Reflection #5
12.11.2025
: “ I used to think... Now I think...”
I enrolled in this course because I wanted practical experience in learning design. As someone transitioning from industrial design into learning design, I was looking for a way to understand how design principles translate when the primary goal is learning rather than a physical product. Early on, I realized that learning design and human-centered industrial design share many foundational values, especially around understanding users, empathy, and iteration. Because of this overlap, I initially assumed the course might not push me very far beyond what I already knew.
However, the course challenged me in ways I did not expect. After years of designing, many of my design decisions had become automatic. I relied heavily on intuition and familiar methods, often moving quickly from problem to solution. This course disrupted that pattern. Its focus on learning design forced me to slow down and examine how my assumptions shaped my work, especially when designing for audiences unlike myself.
The course structure played an important role in this shift. The scaffolded modules are built intentionally on one another, creating opportunities to revisit earlier decisions with new perspectives. While the differences between product design and learning design may seem subtle, those differences were enough to prompt meaningful reflection. For example, when developing personas for parents, I initially relied on assumptions drawn from observation rather than direct engagement. Later interviews revealed gaps between my expectations and parents’ lived experiences, making it clear that true audience understanding requires sustained listening, not projection.
Collaborative work further deepened this learning. Working in groups required negotiation, explanation, and compromise—skills that are essential in learning design but easy to overlook when working independently. Hearing how peers interpreted the same materials or user needs exposed the limits of my own framing and helped me develop a more empathetic approach. These discussions reinforced that learning design is not simply about creating solutions, but about building shared understanding through dialogue.
Overall, this course helped me reconnect with a reflective design mindset that I had gradually lost. It reminded me that learner-centered design is not defined by good intentions alone, but by continuous attention to real users and their contexts. By stepping out of familiar design routines and engaging more deeply with learners’ experiences, I gained a clearer sense of how learning design demands both humility and adaptability.
This experience has strengthened the foundation of my transition into learning design. More importantly, it has reinforced a practice I want to carry forward: designing with learners, not just for them, and remaining open to questioning my own assumptions throughout the process.