Design thinking is a buzz word these days. So what you as a parent should know about it and how it is related to Thinklum robotics school classes.
Design thinking is a process that results in a new concept or product. So lets have a look how it is connected with robotics classes and coding robots.
The 6 stages of Design Thinking are:
- Understand
- Observe
- Define
- Ideate
- Prototype
- Test
Understand. You learn about users, discover their expectations and which elements of the system or product are the most important to them. It is not about creating something superficial but rather what really needed. This is exactly what we do during our weekly robotics classes. We earn about the problem and create a project, a robot that represents a final product and solves real life problems efficiently.
Observe. On this stage it could be much more clear what should be done. And the task is to look at the robotics product consumers. And understanding better how your robot project may really help. It is hard to perform these activities during a robotics class session however we try to simulate it and work on empathy and imagination.
Define. At this stage you analyse the problem based on information from two previous phases. Problem analysis and problem solving are essential part of the process during a robotics class. Usually the best way would be to start with “how could we …. using robotics”. And this is where a process of robotics project brainstorming starts.
Ideate. Let your imagination fly free, accept all ideas in order to solve a problem. Kids love it a lot because it lets them use their natural creativity and knowledge in building robots and coding.
Prototype. Prototyping is an essential part of any product design and build process. Usually we would use paper and either draw the design of a model or even build a model of a robot in paper if it makes sense.
Test. During this stage you test your product or system. We have plenty of testing in our robotics class to check, adjust and improve our robots and robotics systems.
This is how robotics relate to design thinking. Every kid who attends our robotics classes will learn a lot about the process of designing and building robots.