Design Thinking Methodologies & Practical Worksheets for Youth Workers

Design thinking encourages people to have an open mind and a creative spirit, since a lot of the work goes on understanding a person’s problem, their situation and their context, to try to find a possible solution. Understanding is the first step, which is followed by a given structure of phases: observe, define, ideate, prototype, test and reflect. In order to do so, there are several tools that can be used, some of them summarized in this course, but we invite you to read more to have a wider toolbox when applying design thinking in your youth work.

Youth work can find design thinking useful since it’s human- centered, which would help youth workers to have the youths in the center. This is important due to the key role of youth workers in empowering youths, which they do by supporting them, listening to them, giving importance to their struggles and questions, and guiding them in complex situations. We hope that the course and this brief introduction to design thinking for youth workers can be inspiring and will open a window for a new framework for youth work.

Learning Outcomes

The learning outcomes of this course are the following:

• To become familiar with the concept of design thinking
• To learn the definition of design thinking and its phases
• To understand how design thinking can be applied by youth workers
• To reflect on the role of youth workers in empowering youths
• To know about the relation between policy making and design thinking
• To understand the benefits of applying design thinking in youth work
• To have practical worksheets ready to use with youths
• To see examples of design thinking in youth work
• To have new tools and inspiration to use design thinking in youth work