Combining critical reflection and design thinking to develop integrative learners/ created by M. Ann Welsh and Gordon E. Dehler

In this article, we argue for advancing grounded curricula, which explicitly link theory and pedagogy, and executing them in authentic and multidisciplinary settings as a means to facilitate student growth into integrative learners. We describe the development of a student-centered learning experience that combines elements of critical management education, situated learning, and design thinking. The commonalities between a critically based pedagogy and design thinking create a context for collaboration that enables students to acquire attributes consistent with integrative learners: critical reflection, multiliteracy, the ability to negotiate identity, engage in constructive critique, become skilled in knowledge transformation, and create tangible and implementable outcomes. Drawing from 13 years of pedagogical experimentation, this article contributes to the domain of management education by providing greater specification to the concept of integrative learning, as well as articulating a novel and effective pedagogy based in design thinking. We present our story in three acts, showing how our methodology can enable transformative student learning and offer faculty invigorating teaching experiences.