To design well, there’s a road you travel until problems and people intersect. If you don’t get lost or detoured, the signposts you pass are Learn, Define, Model, and Build. Sometimes, this is a bumpy, fast trip for a few, willing companions who know the area and can help find answers.

But, this particular trip has taken her time. I’m far from where I wanted to be (which was well into building our learning system for Quest facilitators and students). We have only reached the junction of Define and Model, translating what we know into a product that solves the right problems for the right people. What does a learning system look like when teachers are students, too? How do we make the training enjoyable AND useful to students, while freeing teachers to facilitate learning instead of delivering so much of the content themselves? And how do we help Quest make their programs easier to assess and scale to more partners?

Two students from Quest’s Skills to Succeed Program.

The last piece of research on this problem came a few weeks ago and is my favorite experience, so far. I designed a workshop to better understand Quest’s students, present an alternative curriculum structure based on active learning principles, and hear their reflections on this new model. The first part of the workshop would make sure we were targeting right students in our program design.  The second part would present one of the Quest program topics in a new way—starting with action and ending with learning. Students would work together, talk about what happened, reflect on what it means, and share a few things they can use in the future.

We started with three student profiles, created from earlier Quest research and staff opinion. “Santosh,” “Sahir,” and “Sona” represent student audiences for the learning system, especially Santosh, who we want to help most. He left school, gets and quits jobs, often feels angry, doesn’t take things seriously, and gives up easily. He’s aimless and wants to make a change but can’t figure out how.

Hand-out poster of “Santosh”.

We made posters to visualize each profile. We also played recorded monologues in a local language, so Santosh, Sahir, and Sona tell their own stories. Our workshop students looked at the posters while they listened. We asked them to talk about whether Santosh, Sahir, and Sona are like people they know or maybe even like themselves. Where do they seem untrue?

The session leader ran the discussion in a local language, and students shared personal stories. We hear stories about married women like Sona, who quickly leave Quest programs or school, because they won’t have support for more education from their husbands or families. Some workshop participants related to Sahir, who wants to run a business, not go to school. And Santosh is like lots of people they know, going from one job to another. Not in college. Nowhere.

After going through the profiles, students reflected about how much they enjoyed the activity. “I was able to connect to memories of many people I knew,” explained a quiet woman. Afterwards, we incorporated their feedback into design profiles to include what participants shared.

Students working with a facilitator at the workshop.

We moved on to active learning and ran the students through an activity called “Toxic Waste.” Inside an 8-foot circle, there are two containers. One is half-filled with water and the other is empty. There are some 7-foot ropes and a bicycle tire tube.

The students are given the activity’s message: Sometimes at work, unexpected things happen, and you have to take initiative. Getting others to help you with these tough situations gives you access to more ideas and better solutions (and it’s more fun, too).

To learn this, they are told the container with water is toxic. The other is a “safe” container. You can’t go inside the circle. Using only ropes and a bicycle tube, pour the water from the toxic container into the safe one. You have 30 minutes before the toxic waste explodes and kills everyone. We encouraged them to spend 5 minutes planning and gave them a simple version of Deming’s continuous improvement cycle to follow: Plan-Do-Check-Act.

Although this activity is difficult, one group found a way in five minutes. The other failed; then partially succeeded in about 10 minutes.  In the feedback session after the activity we learned that the students enjoyed the challenge and learning by doing. We heard them reflect back to us lessons about teamwork, planning, and practicing until you succeed. They spoke about building trust and focusing on each person’s strengths, and gave advice about staying cool under pressure. We even heard an old Tamil saying, “Be humble. If you let go, success will be yours.”

Both groups felt that challenges like these are opportunities. “It feels good to show people your talent,” said one student. Another said, “Doing something helps us demonstrate, achieve a dialogue and trust.” Another advised, “You don’t have to say you’re sorry for jumping in. The boss will congratulate you! If you talk about it first, he won’t be convinced. Show it!”

Students unpack their experience with a facilitator.

We didn’t expect such a clear endorsement of active learning in our workshops, but when asked to compare this activity with a previous Quest lesson on “Attitude”, there was no contest. The students mentioned:

• It’s better to talk to each other than have people talk TO you.
• We got the feeling that we will succeed, and we DID. It gives us confidence.
• If you DO it, it’s better.

One woman summed it up when she said, behind a big smile, “This is the first time I’m working with a team, and I really like it!”

I may not be far enough down the road. But for me, working with these students to get their feedback is like swapping a buffalo cart for an autorickshaw. They give you energy and purpose. They are why this work matters. Every minute of design is a piece of their future.

I have reason to hurry.