Design Thinking in Student Affairs Workbook

The Design Thinking in Student Affairs Workbook was created by the Department of Special Projects Storytelling team in Ryerson Student Affairs. The workbook was designed as a tool to bring teams through a design thinking process for solving student issues and designing programs that focus on gaining empathy as the first step. The Design Thinking model was originally created at Stanford University and has been adapted by Lesley D’Souza, Manager of Student Affairs Storytelling, to include a sixth step, Storytelling.

This Workbook was also inspired by The Wallet Project, a 90-minute activity that takes groups through the design thinking process by asking them to interview each other, prototype, and test the design of a wallet. This resource is provided by Stanford d.school.

The Design Thinking in Student Affairs Workbook was first created and used in conjunction with the Design Thinking in Student Affairs presentation and workshop delivered at the Canadian Association of Colleges and Universities Student Services (CACUSS) annual conference, June 2017, in Ottawa, Canada. Presenters and collaborators included the Storytelling Team from the Department of Special Projects:

John Hannah, Director, Student Affairs Special ProjectsLesley D’Souza, ManagerTesni Ellis, Senior StorytellerDonica Willis, Storyteller: DesignBailey Parnell, Storyteller: MarketingVan Wickiam, Storyteller: Film

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Pre-ReflectionWelcome to Design Thinking in Student Affairs. It’s possible you’re sitting at a table with strangers and aren’t sure where to start. Or, you might be with your team and yet are still not sure where to start. Well, we thought some pre-reflection questions might help.

Table Talk//Reflection

What do you already know about Design Thinking?

Table Talk//Reflection

What do you hope to gain from working through this material?

Table Talk//Reflection

What will growth in this area look like for you?

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Design Thinking in Student Affairs: BackgroundWe’ve been designing programs in student affairs for decades. In that time, we’ve learned a lot about the need for rigorous assessment and data-informed decision-making when creating interventions with intentionality. However, our assessment cycles rarely mention empathy and storytelling.

Design-thinking is a process used by creative designers to build products that best fit the needs of their end users. The creative process is necessarily based around empathy to truly center design around the user. This model was created by Stanford School in 2007.

In combining these two models, and by adding Storytelling to the mix, educators can use empathy as a starting point from which our knowledge, skills, and experiences will then be directed. By starting with empathy, it makes natural sense that we close the loop with storytelling; both the telling of stories from our data, and the collection of new stories to inform the next cycle’s empathy.

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Design Thinking in Student Affairs: The ProblemAs a group, create a program/event/material that attempts to solve the following question by moving through the design thinking process:

How do we reduce barriers for students seeking involvement?

Student Stories

As an example of beginning in the EMPATHY phase, the following statements reflect actual student feedback surrounding this problem:

“I’m not from here and I couldn’t go to Orientation, so I don’t have any friends to go to these events with.”

“I commute 3 hours a day to and from school. I can’t really come early or stay late to go to events.”

“I want to join my friends at the pub, or go to those weekend workshops, but I have to pay for tuition and living, so I’m working three jobs. I can’t afford much more than what I’m already paying.”

“Honestly, I’m just socially awkward. I want to be involved, but I don’t know where to start.”

“I’m here to get my degree and get a job. I don’t find all the events relevant.”

“I use a wheelchair and don’t know who to ask for accommodations. I wish they would just reach out to me instead.”

Table Talk//Reflection

The question asks how can we “reduce” barriers. What about eliminating barriers?

Now, you’re ready to begin with the first part of the Design Thinking in Student Affairs process: EMPATHY.

EmpathyStart with

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EmpathyThe first part of the Design Thinking in Student Affairs process requires you to really connect with students. In this phase, you interview multiple students to find out what their experiences are. Note how it’s important to ask students “what is your experience” rather than “what do you need?” - the difference will generate problem-solving.

So, start by gaining empathy. What do students say, think, feel about the problem you’re trying to solve? For our purposes as an exercise, use one of the prompts provided on the last page as a starting point for understanding the student at hand:

In the student’s own words:

This student is telling me...

Define Goals and Outcomes

Next

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Define Goals and OutcomesNow that you understand the students you’re trying to engage with, it’s time to define the goals and outcomes of your program design. Remember that this is your goal, you already learned about the student’s’ goals and needs in the EMPATHY phase. While their goals should inform yours, you must also draw on your skills, knowledge, and experience in addition to your new empathy to create a great solution. Also, remember than an outcome is a measurable behaviour that happens as a result of your intervention. Tip: Articulate how you’ll know students achieved your outcome (ie: your assessment tools) within your outcomes and consider actually creating the tools at this time.

Goal

OutcomeStudents will be able to…

IdeateNext

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IdeateNow it’s time to drop all inhibitions. Don’t put limits on what ideas you can generate. In 5 minutes, individually generate 5 radical ideas for solving your problem and meeting your goals & outcomes. This encourages divergent thinking, so that you can converge on a great solution.

Idea 1

Idea 2

Idea 3

Idea 4

Idea 5

Share your 5 ideas with your team, and hone in on the one you want to move to the next phase.

Big Idea

Table Talk//ReflectionRemember your institutional context while you’re creating something new. What capacity or willingness is there to innovate? What can you do if you encounter resistance to innovation? Some managers may want to be involved from the beginning of the design process, and others may prefer to see a fully-fledged plan before they hop on board.

PilotNext

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PilotThe key here is testing your idea in a low-cost, low-investment way. It could look a variety of different ways, like a storyboard, a pilot group, a pitch, etc. In the PILOT phase you’re seeking feedback by connecting back to the students for whom you’re creating; it’s a reminder to empathize.

What does your PILOT look like? What kind of questions do you ask students about your proposed solution?

Implement, Assess and Interpret

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Implement, Assess and InterpretYou’re ready to launch. Share the details of your program and assessment tools below.

Program Launch

Table Talk//Reflection

How can you make sure that empathy and your outcomes continue to drive the implementation of the program?

StorytellingNext

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StorytellingNow here’s where you make connections and share the results with everyone involved. Were you successful? Did you meet your goals and did students enjoy the benefits of your desired outcomes?

What have you learned? What will you start, stop, or continue next time?

Who needs to hear this story, and what do you hope they do with that knowledge?

How can you gather stories that will inform your next cycle of EMPATHY?

Looping Back To EMPATHY

Now that you’ve worked through the Design Thinking in Student Affairs process, remember that it’s a cycle that repeats; you’ll loop right back to the beginning with EMPATHY for the next time you launch the same or a similar program. This will allow you to reflect on what worked, what didn’t work, and connect back with the students you’re seeking to engage.

Our purpose must be to design programs and services for the students that we have now; not the ones we wish that we had, or the ones we used to have. To do that, we have to create ongoing, regular touch points with our current students, and using this framework to guide your strategic planning and creation processes will ensure that this happens.

Too often, we fall into the trap of reactivity as we create. Time crunches, and staff working over capacity make it difficult to think ahead. But if we don’t make time, we miss opportunities to bring our end users (the students) into the conversation in time to make their input meaningful to the process. Empathy can’t be optional. We have to commit to finding ways to connect with students and ask them about what their interests, concerns, challenges, and goals are so that we can truly understand the context that our solutions will live in.

Finally, remember the difference between building empathy and building a solution. Consider the following quote:

“If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” ~ Henry Ford on building the first car.

This has been a polarizing statement because it seems to suggest that designers shouldn’t connect with consumers as they design. However, the reality is that there is an important distinction between the context that empathy provides, and the knowledge, expertise and skills that come with being a good designer. Your students may not be able to come up with truly innovative solutions because they lack your knowledge and skills, but their lived experience is vital context that must inform your designs.

We hope you find this process useful and that it contributes to your success, and most importantly, to the success of your students. Happy designing!

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#RyersonSA

For more about Ryerson Student Affairs services, visit ryerson.ca/studentaffairs and to learn more about our work and ideas, visit ryersonstudentaffairs.com.