[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-600103-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":81,"doc-detail-600103-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":74,"head_meta":76,"extra_data":78,"updated_unix":80},105,"en","refining-a-pedagogical-approach-for-employing-design-thinking-as-a-catalyst","Refining a Pedagogical Approach for Employing Design Thinking as a Catalyst","","Growing interest in design and creative thinking in STEM and health education has led to many programs integrating design thinking into curricula, aiming to support creative problem-solving. However, students often receive minimal exposure, limiting their ability to apply the process in real-world settings. This study reports outcomes from a phenomenological case of a high-functioning interdisciplinary team in a health innovation project on aging with disability, identifying key designer and team attributes.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & Report",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/refining-a-pedagogical-approach-for-employing-design-thinking-as-a-catalyst/600103/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/refining-a-pedagogical-approach-for-employing-design-thinking-as-a-catalyst/600103.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"nayy☆","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-30","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",6,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59,65,69],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"Why do interdisciplinary teams sometimes struggle when design thinking is introduced to STEM and health disciplines?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"Design students may approach problems intuitively and opportunistically, while STEM and health disciplines are often algorithmic and systematic. This mismatch can create tension and reduce team effectiveness.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"What does the paper present about interdisciplinary teams working on health innovation?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"The paper shares outcomes from a phenomenological study of a high-functioning interdisciplinary team developing a health innovation focused on aging with disability, highlighting the skill set and key attributes required for meaningful contributions.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"What pedagogical approach does the paper propose?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"Based on the study findings, the paper proposes a pedagogical approach to better prepare design, STEM, and Health students, making them more competitive under changing economic expectations and improving design outcomes.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":75,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":77,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":79,"site_id":7},600103,1792172000,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":83},"success",[84,88,92,96,101,105,110,114,119,122,126],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":85,"show_sort_weight":86,"slug":87},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":89,"show_sort_weight":90,"slug":91},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":93,"show_sort_weight":94,"slug":95},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":97,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":98,"show_sort_weight":99,"slug":100},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":55,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":102,"show_sort_weight":103,"slug":104},"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":106,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":107,"show_sort_weight":108,"slug":109},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":111,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":112,"slug":113},8,30,"research-report",{"id":115,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":117,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":121},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":123,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":123,"slug":125},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":127,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":128,"show_sort_weight":97,"slug":129},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":131},{"doc_id":79,"user_id":132,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":111,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":55,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":144,"read_time":145},962090893153,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_9964176cb1d06d4a9deccf72a44ae3dc","Refining a pedagogical approach for employing design thinking as a catalyst  \nGudur Raghavendra Reddy, University of Canberra, Australia Deana McDonagh, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, USA  \nMaurita T . Harris, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, USA Wendy A. Rogers, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, USA  \nAbstract  \nThere is an increasing interest in design and creative thinking processes in the Sciences, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) and health education disciplines. Many new degree programs are integrating design thinking into their syllabi, with the intention of bringing creative problem-solving methods to these disciplines. In reality, the exposure these students get is minimal, and it does not provide enough foundation for them to use the knowledge and apply the process(es) in real-life situations. There is an increased awareness of the importance of design thinking in the innovative process. More and more STEM, business, and health establishments are embedding trained designers into their research teams – yet many designers are not equipped to work on interdisciplinary teams. Design students tend to approach problems more intuitively, opportunistically, and build on creative leaps of imagination whereas, STEM and health disciplines are often more algorithmic, systematic, and rationale. This can often generate tension in interdisciplinary teams, especially when traditional disciplines (e.g., Engineering, Sciences) are integrating relatively newer thinking (e.g., design thinking) .  \nIn this paper, we share the outcome of a phenomenological study on a high-functioning interdisciplinary team working on a health innovation project focused on aging with a disability. This case study illustrates the skill set needed for designers, health and technology professionals to make a significant contribution to its overall outcome. We identified key attributes that contribute towards being an effective member of interdisciplinary teams. Based on this study, we propose a pedagogical approach to better equip design, STEM, and Health students to be more competitive in changing economic expectations and ensure more impactful design outcomes.  \nKeywords  \ninterdisciplinary team, design thinking, design education, STEM education, design research.  \nIntroduction  \nThere is an increasing awareness that design thinking skills play a catalytic role in innovation outside the design domain. This realisation has resulted in an explosion of educational programs that integrated design thinking skills in their respective disciplines. This trend is especially evident in the Sciences, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) and health education disciplines (van der Sanden & de Vries, 2016) . There is an awareness that the inclusion of design thinkers in interdisciplinary teams produces much more effective outcomes.  \nOver the past decade, there has been increasing acknowledgment of encouraging a wider awareness of knowledge while concurrently developing a deeper level of expertise in a particular area. This is referred to as a T-Shaped educational model, expertise in one profession, and awareness of related professions (Baratta, 2017) . This educational model facilitates incorporating design and creative thinking skills as part of breadth knowledge and more holistic thinking. These efforts have resulted in an appreciation of design skills and designers in STEM and Health disciplines. However, the attitude and behaviour involved in a problem-solving activity are quite different in these disciplines, which may result in ineffective and unproductive teams.  \nThis case study builds on our earlier research (Reddy, McDonagh, Harris, & Rogers, 2020a) and further explores this phenomenon using a high-functioning interdisciplinary team working on a health innovation project focused on aging with a disability to illustrate the skill set needed fora designer to make a significant contribution in an interdisciplinary","cbCaitKIkYWlZxpx","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaitKIkYWlZxpx","pdf",413933,15,"English","# Abstract\n# Keywords\n# Introduction\n# Design","[{\"question\":\"Why do interdisciplinary teams sometimes struggle when design thinking is introduced to STEM and health disciplines?\",\"answer\":\"Design students may approach problems intuitively and opportunistically, while STEM and health disciplines are often algorithmic and systematic. This mismatch can create tension and reduce team effectiveness.\"},{\"question\":\"What does the paper present about interdisciplinary teams working on health innovation?\",\"answer\":\"The paper shares outcomes from a phenomenological study of a high-functioning interdisciplinary team developing a health innovation focused on aging with disability, highlighting the skill set and key attributes required for meaningful contributions.\"},{\"question\":\"What pedagogical approach does the paper propose?\",\"answer\":\"Based on the study findings, the paper proposes a pedagogical approach to better prepare design, STEM, and Health students, making them more competitive under changing economic expectations and improving design outcomes.\"}]","Refining a Pedagogical Approach for Employing Design Thinking as a Catalyst | PDF",1792090034,38]