Frugal Design Thinking: Students Craft STEAM Makerspace Project using the Frugal Education Cards

I’m always excited to share stories that showcase frugal education practice in action, and today, I’m delighted to bring you an inspiring tale from a group of masters students at the Asian University for Women in Chittagong, Bangladesh that used the frugal education cards in a Design Thinking module to transform their STEAM Makerspace lab project.

The Asian University for Women Master of Arts in Education graduate programme is a humanitarian crisis response established in 2021 with the aspiration to empower women in tertiary education, particularly the brightest female reformists and educational entrepreneurs dedicated to creating an impact through educational development and leadership. The ‘Design Thinking’ module is foundational within the programme and is taken by students in their first year of study. Now in its third year, there are currently 25 students enrolled, many of whom are from Afghanistan.

Throughout this post there are quotes from a participating student group exploring how the cards were used to spark extraordinary ideas and foster meaningful learning experiences. This journey demonstrates how frugal education aspects can reshape educational spaces, particularly in underprivileged communities. Thank you to Hanan and her team for their generous and valuable insights.

During the design thinking class, students work in teams to pick an educational challenge related to technology, sustainability, equity or innovative pedagogy. During the design thinking module, students conduct research on their problem, gather data through interviews and observations, develop ideas, seek feedback, improve, iterate and, finally, prototype and present a solution as a model that is engaging to a broader audience. The frugal education cards were handed out to students in the earlier stages of ideation with the intent to focus the design teams on sustainability and open educational resources.

“Our teacher introduced the Frugal Education Action Cards to us in our Design Thinking class, and let me tell you, they were a game-changer! Using them in class physically sparked a ton of creative thinking!“

The teacher printed out sets of the Frugal Education cards, providing a deck for each group. The students then used the cards in their group discussions, and engaged in a brief reflection. Other ideation techniques such as the SPRINT Crazy 8s activity, 6 thinking hats, and SCAMPER were likewise introduced as part of the class. Again, the goal is to equip students with a versatile set of tools and skills for problem solving. The expectation is not that every method needs to resonate with every project team. Instead, different groups appropriate and adapt different concepts and methods for their own purposes. 

“In the early stages of brainstorming ideas for our STEAM Makerspace lab, we knew we wanted to be resourceful. We needed a way to design a space that elevated creativity and learning but also kept costs in check as it is primarily aimed at underprivileged communities. We had a wealth of data on different aspects we could incorporate into the Makerspace, but prioritizing them felt overwhelming. That’s where the frugal cards came in – a perfect fit for our project! We spread them out on a table, each team member grabbing a card and pondering its connection to our vision.”

“For instance, the ‘Upcycle’ card sparked immediate ideas. We envisioned a Makerspace that not only encouraged students to upcycle materials in their projects but also embraced this philosophy in its very construction! Upcycled materials became part of the prototype itself. We transformed toilet paper rolls into miniature recycling bins. Fun fact: The clay oven in our prototype was crafted from a used Baklava box.”

“Another card, ‘Fit for Purpose’, made us consider the lab’s adaptability to the surrounding community. So, imagine a Makerspace in a district known for its clothing industry. Instead of a traditional woodworking section, we could introduce a retail manufacturing area where students learn skills relevant to getting jobs in local businesses.

Our brainstorming process was all about free thinking. We didn’t have a structured method or process. We spread out the frugal cards, cut up the printed sheets, and sorted them by colour – all while letting our minds wander and explore different ideas and possibilities. Once everyone had explored their chosen cards, we came together for a group discussion. We talked about which cards resonated most with our design goals and how they could work together.”

“By physically arranging the cards in order of priority, we were able to narrow down our focus on specific aspects of frugal education that would shape our Makerspace. This exercise helped us create a more targeted and effective design, making the lab not just innovative, but also budget-conscious. 😃 So, we’re very grateful to Stefanie for introducing us to your work. 🙏

The cards being colourful helped a lot. Many of us are visual learners, and the colours helped us grasp the concepts. Looking ahead, I was wondering if there could be potential for an adaptable game using the action cards. This idea sparked from my upcoming design thinking session with a school here in Chittagong (grades 5 to 8). I’m hoping to use the cards and incorporate a short game to jumpstart the students’ creativity.”

This project highlights how innovative and cost-effective strategies can foster creativity and learning. By leveraging the frugal cards, the students brainstormed and implemented resourceful ideas, transforming everyday materials into educational tools. This hands-on approach not only enhanced their design process but also provided valuable insights into creating impactful and budget-conscious educational environments.

The 2024 cohort of students will collaboratively write an e-book next semester. The tentative topic is ‘Teachers as Designers – Education as Empowerment.’ Each group will contribute a chapter in their design thinking project, and also work on other chapter topics, forming an authoring team that can pursue various interests under the umbrella theme of ‘Design and Empowerment’. It also uses a frugal tool: EdTech Books.

I’d like to thank Hanan and the rest of her team for sharing their insights, your approach to the cards and the ideas you created are very inspiring, I look forward to hearing about your future experiments with them! And thanks to Stefanie Panke, the brains behind this fantastic design thinking module, who introduced the students to the frugal cards and provided valuable background into the class.

I was also fortunate enough to be interviewed by Stefanie in a recent blog post for the Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE) Review. You can read more of her insightful posts and interviews here.

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