"Design-Thinking" a Virtual Exchange: The Evolution of an Educational Innovation in a Teacher Education Course

• In Event: Technology, Instruction, Cognition, Learning: A Survey of Research

Abstract

Designing for global collaboration means dealing with the complexity of an interconnected world, understanding the needs of students and teachers, aiming to construct human-centered and experiential learning. This study describes how the use of design thinking principles (i.e., Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, Test) guided the integration of an educational innovation (i.e., the virtual exchange) into an existing educational technology course. Here, we will demonstrate how the five-stage model helped frame our pedagogical objectives (i.e., supporting students’ global collaboration and empowered learning skills). Findings in this study report how the design process facilitated an iterative, flexible model that aimed to be responsive to the needs of the learner (i.e., pre-service teachers).

Authors

• Nadia Jaramillo Cherrez, Oregon State University

• Benjamin William Gleason, Iowa State University