Yesterday, when working on a conceptually difficult assignment in an early class, a student said: “But, I’m confused!”…
We paused, reflected on that statement and I replied:
The things about that, is that there are two ways that can be interpreted: (1) 'I’m confused as to what to do' or (2) 'I’m confused as to what I’m going to do next.’…
The student had a knowing look cross their face and nodded...
I followed: "I suspect it’s #2. Here’s why ..."
- You’ve been given a very detailed project brief with broken out process steps
- You have been shown detailed examples along the way of both successful and unsuccessful solutions
- Your problem has already been 'kickstarted' on the project brief
- You have extensive out of class support through workshops
- You have an extended e-network of out of class support
- You’re surrounded by 14 other examples of the same problem — each with successes and failures to learn from
So... there’s no confusion as to what you should be doing, right? The real question is: How are you going to solve the problem – and what are you going to do next? The first step is to try… and to make mistakes. Learn from those mistakes and make some more. Maybe make mistakes until something works and figure out why it works. But you’re going to have to take action.”
Design is an active profession. Clients look to us not only to actively solve problems, but to find new problems and to re-define what problems (and solutions) are. This takes productive effort… not just “effort”, but productive effort… effort that gets you results.
When you say 'I'm confused', in some unconscious measure, your brain shuts down. You stop looking for answers yourself. You issue a call for help and are in waiting-mode — and you might wait for a while. Ain't nobody got time for that.
It’s very easy to throw up your hands and say “I’m confused” — but here’s the thing you need to recognize and remember:
- When you say "I'm confused", in some unconscious measure, your brain shuts down. You stop looking for answers yourself. You issue a call for help and are in waiting-mode — and you might wait for a while. Ain't nobody got time for that.
- Often, it is meant for you to figure out yourself — that’s your task. That’s the assignment. You’re seeking an advanced degree and that is going to take some advanced effort, advanced thinking and advanced initiative.
Do you think your client is going to tell you exactly how to solve the problem and where to look for answers? Do you think your boss will stand over your shoulder to correct you every step of the way? Of course not… however, we're in an educational space, there's a lot thrown at you in class and it's easy to get overwhelmed (which might even be a better word). It's totally fine to ask questions — we're here to help: but most importantly, get un-confused.
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