Improving Design Project Management in Remote Learning

María Belén Calavia, Teresa Blanco (), Roberto Casas and Belén Dieste
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María Belén Calavia: Howlab—Human Openware Research Group, Aragon Institute of Engineering Research (I3A), University of Zaragoza, C/Mariano Esquillor, s/n, 50018 Zaragoza, Spain
Teresa Blanco: Howlab—Human Openware Research Group, Aragon Institute of Engineering Research (I3A), University of Zaragoza, C/Mariano Esquillor, s/n, 50018 Zaragoza, Spain
Roberto Casas: Howlab—Human Openware Research Group, Aragon Institute of Engineering Research (I3A), University of Zaragoza, C/Mariano Esquillor, s/n, 50018 Zaragoza, Spain
Belén Dieste: Department of Education Sciences, University of Zaragoza, C/Pedro Cerbuna, 12, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 17, 1-25

Abstract: Design Thinking has the potential to train the soft skills of preservice teachers who will need to continuously design their future towards sustainable education. However, Design Thinking is intrinsically complex, and managing its learning and projects with large groups is not straightforward, especially in remote situations such as COVID-19. From collaborative work among disciplines, this study introduces a Design Thinking-based board to improve the implementation and management of remote design projects. This board was applied with university-level preservice teachers who worked in teams to design instructional materials for preschool. We assessed the perception of the usefulness of the board by the preservice teachers and the teachers responsible for their training, using mixed methods in two consecutive courses. The board was perceived as helpful in developing design projects and improving collaborative learning. It was beneficial for the management, monitoring, and communication, enriching the project process and outcomes. From the achieved learning, we provide guidelines for designing and using these boards to aid educators and researchers in integrating Design Thinking and developing practical and sustainable solutions. This study contributes to the natural integration of Design Thinking and technology in preservice teachers’ education with a replicable and flexible process, improving the quality of education for future generations.

Keywords: improving teaching soft skills; design thinking for education; preservice teachers training; Trello; collaborative learning; COVID-19 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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