Every successful project begins with questions that need answering, things that need solving, the exploration of possible solutions, possible answers, the prototyping and testing phase, and, ultimately, implementation. Today, we recognize this methodology as design thinking, a term which gained popularity after this article was published by Harvard Business Review in 2008.
In the post-secondary and experiential learning space, leadership ‘in the know’, unsurprisingly, lean into design thinking to effectively strategize, organize, and deploy experiential learning with impact. Those who do it best recognize the high value in the assessment phase of this thinking – research, legislators, etc; and doing so leads to more sustainable, scalable, and significant strides.
This research paper, titled “Testing Assessments of Integrated Experiential Learning,” is a collaborative effort involving Bill Heinrich, our Director of Mindset; Eleanor Louson from Michigan State University; and Patrice Ludwig, Seán McCarthy, Erica Lewis, and Nick Swayne from James Madison University. Published by IGI Global, the paper delves into an exploration of pedagogy, instruction, and assessment methods through the analysis of two case studies. The study focuses on the diverse aspects of data types, collection, and analysis, aiming to highlight the implications of three distinct assessment approaches. The paper underscores the significance of design thinking and emphasizes the importance of assessing its application to accurately determine the overall success of a project after its launch.
