Step 2: Create Your Prototype
This week’s Design Thinking focus is on creating the prototype. This stage could imply drafting something new from scratch or improving an existing tool. It is important to review last week’s Design Thinking Activities where you identified a challenge. The prototype could be the response to that challenge.
Regarding the basic skills element, you can find a series design-related considerations that can be regarded when drafting a prototype. Firstly, we will focus on some key aspects of basic skills programs that have become central to basic skills provision in the past few years in policy and practice too. These points regard the tailoring of the learning offer to the learners’ needs. Secondly, resilience will be addressed by shedding light on some important fields and themes in basic skills training that may impact citizens’ resilience e.g. blended learning, health and financial literacy etc.
1. Tailoring the learning offer
Providing individualised learning lies at the core of the Upskilling pathways. This is due to the diverse background and life history of adults with basic skills challenges. The first step of the Upskilling programs is skills assessment which creates the basis for designing and implementing tailored learning programs.
Furthermore – besides making learning relevant to learners – tailoring the learning content can also be understood as making the learning programs relevant to other contextual needs (e.g. the local labour market). The Recommendation suggest, policy-makers and leaders in Adult Learning shall „Consider, as far as possible, local, regional and national labour market needs when establishing an offer (…), and deliver it in close cooperation with relevant stakeholders, in particular social partners and local, regional and national economic actors.” (Recommendation on Upskilling pathways, 2016).
In the following, we would like to propose a few considerations that can additionally help course designers to fine-tune their learning program to the needs of the learners. These concepts are taken from current initiatives and projects that reached EBSN.
Modularisation
The idea of breaking up the learning pathway into smaller units has been discussed long by Cedefop and other stakeholders in Europe, especially in the context of vocational education and training. In a study, Cedefop suggests that “Modules are components of education and training programmes” (Cedefop, 2015 p. 17). Training offers that are divided into smaller building elements may offer greater flexibility, adaptability and potential to tailor the learning offer to the needs of the learners.
Microcredentials
Drawing on the idea of modularised learning, credentials that can indicate learning progression can be an important tool to make learning visible and to boost motivation of the learners. The use of digital badges can allow for a more nuanced indication of course completion, if the criteria are jointly designed with the learner. The EU is currently working on a common approach to micro-credentials that will further support the integration of digital credentials into basic skills training too.
Embedded learning
In the case of adult basic skills training, it is essential to bring learning as close as possible to the life of adults. Embedding learning in workplace activities, family learning programs, or digital learning environment can save time for learners, thereby lowering the barriers to join learning programs. Find further information on how adult basic skills training can be embedded into other learning programs in EBSN’s earlier OER on Outreach in Section 2: Motivation and Persistence.
Guidance and counselling
Counselling can be one of the most efficient support measures that can help adults to understand what types of basic skills training could be the most relevant and to help learners in the self-reflection process. The Recommendation on Upskilling pathways puts it as follows: “Implement motivation and outreach measures that include raising awareness on the benefits of upskilling, making available information on existing guidance, support measures, upskilling opportunities and responsible bodies, and providing incentives to those least motivated to take advantage of these. Provide guidance and/or mentoring services to support learners’ progression through all steps of the upskilling process”. Read some practical examples of putting learner support in place in EBSN’s OER on blended learning design for adults. Scroll down to the section titled: Putting learner support in place to see the table!
2. Strengthening resilience
In this section, we are introducing some key initiatives and themes that could develop the resilience of adult learners especially in our current health challenges, digitalisation and information age.
Blended learning design
As Graciela Sbertoli, Secretary General of EBSN suggests in EBSN’s upcoming podcast, “blended learning design is here to stay” – at least in adult basic skills training. The sudden digitalisation of learning environment helped many of the training institutions to continue their provision even when classrooms were closed. Nevertheless, it seems that integrating a digital learning element into training institutions courses can be a way ahead. It could increase the learning hours, improve access to learning programs and help learners cooperate with each other more. Read about how these goals could be achieved in EBSN’s OER on blended learning design!
Numeracy
Numeracy is not always given the emphasis it deserves in the context of basic skills training. However, it is essential to address the skills necessary to deal with numeric information for those who lack the experience or have challenges. Our lives are becoming increasingly filled with numeric information through digitalisation, quantitative health-related information (not only in one’s own diagnosis and tests but also with relations to COVID). You can find more information on how to address numeracy in basic skills programs in EBSN’s OER on Adult Numeracy Training!
Health literacy
It may seem self-evident why we include health literacy in this list. However, understanding health information is also essential in times where there is no ongoing pandemics. Making sense of health information is the basis of our decision-making. Read more about addressing health literacy in basic skills training on the respective website of EBSN’s Irish member, NALA.
Financial literacy
The importance of integrating a financial literacy element in basic skills training is summarised by NALA: "Financial literacy is important because it equips us with the knowledge and skills we need to manage money effectively. Poor financial literacy is bad for individuals, their families and the economy. It can cause many people to become victims of predatory lending, make poor financial decisions, resulting in bad credit or having large amounts of debt. There are many barriers for individuals managing their money and accessing quality financial services. This includes not having the literacy, numeracy and computer skills which underpin everyday financial activities."
You can also find a tutor’s guide on NALA’s page.
Critical media literacy
The ever-increasing consumption and prevalence of digital media content brings along the need for making citizens able to understand the significance of critical thinking and source criticism with regards to fake news spreading online. EPALE has published an OER about News Literacy that may be useful to learn more about it!
Questions for reflection
Do you think it is important for you to tailor learning to the needs of your learners? Is there something you could adapt from the points raised above? Which elements mentioned above with regards to resilience could be relevant for your context? What could be the first steps?
3. Creating your program
Now, we continue exploring the potentials of Design Thinking. In the next section we are presenting a few design-related considerations as a continuation of the previous week’s section on Understanding the Challenge. These steps could be used for designing a prototype that can bring about a solution responding to the needs you identified last week. Approach the generation of a prototype through the following steps. These steps are inspired by IDEO’s Design Thinking for Educators publication’s Ideation and Experimentation phases (© 2012 IDEO LLC. All rights reserved. http://designthinkingforeducators.com/
Choosing the right ideas
Brainstorming can be an efficient tool to generate, cluster and analyse ideas of the design team members. Prepare a brainstorming session with your colleagues that takes up the thread from last week’s concluding design stage described in the ‘Turn insights into actions’ section. The brainstorming can be prompted by the ‘How might we’ sentences and focus on prototype ideas.
Once the brainstorming session is over, the selection of the most suitable ideas is next. This could be done in several ways. One possible direction could be to cluster the ideas that seem to belong together or are rather similar. Then, you can decide which ideas are the most promising. You can use post-its during the decision-making session where all team members can express why they think the given clusters of ideas are more relevant than the others. You may close the session by the following steps:
- Counting the votes on the clusters of idea and establishing a consensus in the design team on which ideas you should further develop
- Engaging in a shared dialogue to further discuss the clusters, if there are no clear directions identified by the group.
- Summarise the session with clarifying the directions and potential further steps.
Reviewing the context
Once the design team is confident in the direction that they wish to move into, it is important to consider ways to further develop the idea of the prototype. This stage is practically a ‘reality check’ through which members can raise their concerns, potential limitations and constraints that can occur in the creation of the prototype. Make sure to list the most important ones and try to come up with an alternative solution to mitigate the effects. You may engage in further brainstorming session and juxtapose the challenges with the solutions. Leave the pairs that feel too far from your reality, or you are not inspired by. Some points of reflection can be considered:
- Is this idea viable? Do we have (or can we come up with) the necessary financial capacity needed for it?
- Is this a solution to our target group? Will they be able to benefit from it?
Creating a prototype
Once you have done reviewing the context, it is time to develop the prototype itself. Gather the group and try to refresh the ideas that you have previously collected. You may find these points useful in the phase (IDEO 2012 p. 55):
- Choose a title for your idea
- Summarize your idea in a single sentence
- Describe how your idea would work
- Name the people it involves, both to build as well as to use it
- Explain the needs and opportunities identified through field research
- Illustrate the value and benefit for each person involved
- List questions and challenges
© 2012 IDEO LLC. All rights reserved. http://designthinkingforeducators.com/
Once these reflective points are completed, you can continue the generation of the prototype. Prototypes are great tools to let other take a closer look at your idea and on the ways you would like to implement it. You may engage in the following design processes to further develop your prototype:
Making sense of feedback
Exposing your prototype to a wider audience can be a way to collect feedback. It is important to stop from time to time and let new perspectives reach you and the team. It is important to identify the most relevant sources of feedback and to decide about what are the fields and perspectives that you would like to collect feedback for. Facilitate the feedback session in the form of an open discussion, a questionnaire, or in a one-to-one interview and collect the results. Think about the following points with your team while looking at the results:
- What proved to be the most valuable for the audience?
- Which parts would the audience like to improve?
- What did not work?
- What needs further investigation?
Consider the actual needs
It is important to realise that the design process is a re-iterative activity that is constantly checking for validation of its directions, ideas and proposed solutions too. At this phase, try to be as specific as you can about the resources (time, financial, and personnel) you need for the prototype to evolve.
- Specify resources (material and non-material)
- Come up with a time plan
- Identify partnership opportunities and potential cooperation
- Set out an action plan
Questions for reflection
Are the steps outlined above adaptable for your context? Think of who could be involved into your design team! Which of these steps are the most challenging / promising?