Uncertainty x Design

Education promises to prepare students for the future, yet much of that future cannot be known in advance. The book asks what learning experiences could help young people influence possible futures through their actions today.

From preparing for likely futures to shaping possible ones

Backward design starts with what students should know and works back to the learning experience. The book recognizes its value for developing established knowledge and skills. But when predetermined answers dominate, students may have fewer opportunities to explore questions that nobody has already settled. A story about a child attending a seemingly different school illustrates how familiar its underlying expectations can remain.

What might change if preparing students for the future also involved helping them create it? This would require opportunities to use what they know in situations where the outcome remains open.

Chapters 1–2, especially pp. 3–11, 19–28.

UxD begins with known-unknowns. These are problems students recognize but do not yet know how to address. Teachers help them engage with these problems in a structured, supportive environment. Leaving parts of the work open gives students meaningful decisions to make.

Give students room to decide, with support to proceed

Teachers can leave parts of a lesson for students to decide. Students might determine the task or how to approach it. They can also help develop the outcome and aspects of the success criteria as the work proceeds. Hybrid lessons offer a gradual way to introduce these choices. Fuller UxD projects let students identify problems they care about and help determine how to address them.

Teachers still provide guidance and access to relevant expertise. Students may also recognize problems adults have missed. The aim is to create enough uncertainty to invite creative action, with support that helps students engage productively.

Chapters 3–5, especially pp. 43–48, 64–66, 77–88.

An uncertain problem invites students to explore different ways forward. An actionable possibility must depart from what already exists and be feasible to put into action. Evaluating an idea can also help students see new possibilities.

Which possibilities are worth pursuing?

Students can make the familiar unfamiliar by questioning an assumption, or make the unfamiliar familiar through analogy. “What if” thinking opens a possibility. “As if” thinking helps explore how it might work. Students then seek focused feedback on promising ideas. After students have developed several possibilities, the book suggests strategies for selecting those that seem most actionable.

One option is the top-two approach, which involves choosing two possibilities to explore further. Students may combine these possibilities or return to ones they set aside. They can also generate new possibilities. Pre-testing includes imagining why a proposal could fail and refining it before implementation.

For complex UxD projects, this can help students notice problems they might otherwise overlook in an exciting idea. The process remains iterative. Evaluating an idea can lead students back to generating new possibilities.

Chapter 6, especially pp. 96–108.

A promising possibility still needs someone willing to pursue it. The book examines students’ confidence and the value they see in acting. It also considers their willingness to take creative risks and the social support available to them.

What beliefs shape the decision to act?

Agentic beliefs are students’ judgments about whether they can act and why doing so matters. They also include willingness to take the risks involved. A student may see an idea’s value yet doubt their ability to carry it out. Another may feel capable but judge the risks too high. The book’s threshold model suggests that social support can expand the uncertainty students feel able to address.

A project may still need to be narrowed. Too much adult direction can also leave students with few decisions of their own. Teachers can check these beliefs before engagement and during the work. Reflection afterward can help students understand setbacks and manage their responses. Deciding whether to persist or change direction remains a judgment made with support.

Chapter 7, especially pp. 115–130; check-in tools, pp. 131–137.

UxD asks students to consider how their learning might contribute beyond their own achievement. They put what they learn to creative use and examine whether their work benefits others. This requires continuing attention to the people affected.

Consider benefits and possible harm

The cone of contributions helps students consider who their work might benefit, beginning with themselves and people close to them. It extends to the broader community, including people they may never meet and future generations. Alongside imagining benefits, students can use “what if-not” thinking. What if an idea fails to help or causes harm?

“If not-then” thinking helps them prepare a response. In the book’s hypothetical playground renovation, students investigate local needs and plan for continued maintenance. They keep checking whether the work serves its intended community. An unsuccessful project may still contribute through shared learning, while leaving the team responsible for its effects.

The closing section, titled Avanti, invites educators to adapt and test UxD in their own contexts.

Chapter 8, especially pp. 138–150, 152–155; Avanti, pp. 160–161.