Mindset 3: Learning by doing

Learning by doing is a preference for action - making and experimenting - instead of spending too long on meetings and talking.

We often try to solve a problem through many meetings, advisory groups, and committees. It’s also common for project teams to take an idea from conception straight to implementation. Both of these approaches can mean that assumptions (such as who the stakeholders are, what their needs are, and how the idea will be delivered) which are built into the idea are not tested until it becomes live. This comes with significant risk that the idea will not deliver what it aims to, wasting both time and money.

Instead, using a prototyping process - iterative cycles of doing and reflecting - to test ideas helps us quickly build tangibility, understand our ideas better and adapt them to be more effective, all at low cost. In short, prototyping is the process of making ideas seem real so that we can find out more about how they work. We will delve into prototyping as a method in greater depth later in these modules, but right now we are focusing on the mindset that enables us to have a preference towards ‘doing’.

Learning by doing offers us:

An end to circular conversations 

Using results from real tests to inform our decisions instead of opinions and guesses.

Buy-in 

Through creating and testing prototypes, people who will benefit from an idea are engaged as makers, critics and key decision makers which creates a sense of ownership over what is being explored. 

Less risk 

By quickly learning if things don’t work, we can adapt or abandon them early on. This creates far less financial and relational risk than abandoning a full scale pilot, expensive campaign, and/or national roll-out.

New evidence 

When a new idea is proposed, we commonly hear the critique that “there is no evidence to support that”. Generally speaking, innovations have no evidence (yet) as scientific evidence requires significant time and financial investment. Through learning by doing, we begin to generate new evidence, that privileges the experience of the user - a voice that is less often heard in traditional planning processes.

 

Exercise

This exercise is ideally done in pairs or as a small team. While it would be great if you can connect with colleagues to try this out (face to face or over a video chat platform), we know that isn’t always possible. Instead you could ask a family member or friend if they would like to join you - they don’t require any pre-existing knowledge, just a willingness to have a go.

Step-by-step guide:

  1. Choose one of the two challenges listed below 

  2. Together you have five minutes to think about the challenge and come up with an idea for how to solve it, using your collective knowledge, expertise and experiences. Tip: You could ‘talk it out’, or quickly jot down as many ideas as you can in one minute as individuals, and then choose one from the pile of ideas to focus on.

  3. Together you have ten minutes to make your idea, using any materials you have available, physical or digital. Physical materials might include play-dough, craft materials, toys or household objects. Digital materials might include an online slide deck or platform you can contribute into, in order to illustrate what an idea might look like.

  4. Present your idea to a friend or colleague for feedback.

Challenges to choose from

Challenge #1

Your challenge is to make an idea that will increase the number of parents and carers who engage in play with their young children.

Challenge #2

Your challenge is to make an idea that will increase curiosity amongst both teachers and students.

A note about prototyping

A prototype can be on paper, within a storyboard or sketch, a model, short video, performance or role play, a game or an experiential mock-up such as a pop-up space made of cardboard and other inexpensive materials. The form a prototype takes depends on the ideas and audience we want to engage with. The key is low investment – this is not a finished product! We want to iterate our prototypes, or even throw out an idea out if it does not work. You will discover more about prototyping as an innovation method in the module Skill sets for innovation and change.

 
 
SUGGESTED TIME: 
20 minutes
LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY:
Easy
MATERIALS NEEDED:
If you are in the same room as your partner or team: craft supplies, household items, toys. If you are connecting virtually, an online space that you can collaborate in
PARTICIPANTS:
You will benefit from having a partner or small group for this activity, but it can be done by yourself too