7 tips for better virtual group work with design thinking

“Virtual learning”. It’s a phrase that brings up many different reactions for teachers. Thoughts like, “whew – here we go again,” and “gosh, I miss hugging my kiddoes,” are two that come to my mind. But online or in-person, any teacher will tell you that the happiest moments happen when you see that click—when the lightbulb dances over your student’s head and you know they get it.

In this post, we talk about how to use design thinking to make more of those moments happen in your online classroom, particularly when it comes to group work. We’ll cover a basic intro to design thinking, plus seven tips for teachers. If you’re already familiar with the process, feel free to skip ahead to the tips!

What even is design thinking? Design thinking is one approach to solving problems, common in technology professions (and many others as well). It creates structure so teams can work together to design solutions to problems in a way that keeps the “stakeholder”—the intended user of the eventual solution—at the forefront.

Want to explore “design thinking” on your own or with your students? Open P-TECH has a course for that! Check it out, here.

In the design thinking process, a team first observes its stakeholders to empathize with their experiences and needs. This step often includes building an empathy map. An “empathy map” is a way to better understand the stakeholder’s experience so you can make sure you’re building the right solution for the right problem.

Next, the team reflects on what they’ve learned together and defines the problem. Then smaller groups or individual team members come up with ideas they believe will solve the stakeholder’s problem. The team then comes back together to discuss their ideas and decide how to move forward. And then it’s all about building their solution. In this loop, the solution or “prototype” is designed, tested with stakeholders, re-designed, and re-designed again until the best solution has been built.

A main idea behind design thinking is “restless reinvention”. Going back to the drawing board can be a good thing: it allows teams to create the best solution for their stakeholders.

Let’s be real: group work is sometimes the bane of a student’s existence. Working with others isn’t always easy, especially if the team can’t agree on where to focus or how to complete a project.  But what if you could send your students off to complete a group project with a framework that ensures every member of the group could contribute in a meaningful way? A framework that isn’t just useful right now but will be useful in the future as your students enter the workforce?

Design thinking is that framework. It offers a roadmap for collaboration and guides the problem-solving process so students can work cooperatively and appreciate what their classmates are bringing to the table. It ensures each person gets to contribute their thoughts, ideas, and values. And it requires teams to come to a consensus on how best to proceed. This means every student is truly seen and valued.

Of course—as every teacher knows all too well these days—virtual group work and virtual brainstorming can be really tough. So, I talked to Stevie Thuy Anh, a Design Director and Senior UX Designer at IBM, who explained how teachers can easily adapt design thinking for remote group learning. As they put it, design thinking exercises are “absolutely” possible to handle in virtual spaces and can actually make virtual learning more effective.

Stevie, who has been teaching at Simon Fraser University’s School of Interactive Arts and Technology since 2014, has seven tips to help fellow educators get started. Here they are:

There are usually big groups and smaller groups in a design thinking project: maybe your entire class is tackling one problem, but students split into smaller groups to brainstorm. To keep students engaged, make sure these breakout groups aren’t too Stevie recommends no more than seven students to a group. As they put it, big groups in a virtual setting “make it easier for people to disappear or feel like someone else is going to contribute.” Sound familiar? This is when your shyer students might exercise their tendency to fade into the background. But one of the goals of design thinking sessions is to bring out every student’s voice.

When you are working in a bigger group, consider “going round robin.” Stevie considers this a “really great facilitation method” because more students outside of the typical volunteers get the chance to speak up and voice their thoughts. When you introduce an exercise and give students a few moments to record their personal answers or thoughts, consider “asking your shyer students to contribute [their] stickies first.” This helps even those quiet kids feel successful—and that’s one of things you love to see an educator.

For example, the empathy map (used to map stakeholder needs) can be done ahead of time. “[The empathy map] is a really useful group activity but it’s also definitely something you can do beforehand, as homework, or on a prep call. That alignment isn’t something you need to do synchronously.” This will help you save time, and it’ll allow you to save your time together for the really important collaboration.

Group work driven by design thinking requires collaborative brainstorming. In-class, you might hang up poster paper around the room and ask your different student groups to add their ideas using sticky notes, starting each team in front of a different piece of paper. Brainstorming virtually can be trickier.

Fortunately, there are tons of free virtual whiteboard resources If you aren’t already using a virtual whiteboard, consider testing a few out. With a virtual whiteboard, you can re-create sticky note ideation sessions online, allowing students to share ideas in real time.

Prior to beginning a group project based on design thinking, ask students to come up with “community guidelines.” This allows students to work together to decide how they want to participate and communicate with each other. The guidelines become a contract that keeps students accountable and helps students solve conflict. They can be particularly useful in a virtual setting where misunderstandings happen more frequently. Feel free to add some of your own parameters, too. Wink, wink.

This allows them a chance to contribute in a lower-stakes way. While they won’t feel under pressure to come up with an idea or a point to share, they can still be an important part of the conversation by facilitating.

“Knowing, specifically, what your area of focus is” is extremely important, explains Stevie. As the primary facilitator, you’ll want to help your students to stay focused on the problem they’re trying to solve—particularly in bigger group sessions. Design thinking encourages big, expansive brainstorming, so you’ll want to act as a guardrail to help bring students back to their main purpose at each stage of the process.

“A problem with design thinking sessions in general is that people sometimes view them as a waste of time if they don’t get to see a tangible outcome after a big conversation. So, it’s always a good idea to wrap up each session by clearly summarizing next steps and explaining how everyone can move forward,” adds Stevie, in conclusion.

So, now, armed with these tips, a vat of coffee, and all of your teacher passion, get out there and get your kids thinking! Design thinking, that is!

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