Design thinking approach for sustainable life in visual arts education: A case study

Design Thinking Approach for Sustainable Living in Visual Arts Education: A Case Study TAŞBAŞ PANGIZ, Şeyma. Master of Science Thesis, Department of Fine Arts Education Art Education Program Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Nuray MAMUR July 2024, 156 Pages This research focuses on the development of students' sustainable life-oriented skills through the design thinking approach in visual arts education. In this context, the opinions of visual arts education art educators and the knowledge, skills and experiences offered to students by the designed lesson plan were examined in detail. In the study, "case study design", one of the qualitative research methods, was used. The study group of the research was formed by two different sampling methods within the scope of two different situations. In the first case, the study group consisted of art educators at 5 different educational levels who are experts in their fields. "Maximum diversity sampling", one of the purposeful sampling methods, was determinative in determining the study group. Within the framework of the second case of the research, the study group consisted of a total of 18 students from the 7th grade students between the ages of 12-13 studying in Denizli province in the 2023-2024 academic year. "Typical case sampling", one of the purposeful sampling methods, was determinative in the formation of the study group. The data of the study were collected in two stages. In the first stage, within the framework of the first sub-problem of the research, the opinions of art educators teaching at different levels from pre-school education to higher education on sustainability and design thinking were taken. In these interviews, information was obtained with the activities to be implemented in the lessons within the scope of sustainability and design thinking steps. In the second stage, data were obtained from the pre-assessment form, activity forms (speech circle activity sheet, brainstorming activity sheet, mind map activity sheet, station activity sheet, user experience observation form), researcher diary, reflective diary, independent observer form, self-assessment form, artistic works and focus group interview in the implementation process planned as artistic experiences and activities with ix sustainability-oriented design thinking approach. The collected data were analyzed by content analysis. The results of this study conducted in the context of visual arts education reveal that the design thinking approach improves students' creativity, problem solving skills and environmental awareness. Within the scope of visual arts education, it was seen that students' ability to empathize, collaborate and integrate sustainability principles with design processes were strengthened with the steps of design thinking approach. Keywords: Art education, design, design thinking, sustainability