Design Thinking for Learning Design

Connie Malamed

The 21st-century workforce is unique; people have endless options for learning in the ways that best meet their needs. Yet many of the design and development models in L&D seem dated. That’s where Design Thinking comes in. It’s a modern approach to creative problem-solving that’s iterative, collaborative, experimental and fun. In this active session, we will explore how Design Thinking is a mindset as well as a method for generating innovative solutions. You will have an opportunity to participate in a Design Thinking cycle to see how this approach can stimulate ideas for creative, human-centered solutions that fit the modern workplace.

We’re going to think differently about learning experience design; use tools and techniques to develop empathy for learners/participants; ensure we’re solving the right problem and define them in a new way; use methods for generating ideas and solutions and discuss how to prototype and test our ideas.