With design thinking emerging as a a beneficial tool for learning and teaching (Panke, 2019, pp. 291-292), it is helpful to examine how this multidisciplinary innovation framework can assist creative teaching. This blog post introduces a possible integration between design thinking and creative teaching through a collaborative ideation program called Mural.
What is Mural?
Mural is an online whiteboard platform for collaborative idea generation and organization (Mural, 2023). Its feature focuses on displaying and arranging sticky notes, making it a digital display of common design thinking workspaces.
Common design thinking workspace versus Mural workspace
(CC BY 2.0 Emilia Nguyen)
Mural’s high compatibility with design thinking practices can be further justified through its endorsement by various industry leaders, including IBM, GitHub and Autodesk (Mural, 2023).
Why Mural for Creative Learning?
Since Mural is an industry-level program for design thinking, it focuses on optimizing the problem-solving process of its users. This means Mural will serve as a productive tool for problem based learning if used in educational settings. Problem-based learning is a pedagogical approach proven to improve student creativity in multiple subjects, including Mathematics (Farida et al., 2020), Literacy and Visual Arts (Albar & Southcott, 2021). Thus, it is evident that Mural will support creative learning, specifically through problem solving tasks.
Teachers seeking to incorporate Mural into their lessons can create a Mural problem-solving template for students to collaborate on deriving solutions. Mural’s whiteboard layout allows students to propose and position their ideas however they like on the screen, whilst its organization functions enable ideas to be organized in later states of problem solving so that a viable solution can emerge. This provides students with both freedom of expression for their ideas and an organization system linking any ideas back to the problem prompt.
Mural classroom task demonstration
(CC BY 2.0 Emilia Nguyen)
Teaching Precautions for Mural
Though Mural provides many excellent functions for problem-based learning, it is not without drawbacks. The program relies on every student having a computer, and is prone to lags with any surge in access. Because of these shortcomings, Mural should only be used in creative classroom tasks spanning multiple days, creating a need for secure storage of information beyond the feeble note board. Otherwise, it is advised that teachers utilize the non-digital equivalent of Mural, the sticky note board, for creative activities.
References
Albar, S.B., & Southcott, J.E. (2021). Problem and project-based learning through an investigation lesson: Significant gains in creative thinking behaviour within the Australian foundation (preparatory) classroom. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2021.100853
Farida, R.N., Utomo, D.P., & Zukhrufurrohmah, Z. (2020). The Effectiveness of problem based learning in terms of creativity and learning outcomes. Mathematics Education Journal, 4(2). https://doi.org/10.22219/mej.v4i2.12277
Mural. (2023). Mural online collaboration - Collaborate visually anywhere. Mural. https://www.mural.co
Panke, S. (2019). Design thinking in education: Perspectives, opportunities and challenges. Open Education Studies, 1(1), 281–306. https://doi.org/10.1515/edu-2019-0022
Week 3 Tutorial Engagement
Hi Thi. I have used a similar tool called MIRO for case resolution and graphic design in the team and it is incredible, so I agree with using Mural as a tool for fostering creativity through problem-based learning. I have found it very useful all the templates it has for group meetings, brainstorming, planning, etc. I think that, through the creation of adequate templates, the teacher can guide students on the design process as well as how to work creatively on a team. Excelente tool. Regards.
Álvaro Pérez