Assessing d.learning: Capturing the Journey of Becoming a Design Thinker
The research explored the relationship of learning design thinking and assessing that progress. It addressed the questions: How can we understand what is learned in design thinking classes, and how assessments might contribute to that process in authentic ways? The study followed a reciprocal research and design methodology where basic research and the design of assessment solutions were ongoing, reciprocal, and related to each other in organic ways. We learned that the learning of design thinking dispositions and mindsets is an emergent journey—with various levels of sophistication, transformation, application, and integration. We introduce the concept of mindshifts to represent the developing and nascent epistemological viewpoints and instincts that are strengthened while becoming a design thinker. We review designs for tools that were based on the concept of mindshifts that include reflective and performance assessments and an assessment dashboard.
The article discusses the entry of standardised measurement into the educationalsystems of Sweden and Germany and the processes of shape-shifting associatedwith this process. In the first part of t ...