Curb cuts in learning and work

What if we designed our education systems to be robust against human error and common human struggles? A lot of the mechanisms we use in education and in work seem to be built for robots.

This article is going to start off sounding like a bit of a flex, but there is a point I want to get across, and it needs a bit of backstory.

Ready?

Flex time 💪

A student of mine sent me this recently

Hi! I LOVE this teaching methodology.

I was a bit scared before coming to the workshop.

I do not like much talking about it, but I have been diagnosed with a “bit” of ADHD. I struggle mentally a lot with instructor-led training, as it is difficult for me to grasp all the details when the instructor lectures non-stop.

Your methodology is great for me, as I can go back if I miss an important detail, and I feel that I have some sense of control over the content I am learning... plus it is hands-on

Thanks

I loved this feedback because it showed me that I was getting something very important right.

The workshop this person was talking about was an advanced Django workshop we ran at Prelude. We’ve been running these things for a while, and they are intentionally quite... unusual.

They are unusual in that they don’t resemble traditional education much at all.

There are no sage-on-the-stage lectures; people get to move through the work at their own pace (because Mastery Based Learning friggin’ rocks); and the students are treated like adults with agency instead of being told what to do all the time (although strong recommendations are often made).

We work with professionals, so we trust our students. In our technical workshops, we let them get on with things in ways that fit their lives, and let them manage their own attention as needed.

Some people find the experience a little strange at first, even jarring. Some people start off feeling pretty concerned and unsure. But as things progress and folks lean in, things go well.

An education system designed for humans

Many education systems force everyone to move at the same pace. This is bad for folks who need to take more time to polish foundational skills, or who have any other challenges to work with. It’s also bad for the folks who are fully capable of moving faster than the group.

It’s better to build a system that allows folks to move at their own optimal pace. This has challenges, but it’s worth it.

Many education systems force everyone to pay close attention as a lecture is delivered in real time. There is no option to rewind or fast forward.

This is bad for anyone who struggles to pay close attention throughout a full lecture (that’s a lot of people). It is especially bad for anyone who needs to spend extra time understanding the words being said (folks who are missing foundational skills or learning in a second language). It’s also especially bad for anyone who has challenges around focus (for example, any students with a *bit* of ADHD, or with a crying baby in the next room).

Lectures can be helpful. But they would be way better for everyone if it were possible to pause or rewind. This is not to say that content delivery is all there is to education, of course.

There are many more examples like this - of systems and conventions that people rely on and expect that are sub-optimal. If educators were to rethink the mechanisms of education - the experience of learning - from the ground up, a lot would be done differently.

What has this got to do with “curb cuts”?

The title of this article talks about curb cuts. Let’s dig into that for a moment.

A curb cut is a slight ramp built into a curb. They are ramps that go from the top of a sidewalk to the surface of the adjoining street.

They were designed and advocated for by folks who needed to get around in wheelchairs. It’s a long story; you can learn all about it here.

There are a few things I want to highlight about curb cuts:

1. For some people, curb cuts are critical

For people in wheelchairs, getting around can be impossible without curb cuts.

If you’re trying to get across the street and there are no curb cuts, six inches might as well be Mount Everest - Lawrence Carter Long

2. Curb cuts are good for everyone

Curb cuts were advocated for one group of people, but many others find them useful.

Bicyclists, old folks with walkers, parents pushing baby strollers, delivery people pushing trolleys, anyone with a roller bag... Curb cuts are so helpful that many people feel that they were designed just for them.

This effect is significant enough to have its own name and Wikipedia entry. It’s called The Curb Cut Effect.

The curb cut effect is the phenomenon of disability-friendly features being used and appreciated by a larger group than the people they were designed for. - Wikipedia

Curb cuts in education and beyond

When building out education systems and learning experiences, I try to build in curb cuts. These curb cuts are not specifically focused on disabilities, but instead on perfectly normal life challenges.

Many people have struggles with focus (we live in an attention economy, which means many of us have an attention deficit because of the products that use us). Many people would struggle to catch up if they missed a few classes in a worthwhile course. Many people have imperfect memories and need to be told things more than once. Many people have struggles with motivation as they learn because they have competing concerns.

If we account for humans being humans as we build learning experiences, people do better. It’s helpful to be aware of the challenges faced by the people you serve and to create systems that are robust to them.

There are the standard-issue human difficulties I already mentioned, as well as group-specific problems. Imagine teaching a group of folks who have financial difficulties - they might have attendance difficulties because life is complicated, and they have fewer options. If a person misses a few lessons because the internet is unreliable, their transport doesn’t show up, or they have a disaster to deal with, the system should be robust to that. Anything less would be setting people up to struggle and fail for reasons outside their control - reasons that have nothing to do with their own capabilities and will to learn.

Oh the humanity

I want to recommend a podcast. It might not seem totally relevant at first, but listen to it to the end; it’s a good one. I found it quite personally meaningful because it helped me better understand my own behaviour during a particularly stressful period of my life:

Hidden Brain - The Scarcity Trap: Why We Keep Digging When We’re Stuck In A Hole

We humans are embedded in so many systems - education, work, social policies, unwritten social contracts... many of these things are designed (explicitly or not) in ways that do not seem to account for our humanity.

For example, I was once stuck in one of those toxic-positive workplaces where the mere hint that people might be a little forgetful, inattentive, or prone to sticking to existing habits when new and uncomfortable habits would serve them better was, let’s say, frowned upon. Everyone was definitely perfect, and if they didn’t change their behaviour, even after they said they really wanted to, it was definitely because they had decided better of it... It was a bit of a mess.

Not every workplace is as bad as that, but many workplaces have processes and norms that expect people to be robotic.

Think for a moment about where and how you work. If you are an information worker (which you probably are if you are reading this), then think about how your workplace encourages helpful habits and behaviours; how it protects and directs attention; and how it sets people up to make the best decisions possible. How “accountability” often sounds scary instead of empowering.

It is worth being intentional about these things. It’s worth thinking about how people tend to fall short of the robotic expectations so often set for them. It’s worth designing workplaces that set humans up for success.

It’s not only effective.

It’s kind.