Ideas take many shapes and sizes but have one similarity, they are in your head. It is time to stop thinking/planning and start doing. After researching different perspectives, defining the problem, and generating ideas it is time to actually build something. The fourth mode of design thinking is building a prototype to bring one or more ideas to life.
In order to practice the skill of prototyping and experiencing how the construction process is important to design thinking, I have selected an abstract idea. In this post, I will showcase my prototype on my views of learning.
Do it yourself or as the French would say: bricolage!
Materials:
golf ball
ping pong ball
ball with holes
colored ball
paper
sand
markers
bamboo skewers
chess pieces
cotton strip
Prototype:
Press play to take a look at my model.
Learning new concepts can be acquired through studying, teaching, or experiencing knowledge. Generally, I believe learning is a personalized yet collaborative process. While constructing my model, I wanted to highlight how interaction with the world and the obstacles we face impact our learning process. That is where I got the idea to create an obstacle course to display my views on the process of learning. I used different types of balls and their movement through problems to symbolize learners in new situations. The different types of colors, sizes, and weights of the balls show that each has its own set of characteristics similar to each person having unique skills and learning needs. Some balls would find specific obstacles easier than others. For example, a golf ball has experience with traveling over grass, whereas this is challenging for the ping pong ball. On the other hand, the golf ball would sink when water is involved. Furthermore, the ball with holes would move much less when there is wind. In the center, I added a playing court with a net, which all the balls must overcome to succeed. I used this to represent that learning can be challenging at times for all people, but it is always worth the win.
In order to create this prototype, I was able to build empathy for different learner types and explore the challenges they face. That being said, building a prototype on my chosen big idea was a mini design thinking session where I was able to bring my views to life. The most interesting insight from this process was that once I started doing, I was able to validate ideas, change ideas, think about new ideas, and reflect on those ideas. For instance, I had created all the elements but realized that I wanted to place them in a way that brings attention to how each part is an obstacle for a particular ball. Even though learners, or in this case a ball, face difficulties it is through collaboration and communication they can overcome a challenge. By engaging in this activity I realized that this step in design thinking is also important to represent and communicate your ideas to others.