Design thinking in teacher education and its adoption in crafting assessment tools

This study aimed to explore how design thinking, a human-centered approach, can be used in crafting assessment tools in Teacher Education programs. Its ultimate goal was to develop a teachers’ guide for designing assessments based on the design thinking approach. The study employed a descriptive research design to examine the prevalence, depth, and perceived benefits of design thinking within Teacher Education programs. Data were gathered through a researcher-made survey questionnaire administered to 225 respondents, consisting of 18 teachers and 207 students, as well as interviews with randomly selected faculty members to support the findings. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to analyze and interpret the collected data. The study revealed a high extent of utilization of current strategies and approaches teachers use in designing student assessments (M=3.58), a high level of understanding and appreciation of design thinking among both teachers and students (M=3.77), and a strong perception of the usefulness of design thinking phases in crafting assessment tools (M=3.81). It also highlighted significant discrepancies between the perceptions of the two groups. The findings suggest that incorporating the design thinking phases, empathizing, defining, ideating, prototyping, and testing, into assessment tool development can significantly enhance classroom assessment practices by aligning them with the demands of 21st-century learning. The proposed teachers’ guide will be a valuable resource to help educators understand and apply the design thinking approach in crafting effective assessment tools. This guide is expected to benefit not only current faculty members but also future implementers and users.