Incorporating Social Emotional Learning (SEL) and Design Thinking can be a powerful combination for promoting student success and well-being. At Kodely we teach empathy Through Design Thinking through our workshops. SEL is the process through which individuals develop skills to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions. Design Thinking is a process for creative problem-solving that involves empathy, defining the problem, ideating, prototyping, and testing solutions.

When integrating Design Thinking and social emotional learning in after school programs, students can develop their social and emotional skills while also applying these skills to real-world problems. 

5 Ways to incorporate SEL and Design Thinking into your classroom:

1.Start with empathy:

Empathy is the foundation of both SEL and Design Thinking. Students can begin by practicing active listening and understanding the needs and perspectives of others. This can involve conducting interviews, observations, and surveys to gain insights into the problem they are trying to solve.

2.Define the problem:

 Once students have a better understanding of the problem, they can define it in a way that is clear and actionable. This involves reframing the problem in a way that takes into account the perspectives of all stakeholders.

3.Ideate:  

In this stage, students can brainstorm and generate ideas for potential solutions. They can use techniques like mind mapping and group brainstorming to come up with a range of ideas.

4. Prototype: 

Students can create prototypes of their solutions using materials like paper, cardboard, or digital tools. This can involve creating physical models or digital mockups of their ideas.

5. Test: 

In the testing stage, students can try out their prototypes and gather feedback from others. This can involve conducting user testing or getting feedback from peers and teachers.

Throughout this process, students can develop a range of social and emotional skills, including empathy, teamwork, communication, problem-solving, and critical thinking. By incorporating Design Thinking and social emotional learning in afterschool programs,, students can learn to approach problems in a more creative and collaborative way while also developing important real-life skills.