76. Understanding the Limitations of Online Learning for ‘Design Thinking’ and Recommended Solutions for Preschoolers

As COVID-19 hit its peak in 2020, online classes became an important tool for students all over the world to continue uninterrupted learning. Conventional classrooms shifted to online classrooms which profoundly impacted teachers’ and students’ closed interaction, making a paradigm shift in the teaching–learning process. Most offline learning modules were reconstructed in a way to fit the online learning system. Although, the phenomenon of ‘design thinking’ has started gaining more and more importance over time; preschoolers’ creative learning seemed to have taken a huge toll over this process. The concept of Design Thinking improves children’s creativity, problem-solving abilities, communication, curiosity, teamwork skills as well as empathy. It allows children to explore their creative ideas freely in terms of cognitive developmental domains. This paper throws light on the limitations as well as basic solutions of the same. A total of 18 preschoolers were taken into consideration to carry out the survey as to how this shift affected their learning experience. This paper further elaborates the perception and opinions of various stakeholders involved. The common concern was that along with the children’s academic performances, their cognitive growth is also equally important, which can be enhanced through the introduction of design thinking modules. Being a creative and interactive activity, it is difficult to carry out in the entire e-learning process. The resultant outcome of this paper will thus aid in implementing solutions for the betterment of the students’ design thinking (problem-solving) abilities.