As some of you might know, I’ve finished a course lately on UX Design and have been noticing the importance of “design” in our every day life, starting with a button. A button to most may just mean a functional tool to get to the next step, however in design philosophy it may symbolize a door to a whole new dimension. Think about it, if you just saw things as what it is, does it mean that’s the only thing it’s meant for? Say for example, you see a book on the table, do you only see it as if it’s something for you to read? Perhaps it could act as a table stand or a laptop holder or even a life saving tool to help someone who just got hit with a stroke (assuming that this book helped to keep this person’s body in the right angle).

比如说，你在桌子上看到一本书，你只看到它好像是你要读的东西吗？ 也许它可以作为一个桌架或笔记本电脑支架，甚至是一个救生工具来帮助那些刚受中风击中的人。

Many of our daily things we use have an inherent design to it, which was brought about by the creator’s consideration. That being said, the point of design in the past was for functionality or appearance mostly. We’ve since moved away from that to discuss the implications of further aesthetics, in terms of the psychology of design, the design of learning and the design of interactions. This takes us to a whole new ballgame as design will play a much bigger role in our work and personal life as we fiddle about our apps to buy stuff, try to optimize our work or even message our parents from abroad. This is the new era and I can only imagine the applications that we’re about to use it for in the education field.

话虽如此，过去的设计点主要是功能性或外观。 在设计心理学，学习设计和交互设计方面，我们已经远离那个讨论进一步美学的含义。

So what’s the design when applied to education? For starters, most of us were previously engaged in instructional design so that we can create materials for teachers and students alike to best enhance the classroom instructions. We’ve since evolved onwards towards learning design as a whole, to see the process of learning not just within the classroom but as an experience which transcends the classroom into our personal lives.The objective of each student will clearly be different if they have different backgrounds (from socio-economical, behavioural  to cognitive). This means that as we customize educational programs in the future, we need to consider that the objectives of each student will shape their choice of what they want to learn, where and for how long. This means giving the students full choice in deciding what works for them. It also makes the role of design one step harder as you’ll have to think not just about what happens in the classroom, but what happens outside as well.

我们从一开始就朝着整个学习设计的方向发展，看到学习过程不仅仅是在课堂内学习，而是作为一种超越课堂的经验进入我们的个人生活。每个学生的目标明显不同，如果他们有不同的背景（从社会经济，行为到认知）。

Take for example the program Outward Bound which was started by the founding father of experiential learning, Kurt Hahn. In his design, his emphasis was to bring together a group of unique individuals, each with his/her own background at the age when they’re turning to adulthood (the program typically starts at 18) in exploring the outdoor nature. His program’s philosophy is for individuals to explore their limits and capabilities through survival in the outdoor. A typical program typically lasts for 2 weeks long and has around 16 unique individuals. The program seeks to develop an individual’s abilities to make decision in the face of survival and be responsible to their team and actions. Most importantly, it focuses on a strong metacognitive method of having students reflect on their decisions and actions every day which is a constant practice for anyone looking to understand the why behind the why as they complete this challenging program. Design is at the crux of creating experiences for students here and every student who has gone for this program comes out as a student with newer understanding of themselves. That’s what design can do for education!

设计是为这里的学生创造体验的关键，每个参加这个课程的学生都是以更新的自我理解的方式出生的。 这就是为何设计可以把教育创新！

So you’re probably wondering, what is the implications of design changing in terms of education for you? Well, design is always changing and so are we. This means that as we decide what’s the next educational program you select or create, you’ll have to deeply think about the core philosophy behind the program - understanding your intentions as you make the decision for having it. What does it mean for your students to go through this program, what would you like them to get out of it? Feel free to give feedback on how you feel design has affected your education to date!

Ps: This post is based on a conversation with a classmate who has been through Outward Bound herself, although different programs in different countries vary slightly. Please do not take this as an endorsement for this program, but do keep it under consideration.

For more info, check out Outward bound at: https://www.outwardbound.org