Identifying the Components of Design Thinking among Professors at Farhangian University of Tehran: A Student-Teacher Perspective

Professors are considered one of the inputs of the educational system and play a fundamental role in guiding vital teaching and learning processes. Therefore, the quality of the educational system is closely linked to the quality of its professors. Among the factors that seem to influence professors' ability to deliver high-quality teaching are the competencies of university professors. Hence, the present study aimed to identify the components of design thinking among professors at Farhangian University. This qualitative study employed a phenomenological approach. Participants in the research included student-teachers from Farhangian University in Tehran, selected using purposive sampling based on specific criteria. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, continuing until theoretical saturation was achieved. The findings were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Through in-depth analysis of the interviews, 352 codes were extracted and categorized into 36 main categories. Finally, these main categories were grouped under 9 components: "Empathy and Human-Centricity," "Problem Definition," "Collaboration and Teamwork," "Risk-Taking," "Critical Questioning," "Creativity and Innovation," "Prototyping," "Optimism and Impact," and "Evaluation and Improvement." Based on the results, it is imperative for professors at Farhangian University, who play a significant role in enhancing the quality of education for our country's future teachers, and considering that teachers should be designers of learning experiences, to focus more on developing skills in empathy, participation and teamwork, creativity, problem-solving, fostering motivation and optimism, nurturing curiosity, and strengthening design thinking, which equips teachers with the ability to confront complex educational challenges.