Design is now being introduced at the school level for children in Grades 6 to 12 as an elective, just like any other subject that they are currently studying. The National Education Policy 2020 has identified design as a ‘21st-century skill’ to be introduced in schools to prepare children for professional life along with several other subjects like cooking, artificial intelligence, etc. It will be initially implemented in CBSE schools.

But typical textbooks are not the best approach to this type of content. It rather needs to be fun, engaging and exciting. The design needs to be learnt in an experiential manner, in studios rather than classrooms, in modules instead of hourly classes, with interactions and collaborations. Children should be exposed to creativity, exploration, experimentation and innovation. The learning has to be assessed with tasks and activities instead of final examinations.

The content needs to be updated by taking feedback from teachers and children, especially in the initial years. Currently, there aren’t any Design teachers at schools. So it would be taught by one of the existing teachers itself, most probably by the art teacher.

‘Creativity and innovation’ is the module being designed in this project, for students in grade 10. It’s an 18-hour module intended to encourage students to explore, experiment and learn design skills, and discovery through creative explorations and problem-solving. The tasks and activities would help the students to break away from the usual rigid thinking by learning how to approach a problem in a creative manner.

The project involves exploring the ways in which various aspects of the design can be instructed in schools, developing the curriculum with the most suitable activities, tasks and projects, and studying/testing how children can comprehend the content.

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• Creativity and Innovation......