Cultivating Design Thinking in an Interdisciplinary Collaborative Project-Based Learning Environment

This case study investigates how students from three disciplines (i.e., architecture, interior design, and instructional design and technology) develop design thinking over an interdisciplinary collaborative project aiming at designing a learning space for K12 schools. The findings revealed the benefits of interdisciplinary collaborative project-based learning (ICPBL) for developing design thinking. Specifically, ICPBL enabled the interdisciplinary teams to go through the design processes (i.e., define, ideate, prototype), thus helping students to develop skills in identifying, understanding, and solving problems. Additionally, data revealed specific challenges encountered by the interdisciplinary teams due to misunderstandings, miscommunications, and different approaches used by students from different disciplines. The study also demonstrated the role of technology in enhancing communications and collaboration, which are crucial to the success of developing design thinking skills. This research provides implications for research and instructional design regarding facilitating students’ design thinking and problem-solving.