Getting Radical: Collaborative Design-based Thinking

Abstract

What does it mean to engage in radical collaboration? In this session, instructors who participated in a weekly Design-based Thinking community of practice shared some perspectives on how radical collaboration and design thinking work in tandem to resolve teaching and learning challenges. Design-based thinking and radical collaboration are approaches that incorporate common principles and strategies such as understanding people’s needs and issues, gathering diverse perspectives, prototyping and testing solutions, and reflecting on and engaging in iterative processes that lead to viable outcomes. Session participants were invited to engage in an experiential, design-thinking activity where they discussed obstacles that they or their students have had in collaborative teams and brainstormed ideas on possible solutions.