Design Thinking

As Yuan Ching journey towards organisational excellence and becoming a learning organisation, Design Thinking is identified as one of the key methodology since 2020, to engender a culture of innovation which is critical to enhancing creativity and expanding the boundaries of possibilities.

Design Thinking is a human-centred approach with an iterative process to tackle problems. It relies on observation, with emphasis on empathy to truly understand the needs of the user, and creating a prototype that caters to solving the problem defined. There is also a strong emphasis on the iteration process of prototyping and testing, observing the user experience and at times, even re-defining the problem in order to solve the issue at hand. This embodies the spirit of innovation and the tenacity required to strive towards excellence, aligned to our school values of Excellence and Enterprise, and the school’s vision of developing students to be a Thinker, an Achiever and a Concerned Citizen.

Design Thinking Integrated Curriculum
Students will learn and experience DT over the course of their education as they progressed from Secondary 1 to 4.

Secondary 1
Students are introduced to concepts of Design Thinking, with opportunities to apply the concepts learned in 3 areas:

1. Designing and coding of water and land vehicle as part of our school’s ALP theme, Future of Transportation.

2. Showcase of students’ innovative projects with a focus on Design Thinking.

3. Designing Values-in-Action programmes mentored by Form Teachers

Secondary 2
Students take on a more rigorous challenge in the designing and making of water robot capable of completing assigned tasks and deepen their learning in design thinking skills building upon the Values-In-Action programme that they have identified in Secondary 1.

Secondary 3 & 4
Students take to implementing the Values-In-Action programmes they have designed and application of design thinking mindsets and skills in various external competitions.

Introduction to Design Thinking workshop for Sec 1s

In-house Design Thinking workshop conducted by VIA Committee

Designing and making of water robot using design thinking

Design Thinking a Core Programme in Staff Induction
All staff new to the school are trained in Design Thinking through an in-house workshop as part of Staff Induction. Bite-size booster trainings are also delivered through other staff professional development platforms such as Staff Conference, Staff Learning Day, as well as emails and other print materials.

In-house Design Thinking workshop conducted by Ms Ng

Equipped with a good working knowledge of Design Thinking, the staff plays a key role in shaping students’ mindset while mentoring them in their journey towards embracing the spirit of design thinking in their endeavours.

As an organisation, Design Thinking is also embedded in the implementation of the YCSS Idea Bank, where staff put forth suggestions to solve current challenges or improve processes. Staff are affirmed of their contributions regularly during Staff Conference, with their innovative inputs spotlighted in our termly newsletter, the YC Innovates.

Cover page of the various editions of the YC Innovates newsletter