Design thinking as an innovative pedagogy and innovation as a learning process in leading vocational education change in China: Lessons from two cases

The main purpose of this paper is to investigate design thinking as an innovative learning process grounded in models of design and learning and to address the suitability of implementing design thinking in the context of secondary vocational teaching and learning. First, we use Beckman and Barry’s (2007) learning model of the innovation process that consists of four sequential stages (i.e., observations, frameworks, imperatives, and solutions) to examine pedagogical innovations. Then, we characterise the innovation process of design thinking within vocational learning in terms of containing four processes (i.e., intuiting, interpreting, integrating, and institutionalizing) in the organizational learning framework developed by Crossan, Lane, and White, 1999). We are using these two frameworks to compare and analyze the design thinking elements embedded in the vocational pedagogy and student learning in two innovative vocational schools through ethnographic observations, lesson observations, surveys and semi-structured interviews with senior leaders, teachers and students to build two data-rich cases. This study will contribute to the debate about what is understood by innovative or new in the context of vocational learning theory and practice and thus inform practitioners the importance of design thinking, the delivery of vocational education curricula and vocational learning competence. Copyright © 2017 ICSEI.