From Problem Solving to Design in Action: Rethinking How We Support Learners

This week, The Belonging Centre had the opportunity to work with inclusion leads from Living Waters Catholic School Division to explore ways of facilitating belonging and responding to the current context in education through a focus on how we design and teach curriculum. The attached presentation captures the thinking we explored together, and below is a brief overview to further unpack these ideas.

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There is a moment in almost every conversation with educators where the same question emerges. What should I do for this student. It is a good question. It comes from care, urgency, and a genuine desire to help. But what if it is not the most helpful starting point.

Education today is more complex than it has ever been. Classrooms are more diverse, expectations are deeper, and learning is no longer just about acquiring information. It is about understanding, connection, and application. As this shift continues, we are also being asked to support learners in developing broader competencies such as thinking, communicating, collaborating, and applying learning in new contexts. These ideas are reflected across many curriculum frameworks and point to a shared direction in education. Learning is not simply about what students know. It is about what they can do with what they know, and who they are becoming as learners.

This shift is not subtle. It is foundational. We are moving from uniform learners to diverse identities and needs, from predictable pathways to varied and individualized journeys, and from isolated skills to deep and connected understanding. The question is no longer how to return to simpler classrooms. The question is how to design for the reality we are in.

Part of this shift requires us to recognize that not all problems are the same. In education, we often treat problems as if they are simple and solved through procedure, or complicated and solved through expertise. But much of what we face is actually complex. These challenges involve relationships, evolve over time, and cannot be solved once and for all. And yet, we often respond with quick fixes, isolated strategies, and individual solutions. This is where things begin to break down.

We are not short on strategies. What we are often missing is how to use what we know in responsive and intentional ways over time. Inclusive education is not about finding the right strategy. It is about learning to design in ways that allow more learners to access, participate, and contribute. This is also what competency development requires. Learners need opportunities to engage with ideas, connect their thinking, and apply their learning in meaningful ways. The shift is from fixing learners to designing environments.

Instead of asking what should we do for this student, we begin to ask how we can design this learning so more students can succeed. This changes everything. Support becomes collaborative rather than isolated, proactive rather than reactive, and designed rather than retrofitted. We stop designing for one learner and begin designing for many.

One way of making this thinking practical is through a simple design structure that helps us look at learning more intentionally. We consider access, structure, scaffolding, support, and adjusting the work. These are not additional tasks. They are ways of thinking about how learning is experienced.

• Access focuses on whether the learner can enter the learning

• Structure helps the learner understand what they are being asked to do

• Scaffolding supports growth and development over time

• Support ensures the learner is not alone in the learning

• Adjusting the work allows us to maintain the goal while varying complexity and demand

This shifts us away from reacting to struggle and toward designing learning that works from the beginning. It also creates the conditions for deeper learning, where students are building understanding, making connections, and applying their learning in meaningful ways.

One of the most powerful ideas in this work is that the goal is not the task. When we confuse tasks with goals, learning becomes compliance driven and students are measured by completion. When we clarify the goal, we create space for flexibility. We can vary how learners access, engage, and demonstrate their understanding while still maintaining the integrity of the learning. This is where inclusion becomes possible and where competencies can develop through thinking, communication, collaboration, and application.

Inclusive design is not about allowing students to be present. It is about ensuring they can access the learning, participate in meaningful ways, and contribute to shared understanding. This represents a shift from presence to participation and from participation to contribution. These are also the conditions under which deeper learning and competency development occur.

The encouraging part of this work is that it does not require us to redesign everything. It asks us to take one small step. We clarify the goal, identify where learners are experiencing difficulty, and make one intentional design move. Over time, these small shifts build confidence and lead to meaningful change.

Design is not a one time event. It is an ongoing process. We notice the learner experience, identify barriers, design a small shift, apply it, and observe the impact. As we continue this cycle, our thinking becomes clearer, our practice becomes more intentional, and outcomes improve for learners.

This is not additional work. It is the work. The same design moves that support inclusion also support deeper learning, the development of competencies, and the preparation of learners for an increasingly complex world.

As you reflect on your own context, you might consider where this approach clarifies your thinking, where it feels like a stretch, and what one small step you could take. Meaningful change does not begin with sweeping reform. It begins with one thoughtful shift in how we design for learners.

When we move from problem solving to design, we stop asking how to fix students and begin asking how to open learning. In doing so, we create classrooms where more learners can enter, stay, grow, and belong.