Principle 6: Build to think & learn by doing
Powerful thinking, learning and alignment happens when we make abstract ideas tangible, experiment and iterate.
“Prototyping is the conversation you have with your ideas.” — Tom Wujec
Prototyping makes an envisioned concept or solution tangible before forgoing multiple rounds of testing and iterations. Iterative prototyping is essential in the design processes when developing products and services and its potential for Higher Education, is becoming increasingly evident. A misconception surrounding prototyping is that it must be something expensive or complex. However, low-fidelity prototyping such as paper prototyping can create simple, experimental models that are both cost and time effective. These basic models are often sufficient for communicating your ideas to stakeholders and can often be created using a pen and paper. High-fidelity prototyping is more sophisticated, using more advanced materials and can often be more costly and timely to create. Stakeholders may often be more engaged with such high-fidelity prototypes and testing can yield more accurate results, as the concept is somewhat more refined.
We believe that is critical to adopt a ‘build to think and learn by doing’ approach in the construction of diverse aspects of the Higher Education system, from research and admission policy to departmental strategy, staff well-being, accommodation issues and student experience. Both design and education are deeply practical, tactile and experiential ways of learning, being and doing. By treating everything as a prototype, we learn how to process, dissect and refine ideas in a very ‘hands-on’ manner. Within Higher Education, prototyping has the potential to have a major impact on how learning is conceptualised and developed, how teaching is delivered and how system improvements are conceived, shared and implemented.
Why Prototype?
“By taking the time to prototype our ideas, we avoid costly mistakes such as becoming too complex too early and sticking with a weak idea for too long.” — Tim Brown, CEO & President of IDEO
