By: Sanya Uppal

I am most excited about finding our opportunity space after the series of speakers and readings we have interacted with. Our discussions had a focus on rethinking the traditional banking approach of learning and it was great to find this mirrored in our conversations with individuals who make these decisions at Duke. Realizing that faculty and administration are also deliberating and debating our current definitions of educational learning has definitely inspired and motivated me to comprehend, brainstorm, and create reforms to the existing system.

I have found the emphasize and understand phase, which focuses on effectively discovering, analyzing, and visualizing the problem at hand, as a great avenue of exploring these ideas. I have come to realize how crucial this phase is as it forms the foundation of the design process and the basis of our work. This challenges me to gravitate away from instinctively coming to solutions first.

To me, re-imaging learning involves redefining the existing forms of standardization and measurement of success in our education framework. Contemplating in this big picture way is extremely encouraging and inspiring. Professor Timke’s discussion on thinking about bricolage or quilting things together, made me consider how we could approach our re-imagining process by incorporating some concepts from the old framework while creating new inspired ones. I hope to provide not only tangible support and outcomes in my team but also create an environment of deeper reflection of our goals by assimilating some of the ideas we have discussed and been exposed to over the past week. I believe these outcomes must encompass open-source values – a collaborative and easily accessible adaptable framework that is equitable in its formation and application.