Science-Based Courses – Missions DT Meets STEM

Product’s Aim(s)

• Develop students’ ability to identify, analyze, and solve complex real-world challenges.
• Promote collaboration, creativity, and design thinking principles in science-based education.
• Encourage experimental learning through hands-on project development and iterative prototyping.
• Provide structured guidance to educators for implementing Design Thinking in STEM curricula.

Description

The Science-Based Courses – Missions DT meets STEM is a structured framework designed to integrate Design Thinking (DT) into STEM education, enhancing problem-solving, critical thinking, and innovation skills. Through a series of missions, students work collaboratively to define challenges, generate solutions, test ideas, and refine their projects.

This approach transforms STEM learning from theoretical coursework into hands-on, real-world exploration, preparing students for future careers in science, technology, and engineering. The missions are iterative and interdisciplinary, promoting creativity while ensuring solutions are user-centered and impact-driven.

Use Cases

• University STEM Courses: Embeds real-world problem-solving and innovation processes into science-based curricula.
• Capstone and Research Projects: Provides a structured approach for students to define, test, and refine solutions.
• Interdisciplinary Learning: Encourages collaboration between scientific disciplines and engineering fields.
• Innovation Hubs & Entrepreneurship Programs: Equips students with the design mindset necessary for developing new solutions in science and technology.

Product Elements

1. Mission 0 – Set Up
2. Mission 1 – Challenge Exploration
   • Guides students in understanding their project challenge.
   • Utilizes stakeholder mapping, mind mapping, and benchmarking.
3. Mission 2 – Discipline to Challenge
   • Connects scientific disciplines with real-world problems.
   • Encourages students to define project goals and constraints.
4. Mission 3 – Creating EPOs (Evidence, Problems, Opportunities)
   • Helps teams narrow their research scope and identify opportunities.
   • Develops research-based insights and evidence-based problem framing.
5. Mission 4 – Brainstorming on EPOs
   • Introduces structured brainstorming techniques for idea generation.
   • Focuses on hypothesis development and conceptual testing.
6. Mission 5 – External Solution Test
   • Encourages prototyping and real-world testing of solutions.
   • Uses low-fidelity models to gather user feedback and refine concepts.
7. Mission 6 – Project Closing
   • Focuses on finalizing the project, articulating learnings, and presenting solutions.
   • Includes a final presentation, storytelling, and solution impact assessment.

Download DT meets STEM Science-based Missions

Using missions requires Miro bord!

• Click here to open board with templates for Science-based Missions.