Learning objective
In this professional development module, you will explore Design Thinking as a user-centred and iterative approach to addressing complex problems. You will engage with its key phases both theoretically and practically and explore the potential of Design Thinking for schools and classroom practice. Particular emphasis is placed on how Design Thinking processes can foster sustainability and entrepreneurship competences as well as Computational Thinking or, more broadly, digital competences.
Learning outcomes
By the end of the course the participants will be able to...
- describe the fundamental principles, phases and objectives of the Design Thinking method, particularly in an educational context
- describe the key characteristics of Maker Education and provide examples of making activities that incorporate digital tools.
- define the concepts of Sustainability, Computational Thinking, and Entrepreneurship in relation to the European competence frameworks GreenComp, DigComp, and EntreComp, explain how these frameworks are embedded in national curricula for (upper) secondary education and outline how they can be specifically promoted through design thinking and maker education
- identify sustainability-related challenges within and beyond the school environment and analyse them from the perspective of affected stakeholders.
- iteratively develop abstract ideas into functional solutions through prototyping, applying aspects of computational thinking and using digital tools.
- describe methods for presenting project ideas and results in a concise and structured manner.
- design learning experiences in which students use digital tools to identify, analyse, and address sustainability challenges in their own school environment to foster social innovation.
- identify questions or problem contexts within their own subject and school environment that are suitable for Design Thinking, and discuss the criteria that should be used to assess their students’ performance.
Learning objective
By the end of this course, participants will have built a functional robot through the complete computational-making cycle and learned to translate that experience into a scaffolded learning sequence that develops both the technical and the collaborative, enterprising competences secondary students need to build and sustain a competition robotics team.
Learning outcomes
The participants can …
- Design, fabricate, and program a functional robot prototype by applying computational thinking practices across the full cycle: from problem framing through CAD modeling, 3D printing, microcontroller programming, and machine vision integration.
- Generate and evaluate creative solutions to open-ended design challenges, navigating ambiguity and technical constraints to converge on a viable approach.
- Plan and manage a collaborative robotics project by developing a shared vision, setting milestones, allocating roles, and adapting the plan in response to setbacks and shifting requirements.
- Work effectively in a team throughout the design-and-build process, negotiating technical decisions, leveraging diverse strengths, and giving constructive feedback under time and resource pressure.
- Reflect on their own learning experience in the workshop to identify how computational making and team-based project work develop both technical competence and transversal skills such as creativity, leadership, and resilience.
- Design a learning sequence that guides secondary students from initial exploration through to a competition-ready robot, scaffolding both the technical skills and the collaborative competences needed to build and sustain a team.
Computational Making for Secondary Teachers
In this course, we dive into the world of Computational Making, a pedagogical approach that combines the principles of Computational Thinking (CT) with hands-on, creative problem-solving activities.
This course offers a hands-on introduction to entrepreneurship by guiding students through the development of a business idea and plan. Through teamwork, creative thinking, and practical tools like the Business Model Canvas, target group analysis, and basic financial planning, students will design their own startup concept. The course combines core theory with hands-on activities and encourages the use of both textbook models and external research.