Narrative Design Thinking
Narrative Design Thinking is a conceptual framework for using short stories as inspiration for design challenges in children’s makerspaces. Each story is organized around the phases of the design thinking framework: Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, and Test. Application of the framework is explained through examples of two short stories and two levels of design challenges for each. Survey responses from 25 makerspace educators informed the design of the framework and identified key implementation needs related to facilitation, materials, and partnerships. This work contributes to the field of connected learning by demonstrating how story-based prompts, guided by a design thinking framework, can scaffold playful, meaningful, and developmentally appropriate maker experiences. This was presented as a poster session at Connected Learning Summit, UC Berkeley.
APA Citation
Tiwari, S. (2026, October 6). Narrative Design Thinking [Poster presentation]. Connected Learning Summit, UC Berkeley, CA, United States.
