The reflective conversation that design professionals engage brings coherence to situations by allowing them on-the-spot mental or actual experiments. Through reflection on similar experiences, professionals analyze and consider potential outcomes of new problems.

Schon (1987) suggested using a practicum studio experience to provide an environment that promotes reflection under the guidance of an expert practitioner who coaches the students as they solve problems and generate solutions. He described the studio environment as a virtual world, designed to approximate real-world situations, while providing novices a safe environment where they could learn without the consequences of making errors in an actual work environment.

The expert-instructor's modeling of the thought process helps the learners develop an awareness of quality and of the interdependence of the component parts of a system. They begin to recognize the significance of the rules, theories and procedures that form the foundation for practice. Schon felt that this provides a means for learners to internalize the design process.

Make the learning experience as similar to actual practice as possible by presenting problems that mirror the complexities and issues that exist in real-world problems.

In preparation for this experience, they recommended that principles and concepts be presented with a variety of examples and the opportunity to practice basic techniques early in the learning experience before attempting to transfer it to new situations.

As learners work through these processes they need to reflect out-loud on their experiences as they occur in order to become aware of the metacognitive strategies required to solve new problems.