Teacher teams will collaborate on interdisciplinary lesson plans
Updated: February 24, 2026
The Hawaiʻi State Teachers Association and Design Thinking Hawai’i are launching a Design Thinking Laboratory. Design Thinking focuses on the needs of the user using a common framework. It teaches participants how to design a project that understands user needs, brainstorm solutions, and test those solutions to create a final product. It is a human-or problem-based approach to teaching critical thinking and innovation.
The Design Thinking Laboratory aims to empower teachers to incorporate design thinking into their classrooms and develop interdisciplinary lesson plans or units for students to implement. Design Thinking seeks to transform Hawaiʻi by introducing innovative, entrepreneurial mindsets and technologies to both teachers and students. The goal is to equip them with the skills needed to face the challenges of an uncertain future. The laboratory brings together teachers who are or want to be practitioners of human-centered design (or design thinking) to collaboratively generate, explore, and create interdisciplinary lesson plans or units designed for classroom use.
In-person course held at HSTA headquarters June 16-17, 2026
Participants will engage in a two-day in-person session using traditional design thinking methods based on the Stanford d-School open-source process supported by artificial intelligence tools supported by the Hawaiʻi Department of Education. Interdisciplinary teams will be equipped with practical design thinking skills to develop lesson plans or units for immediate classroom delivery. Participants should bring a notebook, pen, and sample lesson plans. Computers are optional. Participants should bring a notebook, pen, and computers.
In-Person Training:
- June 16-17, 2026 | 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
- Check in at 9:30 a.m.
- HSTA conference room
- 1200 Ala Kapuna Street, Honolulu, HI 96819
Teacher deliverables
- Each interdisciplinary team will create a unit using the five steps of the design thinking process.
- Each interdisciplinary team will deliver the developed unit in their classrooms during the spring semester.
- Additional online sessions will be provided to support classroom implementation.
- Each interdisciplinary team will present their unit with student work samples to the Hawaiʻi Foundation for Educators Board, HSTA leaders, and the Design Thinking instructors.
- Presentations will be judged, and monetary awards will be given to the first through third-place units to encourage the development of more interdisciplinary units or projects.
- Presentation sessions will showcase lesson plans and student work on dates to be determined.
How to register
- To participate, you must have a team of three to five teachers.
- Team form options:
- All the same content area
- All the same grade level
- If you are an aspiring educator not yet teaching in the classroom, your team can be yourself or a team of students from your same program.
- Team form options:
- Each team member must register by June 1, 2026 by filling out this form.