‘But what can I do about it?’ How using Design Thinking in the classroom can increase advocacy in Year 11 girls · ICGS Research Library

Title

‘But what can I do about it?’ How using Design Thinking in the classroom can increase advocacy in Year 11 girls

Author

Adam Giblin (2021)

Year Published

2021

Description

This action research project introduced design thinking as an approach to problem solving with two classes of Year 11 students studying GCSE Religious Studies in an all-girls’ environment. Students were supported in developing skills of empathy, redefining problems of social injustice, exploring (or ideating) potential solutions, and planning their future actions. This was done with the aim of increasing their confidence to advocate for others. Student feedback, in the form of online surveys and focus group interviews, was used to show that after using Design Thinking, students felt greater confidence to advocate and had even begun to take small steps towards acting on behalf of marginalised groups. It was evident that students found engaging in personal acts of support, such as signing petitions or educating themselves, to be doable but needed greater support to engage with the more active advocacy behaviours, such as protesting.