Level Up Your Curriculum Series – Part 3
Why Design Thinking?
Game-Based Learning and Gamification transform education by making learning interactive, engaging, and fun—but how do we design these experiences effectively? Enter Design Thinking, a creative problem-solving approach that helps educators build meaningful, student-centered learning environments.
One of the most valuable things I learned while working on my MFA in Visual Communication Design was the design thinking framework. Design Thinking isn’t just for designers—it’s a framework that anyone can apply to any sort of problem-solving, including developing engaging, playful, and innovative learning experiences. By applying the Design Thinking framework, educators can confidently identify the root problems and challenges that need to be addressed to create lesson plans, games, and interactive experiences that truly connect with students and enhance learning outcomes.
Stages of design thinking
What is Design Thinking?
Design Thinking is a human-centered problem-solving framework that encourages creativity, empathy, and iteration. It’s widely used in product design, business, and technology, but it’s also an invaluable tool for educators.
The process is structured around five key stages:
- Empathize – Understand your students’ needs, struggles, and motivations.
- Define – Identify the core problem or challenge you want to address.
- Ideate – Brainstorm creative solutions without limitations.
- Prototype – Develop a small-scale version of your idea.
- Test & Iterate – Gather feedback, refine, and improve the experience.
🚀 Why It Works in Education:
- Encourages student-driven learning
- Supports creative problem-solving
- Creates flexible, responsive curricula
- Enhances engagement through active participation
Applying Design Thinking to Game-Based Learning & Gamification
The best game-based and gamified learning experiences don’t happen by accident—they are intentionally designed to maximize engagement and learning. Here’s how each stage of Design Thinking can be applied to creating educational games and playful learning experiences.
🔍 1. Empathize: Understand Student Needs
Before designing a game or interactive experience, identify what challenges your students face. What concepts do they struggle with? What motivates them? What learning barriers exist?
📌 Example: Many students find photography critiques intimidating due to a lack of vocabulary and confidence. By understanding this struggle, I created Lumen—a game that helps students practice critique language in a low-stakes environment.
📝 Activity: Conduct surveys, interviews, or casual discussions to understand your students’ perspectives.
🎯 2. Define: Identify the Learning Challenge
Once you understand the problem, clearly define the core challenge you want to address.
📌 Example: “How can we help students develop critique vocabulary in a way that is engaging, stress-free, and interactive?”
📝 Activity: Write a problem statement to clarify your focus. Keep it student-centered!
💡 3. Ideate: Brainstorm Creative Solutions
This is the fun part—brainstorm as many ideas as possible without judgment or limitations. Consider different types of game mechanics, interactive elements, or storytelling approaches.
📌 Example: Ideas for teaching photography critiques could include:
- A card game where students match images with critique terms.
- A role-playing activity where students take on the persona of famous photographers.
- A digital scavenger hunt to identify key photographic techniques.
📝 Activity: Use brainstorming techniques like mind maps, “Yes, and…” exercises, or rapid ideation.
🛠 4. Prototype: Create a Testable Version
A prototype doesn’t have to be perfect—it’s a small, simplified version of your idea that you can test with students.
📌 Example: Before finalizing Lumen, I created a basic card deck with printed definitions and sample images to see how students interacted with the concept. This helped refine the rules and structure before full development.
📝 Activity: Develop a low-cost, quick prototype using index cards, Google Docs, or simple online tools.
🔄 5. Test & Iterate: Gather Feedback and Improve
No design is perfect on the first try. Testing your game or activity with students allows you to see what works and what needs improvement.
📌 Example: During early Lumen playtests, students enjoyed the game but struggled with certain terminology. Based on their feedback, I adjusted the word choices and refined the definitions.
📝 Activity: Have students play or interact with your prototype, then ask for feedback through surveys or discussions. Adjust based on their input!
Bringing Design Thinking Into Your Classroom
You don’t have to design full-scale games to use Design Thinking—you can apply it to lesson planning, classroom activities, and even assessments.
🛠 Easy Ways to Start Using Design Thinking:
- Reframe an existing lesson using student feedback.
- Create a classroom challenge where students solve a real-world problem.
- Prototype a small game element (e.g., gamify a quiz with XP points).
- Let students design their own learning experiences using the Design Thinking process.
Final Thoughts
Design Thinking is a powerful tool for educators looking to create engaging, student-centered learning experiences. Whether you’re designing a full-scale game, gamified lesson, or interactive activity, this process ensures that your approach is intentional, iterative, and impactful.
By using Empathy, Defining challenges, Ideating solutions, Prototyping ideas, and Testing with students, you can create truly engaging learning experiences that make education more playful, interactive, and meaningful.
Let’s design better learning together! 🎨🎮📚
🚀 Next in the Series: Bringing Ludic Learning into Your Classroom: Practical Strategies
