Ritvik Sawhney, a junior in the Science & Engineering Magnet Program at Manalapan High School, spent last year working with IgniteSTEM, a non-profit organization, to co-author the book Intro to Ideation: 70 Design Thinking Exercises for Grades 6-8. IgniteSTEM is a Princeton University-backed organization that promotes Design Thinking in schools throughout the world.
In his freshman year, Ritvik participated in the Design Thinking Challenge hosted by IgniteSTEM. The challenge encouraged Ritvik to think like an innovator and look for a creative and efficient way to solve real-world problems. Later, he was invited to work with IgniteSTEM to develop and test activities for educators to use in their classrooms to encourage students to think outside the box, go deeper into problem-solving, and improve their collaboration and communication skills.
While working as an IgniteSTEM ambassador, he learned the fundamentals of design thinking. In collaboration with other high school and college students, Ritvik facilitated a hands-on Design Thinking workshop at Princeton University which was attended by over 150 participants ranging from middle school to high school students. The participants were given the task to upgrade a city block (i.e how to make a city more efficient in terms of agriculture, pollution, and overall infrastructure). They were then asked to present their solution in an engaging manner and describe their thinking process.
The book, titled Intro to Ideation: 70 Design Thinking Exercises for Grades 6-8, consists of a variety of hands-on activities, aligned to middle school and high school standards, that educators can use in the school environment.
“With more exposure to Design Thinking, we can improve our society on a grand scale and can give us students an advantage when we enter our career fields,” Ritvik said.
Intro to Ideation: 70 Design Thinking Exercises for Grades 6-8 is available on Amazon. All proceeds go to IgniteSTEM so the organization can continue to encourage and enrich students’ educational experiences.
