Reflective Report on Design Thinking Activities

Running head: DESIGN THINKING
Design Thinking
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1DESIGN THINKING
Contents
Introduction:...............................................................................................................................2
Discussion:.................................................................................................................................2
Personal Development:..........................................................................................................2
Strengths:............................................................................................................................3
Weaknesses:.......................................................................................................................5
Knowledge management:.......................................................................................................6
Conclusion:................................................................................................................................9
Action Plan:................................................................................................................................9
References:...............................................................................................................................11
Appendix 1: First Blog Post.....................................................................................................15
Appendix 2: Second Blog Post................................................................................................16
Appendix 3: Third Blog Post...................................................................................................17
Appendix 4: Fourth Blog Post..................................................................................................18
Appendix 5: Fifth Blog Post....................................................................................................19
Appendix 6: Sixth Blog Post....................................................................................................20
Appendix 7: Seventh Blog Post...............................................................................................21
Appendix 8: Eighth Blog Post..................................................................................................22
Appendix 9: Ninth Blog Post...................................................................................................24

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Introduction:
Reflective writing practice is an essential learning strategy that allows individuals to
learn from their own academic and professional experiences. Using this strategies, students
and professionals can reflect upon their observations and develop ideas by linking their
knowledge upon it and explore their own ideas regarding their experiences (Gould & Taylor,
2017). Studies by Taczak and Robertson (2017) showed that reflective writing helps to
develop meta-cognition among individuals, which can support their learning process and
professional development. Their studies also show that such practice also helps to develop
analytical skills of students and professionals as it allows them to reflect upon their own
thinking process and how they feel about specific experiences as well as why they think in
such a way. This practice helps to identify the key assumptions and preconceived ideas that
influence the thinking process of both oneself as well as others. Such conclusions have also
been supported by the studies of Beech et al. (2017) who pointed out those reflective
practices such as journal or blog writing can improve learning among students and
professionals and develop a better insight upon their learning experiences (Carey et al.,
2017).
The aim of this reflective report is to reflect upon my academic journey, presenting a
critical self-analysis and reflection on my learning experiences as a result of experiencing
Design Thinking activity within this unit with a consideration of my personal as well as
knowledge development through the unit of Design Thinking topics. Based on this an action
plan of key events and activities will also be developed which I can undertake in the next 6
months in order to acquire more knowledge, skills and behaviors for further development.
Discussion:
Personal Development:

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Through my engagement with this unit, I was able to identify some of my key
strengths and weaknesses which influenced how I was able to complete the unit to achieve
the learning outcomes. Working on the design thinking activities, I had the opportunity to
work within a group of students which allowed me the chance to utilize my knowledge in a
more effective manner. This also helped me to understand strategies to best use my strengths
and also how to overcome my weaknesses based on which I could develop an action plan for
further development and improvement (Cox, 2017). Discussed below is an analysis of my
strengths and weaknesses which I was able to identify as a result of experiencing the Design
Thinking activities.
Strengths:
Critical Thinking: This is the ability to analyze how and why an individual thinks in a certain
manner and how show evidence of the important ideas. This process helps to overcome
personal biases and helps an individual to evaluate their thinking process in a self directed,
self monitored, self corrective and self disciplined manner. According to Stupple et al.
(2017), critical thinking helps to achieve higher order of excellence and development of
effective communication for representation and outlining of ideas and concepts of an
individual. Through my engagement with Design Thinking activities, I was able to develop
amd implement critical thinking on the concepts that were learnt in the unit in order to
understand how to utilize them effectively in the activities (Kong ̧2014; Jacob et al., 2017).
Willingness to learn new things: This is an important aspect for any learner as it makes them
more receptive to identify and learn new ideas and knowledge and thereby developing their
own understanding and knowledge base. This also allows students to improve themselves
through academic and professional development. I have shown my willingness to learn new
things by my ability to gain ideas from others while working in a group in the last class
assignment. This has helped me to understand different perspectives of other students and

4DESIGN THINKING
identify new information or insights which were different from my own. It is also opined by
Adnan et al. (2017) a willingness to learn can help professionals to develop learning, improve
interpersonal skills and interactions as well as improve personal attributes such as creativity,
problem solving skills, intellect and analytical skills (Coelho et al., 2015). Thus through my
willingness to learn I was able to promote development of my skills and knowledge.
Observation Skills: According to Larssen et al. (2018), effective learning is supported by
good observations through which individuals are able to identify important ideas and
concepts which promote learning among individuals and capture evidence of learning.
According to the authors, the process of observation can be used as a tool by learners to
promote effective learning (Gurwin et al., 2018). During the design thinking activities I was
able to use by keen observation skills to collect primary data in the form of participant and
non participant observations which helped me to develop strong insights on the learning
process.
Ability to work in a group: Different studies have shown that study groups can significantly
help in the development of learning during which individuals can share their knowledge and
learning in a form of a mutual learning or peer-to-peer learning approach which can include
the studies by Eriksson (2017), Zhang et al. (2017), Vilsmaier et al. (2015) and Boud et al.
(2014). Through effective group work, I was able to focus on the problems related to the café
and was able to define and identify the problem using 10 tools that were were able to identify
during week three and develop a plan for group work.
Communication Skills: Communication skills are of vital importance to work in a group
which helps in effective transmission of knowledge and ideas and thus helps in both personal
anf group performance (Vermylen et al., 2017). Throughout the design thinking activities, I

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was able to use my communication skills to work in a group and develop my understanding
of the main concepts of the activity.
Weaknesses:
Technical Skills: Technical skills are necessary to understand technical concepts related to the
the design thinking process and understanding the technologies which can ensure a quality
product development. During the week six of the activities were introduced to technologies
such as 3D printing and additive layer manufacturing with which I had a significant challenge
to completely master. Because of this I also had difficulties in the design process to
implement these technologies in the activities (Gordon et al., 2017).
Time Management: Studies by Grissom et al. (2015) have shown that effective time
management is essential for improving the productivity and effectiveness of individuals in
their job roles. This can help an individual to complete their work in a time bound manner
and help them to follow a controlled schedule and thus deliver a project in a timely manner
(Kerzner & Kerzner, 2017). During the unit activities, I often struggled to manage my time,
as a result of which several activities ended up taking a lot of time to complete and affected
the productivity as also increased a sense of stress on me and my team members.
Problem Solving: According to Özsoy and Ataman (2017), effective problem solving is
necessary for the learning process, and helps in the internalization of knowledge, connecting
existing information with new situation to find solutions to various problems. In the design
thinking activities, me as well as my group faced difficulties overcoming several problems
we faced throughout the unit.
Data Analysis: This is an important ability that helps individuals to make sense of data
through effective analysis and visualization of the data to make a meaning out of it (Hazen et
al., 2014). During the unit activities, ineffective data analysis led to misleading information