Design Thinking Resources for Elementary School Teachers
Title and Link to the Resource
An Introduction to Design Thinking Process Guide
By: Hasso Plattner
Institute of Design at Stanford
https://dschool-old.stanford.edu/sandbox/groups/
designresources/wiki/36873/attachments/74b3d/
ModeGuideBOOTCAMP2010L.pdf
Design Thinking for Educators
https://designthinkingforeducators.com/
Buck Institute for Education
Project Design Rubric
http://www.bie.org/object/document/
project_design_rubric
ASCD Express: Design Thinking Adds Why to the
What and How of Learning
http://www.ascd.org/ascd-express/vol13/1315-
portnoy.aspx
Sesame Street: Mark Ruffalo: Empathy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_https://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_1Rt1R4xbM
Engineering Encounters
No, David! But Yes, Design!
By: Helen Douglass
https://s3.amazonaws.com/nstacontent/
sc1609_69.pdf?
Resource Description
This short and concise guide provides you with
the what, why, and how of implementing each
step in the Design Thinking Process. A teacher at
any instructional grade level could use this guide
to implement design challenges in their
classroom.
In addition to providing a free downloadable
toolkit, this website provides an example of a
teacher, school, and district designed challenge,
which features the Windward District on Oahu.
Teachers at any grade level can use this rubric to
guide the design of projects, as well as a source
to guide reflection and formative feedback. This
related document could be used to assist you
with your instructional planning:
● The Project Design Overview and Student
Learning Guide:
http://www.bie.org/object/document/proje
ct_design_overview_and_student_learning_
guide
This article describes the process and advocates
for its importance within the context of a design
challenge implemented at the New York Hall of
Science. Of note, their process of “taking points
of view, defining opportunities to extend
inquiry, creating possible solutions then testing
them” is an approach that aligns well to any
scientific investigation or engineering challenge.
Also noteworthy is the use of a concept map to
define the problem.
This short 2½-minute video might be used to
introduce the concept of empathy to our
youngest elementary students.
This article documents how Kindergarteners
were introduced to the Design Thinking Process
through the story, “No, David!” A “Lessons at a
Glance” table is provided which describes what
students may do, what the teacher does, as well
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Design Thinking with Elementary Students
(1st Grade)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvqST2ggvA0
Educational Leadership
Kidding Around with Design Thinking
http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-
leadership/oct17/vol75/num02/Kidding-Around-
with-Design-Thinking.aspx
Design Thinking at Heatherwood Elementary
http://createdu.org/success-stories/student-
achievement-and-engagement/elementary-school-
projects/
Engineering Encounters
How to Develop an Engineering Design Task
By: Chelsey Daukenbring, Brenda Capobianco, and
David Eichinger
https://www.nsta.org/store/product_detail.aspx?
id=10.2505/4/sc14_052_02_70
as planning tips at each step of the design
process. Connections of each activity to the
Next Generation Science Standards are also well
documented.
This resource provides an example of how
Design Thinking can be implemented within the
context of STEM instruction aligned to the NGSS.
The instructional unit is based on the
Performance Expectations for Grade 1 Structure
and Function, and K-2 Engineering. For their
design challenge students were asked to
empathize with an animals need for survival and
build an ultimate animal that could survive in
every environment.
This article documents how second grade
students engaged in the Design Thinking Process
to solve the problem of keeping their baby goats
safe at their school. Design Thinking at this
school is standards-driven, and the issue of
implementing these challenges while addressing
testing demands is discussed.
In this video, third grade students at
Heatherwood Elementary apply the Design
Thinking Process to redesign their school
cafeteria. Amazingly, the first phase of their
design solution dramatically improved the
cafeteria environment at no cost to the school.
This article describes how students can create
their own design challenge, which closely
parallels the Design Thinking Process. While a
client is identified, students would need to
empathize with their user in order to further
align to the DT process.