How to Solve Real School Problems with Design Thinking

 


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UeCyZcHoTLU

Student agency is defined as having the ability and the will to positively influence one’s own life and the world around them. It is the capacity to set a goal, reflect, and act responsibly to effect change. I had the honor of witnessing this firsthand with a team of six elementary school students who used Design Thinking to solve a very unique problem: a monkey in the cafeteria.

The Context

During the summer semester, our Director, Ms. Colley, presented a challenge. An adolescent male macaque had been visiting our elementary school, searching for food in the rubbish and even drinking hand sanitizer. The goal was clear: What could we do to keep both the monkey and the students safe so the animal wouldn't need to be relocated?

Empathy and Understanding

To solve this, we couldn't just guess; we needed to understand the "users." We started by learning about the power of empathy through a case study of an innovation architect who redesigned MRI scanners into adventure rides for children. Inspired, the students used the SEE-I (State, Elaborate, Exemplify, Illustrate) graphic organizer to unpack the concept of empathy.

We interviewed fellow students to understand their feelings. The insights were fascinating: while some felt "pity" for the animal losing its habitat, the majority were fearful of the unpredictability of wild animals.

Defining and Ideating

With this data, the team crafted a problem statement: “What can we do to not scare the monkey, have it stay safe, so it doesn’t get taken away and have a good life?”

We moved into divergent thinking, using the improv "Yes, and..." technique to build on ideas without judgment. Two categories emerged: creating a remote feeding area or educating the community.

Expert Insight

To test our assumptions, we interviewed ACRES, a local animal welfare organization. This was a turning point. We learned that feeding wildlife in Singapore is illegal because it alters behavior and causes aggression. We also learned practical safety tips, such as walking away calmly and not showing teeth.

Using this new critical knowledge (convergent thinking), the team abandoned the feeder idea to focus entirely on education.

Prototyping Solutions

The students transformed from learners into creators. They outlined exactly what the community needed to know—distance, diet, and safety.

  • One team filmed short educational videos using iMovie.
  • Another designed digital posters in Keynote.
  • A third group created a full lesson plan and slide deck for teachers, complete with a reflection piece and a supplementary storybook.
  • Finally, our webmasters built a Google Site to house all these resources.

Design Thinking provides the scaffold for true student agency. These students didn't just learn about macaques; they identified a problem, consulted experts, pivoted their strategy based on data, and built real-world solutions to keep their community—and their wild neighbor—safe.

Learn more about design thinking in education here: lpbeta.org/book

Resources Used:

ACRES: ​​https://acres.org.sg/

SAS Summer Semester: https://www.sas.edu.sg/academics/summer-semester

Music from epidemicsound.com

“From the Heart” by Ballpoint

“Pomme” by Ch@ntarelle

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