# A Systematic Review on Design Thinking Integrated Learning in K-12 Education
## 4 Discussion
### Interventions in DTIL
#### 4.4.5 Learning Tools and Materials  
The tools and materials employed are expected to help students formulate and express creative design ideas. For example, the design cards are convenient for students to sort out the design process and carry out reasoning [49]. The 3D design and printing platforms can help students design and visualize prototypes [27; 57]. Conventional design and construct tools, as well as the digital fabrication kits, provide students with hands-on opportunities to materialize ideas. According to the reviewed articles, there were more applications of conventional tools and materials than intelligent ones. Researcher argued that the functions of design are making better what is inadequate and delivering a value that has not yet been delivered, thus technology is a key driver of the project as a whole and will play an important role in that [74; 75; 76], likewise, design can promote technological literacy. Future study could be conducted to further explore the technology-enabled design thinking activities in K-12 context.  
Especially, in the emerging digital lean manufacturing paradigm [77], the advent of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), Virtual Reality (VR), and Mixed Reality (MR), etc., have provided significant enlightenment to education. On one hand, new technologies can be used to enable better performance. For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, technologies make such large-scale online teaching activities possible. In particular, for experimental or hands-on courses, the technology application like the online simulation platform (i.e., IRobotQBD) [78], the integration of VR and motion capture system [79], etc., can solve the problems of interactivity and presence to a certain extent. On the other hand, the essence of I4.0 is also to better meet the needs of users, which coincides with the human-centred concept emphasized by design thinking. As we enter the era of intelligence, customers require new and customised products more and more often, and companies have hence to be able to easily follow these requirements in order to survive in today's competitive market [79]. The implication for education is that to integrate technology into DTIL activities may help students collect and analyse data more scientifically, open up broader design space, and enrich the ways and forms of design workpresenting, so as to promote the cultivation of innovative intelligent manufacturing talents that meet the needs of the era.  
In conclusion, the implications and suggestions for DTIL in K-12 context are: (a) The potential value of design thinking in K-12 education needs to be further explored with larger samples and longer durations, in particular, more attention needs to be paid to students at the preK-elementary and high school levels. (b) Design thinking models be aligned with the domain learning situations are needed to expand the application of DTIL in a wider range of disciplines, especially non-STEM disciplines. (c) DTIL is expected to facilitate the acquisition of higher-order learning achievements, correspondingly, more objective and apt evaluation instruments are needed. (d) The educational value of design thinking does not arise spontaneously, more targeted interventions are expected to reach its full potential, such as rigorous study design in the pre-post mode or with control groups, more focus on learning in informal settings, intensive grouping strategies that consider gender, group size, role, etc., pertinent design thinking tasks/challenges what are both fun and challenging, and finally, support design activities with appropriate technical tools or materials.