OPTIONAL
DESIGN THINKING- I MAKE THE CHANGE!
By Order of the Minister of Education no. 4,165 of April 5, 2024, document published in the Official Gazette of April 29, 2024, approved the optional "Design Thinking - I make the change!", proposed by the All Grow Association. The discipline can be studied in the 3rd and 4th grades, but also in the 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th grades, for the duration of one school year, in one hour per week.
The curriculum of the integrated optional subject "Design Thinking - I make the change!" was developed by the All Grow Association, in collaboration with a group of teachers who undertook the piloting of this project. The current curriculum was developed based on over six years of experience working with the Design Thinking method, within the "Change Architects" project.
This program is structured in five steps, which correspond to the five stages of the Design Thinking process and which is completed in the form of a social innovation project for the community. Each stage (Empathize, Imagine, Act, Reflect and Communicate) contributes step by step to the realization of the project, through collaborative and experiential learning.
The optional "Design Thinking - I make the change!" it is part of a postmodern educational approach, with specific features - on the one hand, but also with interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary relationships - on the other.
The novelty element is the students' contribution both to the development of the local and global community, through social innovations. During the activities, students develop their critical competencies and skills, among which we mention problem solving, empathy, collaboration, communication, critical thinking, creative thinking, reflective thinking, but - perhaps most importantly - confidence in their own ability to make change ( self-efficacy). Thus, by carrying out projects within this optional subject, students will identify concrete solutions, contributing to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals identified by the United Nations.
