Components of Design Thinking in Spatial Design Education and a Model Proposal

Design thinking, defined in its simplest form as a creative problem-solving process, is interpreted in various ways in the literature, with differing models and components. This study, motivated by the need to identify gaps in existing approaches and to clarify the concept of design thinking, aims to define its key components within the context of spatial design education. To achieve this objective, the study employed qualitative research methods. To collect data, the study utilized both a literature review and content analysis techniques. By categorizing the collected data, it was concluded that design thinking consists of three fundamental components: cognitive-rational, emotional-intuitive, and practical. These components were elaborated upon with subcategories based on literature data, and a comprehensive model proposal for use in space design education was developed. The proposal put forward in this study is significant in clarifying the concept of design thinking and its constituent components. On the other hand, the potential of the proposed model to offer guiding alternatives for the problem-solving process in design studios at various levels and to make design thinking more explicit can be attributed to the pedagogical contributions of this study. From a practical perspective, the study is considered to have the potential to directly inform practice by proposing concrete and applicable steps that can be implemented within the design process. For future research based on this study, it is recommended that the potential contributions of the proposed model be explored through its application in actual design processes. Furthermore, expanding the theoretical scope by questioning different approaches to the components of design thinking is also suggested.