learners to listen before trying to solve the problem. For example, in an online learning platform where student could read personal stories, participate on discussion post and reflect on how racism appears in neighbourhoods, schools or workplaces.
However, there are also limits to design thinking. If it is applied too quickly, learners might jump to a solution without fully understanding the historical context and structural causes of racism. On the other hand, antiracism is not just a design challenge that can be fixed with with campaigns or posters, it requires much more than that. As Denaro et al. (2022) explain that racism can be built into systems and institutions, which connects to why antiracist learning should help students examine not only their individual attitude, but on larger structures.
Technology can help suppoert this approach, but I think it is important to remember that the tools we use shape how we communicate and learn from each other. For example, blogs allow students to connect course ideas to their own experiences, while peer comments can help other learners see from another perspectives. Overall, I think that deisgn thinking can support antiracist learning when used carefully and thoughtfully. For me personally, it is most important when empathy and reflection are not just treated as steps, but as ongoing habits that help me think about how I can apply what I learn in real situations.
image taken from: https://opl.educ.ubc.ca/anti-racism-awareness/
References
Brown, T. (2008). Design thinking. Harvard Business Review, 86(6), 84–92. https://designliteracy.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Brown-2008.pdf
Denaro, K., Dennin, K., Dennin, M., & Sato, B. K. (2022). Identifying systemic inequity in higher education and opportunities for improvement. PLOS ONE, 17(4), e0264059. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0264059