Changes in Students’ Design-Thinking Mindsets after Design-Based Learning with Respect to Gender and Prior Experiences in Design 

This study examines the influence of design-based learning on 25 eighth-
grade students’ design-thinking mindsets, that is, on the mental outlook that they
adopt habitually when they engage in design thinking. It also compares changes
in design-thinking mindsets across individuals of different genders and different
levels of experience in design. We collected data by using a self-reported Likert-
scale questionnaire. We used Wilcoxon signed-rank tests to compare the
students’ design-thinking mindsets before and after design-based learning. We
utilized Mann-Whitney U tests to identify differences between male and female
students and between students with different levels of prior experience. The
results indicate that the influence of design-based learning on design-thinking
mindsets depends on gender and prior experience Careful scaffolding is
necessary to enable all students to develop their design-thinking mindsets when
they collaborate in design-based learning.