Do you remember classes where people fell asleep with their eyes open? Presentations during which most of the room scrolled on their phones? Workshops from which the most you could take away was a few sheets of doodles?

The world is changing, and education should too

For decades we relied on a simple model: the expert speaks, the listeners take notes, and everyone pretends something has stayed with them. This way of delivering knowledge took shape at a time when access to knowledge was limited and memorising information was crucial. Today we live in a world overloaded with information. Access to knowledge is everywhere. The real problem is knowing how to apply it.

And this is exactly where engaging methods such as design thinking come in.

What exactly is design thinking?

Design thinking is an approach to problem solving that puts the emphasis on:

• empathy: a deep understanding of users’ needs,
• collaboration: team thinking in place of individual thinking,
• experimentation: prototyping and testing in place of theorising,
• iteration: improving solutions on the basis of feedback.

And design thinking is only one of them. There is a whole family of methods: problem-based learning, storytelling, gamification, educational games and many more. Everything that turns participants from passive recipients into active co-creators.

Why does it work?

Because it engages the brain on many levels at once. When you draw your ideas, move around the room, put up sticky notes, discuss with your group and test a prototype, you activate far more areas of the brain than during passive listening. The information is processed, connected with your experience and set in a specific context.

Because it creates meaning. Abstract concepts are hard to remember. What we do remember are stories, emotions and things we have made ourselves. When you work out a solution to a problem together with a team, that solution becomes yours. You understand it, so it stays with you.

Because it responds to real needs. Engaging methods start with questions: what do the participants really need? What problem are we trying to solve? Participants discover the right answers themselves, the ones that will actually be useful once they leave the lecture hall.

Who is it especially important for?

For anyone who wants their message to truly get through. And especially:

• for teachers who see students switching off in class,
• for trainers who want their workshops to change reality and do more than fill calendars,
• for leaders who need their team to be truly engaged, beyond a polite nod.

Where to start?

You can start engaging people long before you become a design thinking expert. Begin with small steps:

• Replace 10 minutes of monologue with a question to the group.
• Ask for a prototype in place of a description of the idea.
• Test, listen to feedback, improve.

Engaging methods are here to stay. They are an answer to how we actually learn, remember and change our behaviour. In a world full of information, the ability to engage others is a necessity.