Review of research on design thinking in K-12 education

Design thinking (DT) has drawn increasing attention in K-12 education. However, research on DT in K-12 education has not yet been comprehensively reviewed. The current review research attempted to bridge this gap in the field. Following the PRISMA guidelines, this review examined 40 empirical studies on DT in K-12 education, with specific emphasis on four key aspects: (1) research areas, (2) incorporation of DT into K-12 education, (3) methodologies, and (4) reported findings in reviewed studies. In terms of the first aspect, the main themes to analyze were identified as participant perspective, instructional intervention, learning assessment, and design mechanism. In terms of the second aspect, it was found that studies were conducted primarily in the context of design, technology, engineering, and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education in middle schools and durations ranging from three days to nine weeks. In terms of the third aspect, these studies typically carried out qualitative analysis of documents and administered questionnaires, interviews, and observations. The articles described the development of questionnaires, online games, and scales to evaluate DT. In terms of the fourth aspect, the findings showed that DT was welcomed by most participants, and it was capable of optimizing learning processes and helped promote student learning. DT can be developed not only through DT courses but also through programming learning. The effective way to DT was explained through time allocation, modalities, and iteration sequence exploration. Based on the findings, it may be concluded that DT is still in an early development stage in K-12 education, and so research on DT has not yet been broadly established with academic content learning. More studies on subject content learning supported by various DT elements, instruction based on design mechanisms, and technology-supported assessment in K-12 education are needed to impact the educational practice of DT.