Teachers using design thinking have reported that one of the challenges of getting started is how to assess this collaborative learning style. Los Angeles based art teacher, Rama Hughes stated “for me, it has been difficult to quantify my success with design thinking but that is something I am working on. Until the results are measurable and its worth proven, I think some teachers will have a hard time justifying it for their classes.” Similarly, Cristina Faulkner reported having difficulty with assessment when she first tried the method, but she was able to overcome it by focusing the assessments around reflective pieces and presentations.
Ms. Faulkner reflects on her strategy saying: “There is no testing in design thinking. Make something, Present something. Assessment through reflective pieces. We reflected on what we did and we evaluated how we did ourselves. I put pretty clear rubrics I know what to look for so that things are complete. This year I had them share their work with another class and the other class evaluated them. When you put your stuff out in public is falls where it falls or it stands on its own merit. We didn’t use those numbers in the grade but it helped in their final reflection.”
Resources
As a resource, Stanford d.School, posted two rubrics that can be used to evaluate student design thinking. The rubrics are best implemented with a teacher or coach observing learners going through a design process. Also found on the d.school K12 Wiki are a set of assessment prototypes created by the Henry Ford Learning Institute.
Let's Learn to Draw! 