3. Solving Design Problems: A Blended Learning Approach Based on Design Thinking Features

Individuals encounter various problems every day in their workplaces. The problems might involve decision-making (e.g., Should I use a bell to help my trainees settle down quickly lunch?), trouble-shooting (e.g. How do I get this printer to work with the computer?), or design (e.g. How can I design a weather forecasting lesson activity for a 40-min class period?). One particular concern of many teacher trainees is solving design related problems. Design problems are the most complex and ill-structured type of problem. In this chapter, we first describe the characteristics of ill-structured problems and later discuss how people design, including design thinking. We then describe some limitations of the traditional classroom environment to support design problem solving, and propose a blended learning approach which incorporates design thinking features. We subsequently describe an empirical study that tested this blended learning approach to help students, who took an education elective course, design instructional programs such as web-based learning material and computer-based multimedia learning packages. Overall, we found significantly better students’ performance in their final design projects (M = 18.5, SD = 2.21) compared to previous students (M = 14.9, SD = 3.50), (t = −3.525, df = 33, p < 0.01) who did not utilize the blended learning approach based on design thinking features. We discuss several important lessons learned that could inform the design of future instructional strategies in implementing blended learning for the purpose of helping students solve design problems.