The first condition for growing wiser, as put forth by Bev Bos in her concept of play-based learning, is a sense of belonging. Kids are able to learn more easily if they are absent stress and feel supported. Being connected to those around them, both peers and teachers, accomplishes both.
It stands to reason that the same optimal conditions that benefit learning in kids has impact on all learning. Interaction design, for example, has elements of learning in it. A well-designed interface might be intuitive or leverage the tacit knowledge of cultural experiences, but the interaction it facilitates is often about changing behavior or transferring knowledge. It is also about the corner cases, where the person using a system deviates from the main path. In those moments, an interface is intimately tied to learning.
How might a person become connected to an interface?
It can happen through personalization. Bev Bos makes a point of treating each child as an individual learner, not a group of clones. She tries not even to say “boys and girls” since that is so general, preferring to address kids by name even when generalities would be accepted. Every individual learns differently, requires a different pace or tactic, and relies on a unique combination of supports. Education in America rarely treats students as individuals, though, a sad state that has as much to do with administrative philosophy as growing class size. By finding ways to reflect and adapt to personal behaviors, a system can provide a sense of belonging not otherwise there.
Belonging is an emergent effect. In the same way a teacher cannot get a student to connect to her peers simply by commanding or pleading for it, an interface cannot force a person to feel safe or happy or comfortable. This sensation always forms from the inside out. Belonging emerges from all of the little details that make up the learning environment, from small favors to patience to shared spaces. Understanding the relationship those details have to a particular person is no easy task, and designing environments to accommodate many such relationships is a huge challenge. An interface can engender a sense of belonging in its users by paying attention to those details and being responsive.
For more applications of Bev Bos’ conditions for growing wiser, see .
