What if we take a broader view of what it means to run an education experiment? In this paper, we explore opportunities that arise when we think beyond the commonly-held notion that the purpose of an experiment is to either accept or reject a pre-defined hypothesis and instead, reconsider experimentation as a means to explore the complex design space of creating and improving instructional content. This is an approach we call experiment-inspired design. Then, to operationalize these ideas in a real-world experimentation venue, we investigate the implications of running a sequence of interventions teaching first-year students "meta-skills": transferable skills applicable to multiple areas of their lives, such as planning, and managing stress. Finally, using two examples as case studies for meta-skills interventions (stress-reappraisal and mental contrasting with implementation intentions), we reflect on our experiences with experiment-inspired design and share six preliminary lessons on how to use experimentation for design.
翻译:如果我们从更广的角度看待教育实验的意义呢?在本文中,我们探索了各种机会,我们不仅认为实验的目的是接受或拒绝预先确定的假设,而是重新考虑实验,作为探索创造和改进教学内容的复杂设计空间的一种手段。我们称之为实验性设计。然后,为了在现实世界的实验场所将这些想法付诸实施,我们调查了实施一系列干预的影响,教一年级学生“元技能”:适用于他们生活多个领域的可转让技能,例如规划以及管理压力。最后,我们用两个例子作为超技能干预的案例研究(与执行意图形成对比的对准和精神分析),我们思考我们实验性设计的经验,并分享关于如何利用实验进行设计的初步经验。