Empowering Language Learners Through Design Thinking

Students participate in a design thinking activity this winter. (Photos by Leilani Frias '28)

A human-centric approach to problem solving, design thinking encourages innovation, teamwork, and empathy through a five-phase approach: empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and test. Outside academia, organizations across sectors use design thinking to consider an end-user's needs and come up with effective solutions to meet them. In Italian classes at Dartmouth, professors employ it as a tool that puts students in charge of their learning while allowing them to hone transferable skills like community building, creative problem solving, and collaboration.

Language learners can also apply insights and expertise they've gained in other areas of study—such as game design, cognitive science, and artificial intelligence—to inform design thinking methods that may help them overcome challenges.

"As we work with design thinking, we're working on reframing humanities for the 21st century," says assistant professor Tania Convertini, who directs the Italian language program. "Every collaboration, process of connection, and intersection with other disciplines—it's a benefit that allows us to speak a common language."

"The Collaborative Conversations Project illustrates the power of design across disciplines," adds Eugene Korsunskiy, associate professor of engineering and co-director of DIAD. "I'm excited by how the faculty team is using design thinking to make language learning more engaging and effective. This shows how the methods and mindsets design can be meaningfully applied within the rich academic diversity of the liberal arts at Dartmouth."