  What if we take a broader view of what it means to run an education
experiment? In this paper, we explore opportunities that arise when we think
beyond the commonly-held notion that the purpose of an experiment is to either
accept or reject a pre-defined hypothesis and instead, reconsider
experimentation as a means to explore the complex design space of creating and
improving instructional content. This is an approach we call
experiment-inspired design. Then, to operationalize these ideas in a real-world
experimentation venue, we investigate the implications of running a sequence of
interventions teaching first-year students "meta-skills": transferable skills
applicable to multiple areas of their lives, such as planning, and managing
stress. Finally, using two examples as case studies for meta-skills
interventions (stress-reappraisal and mental contrasting with implementation
intentions), we reflect on our experiences with experiment-inspired design and
share six preliminary lessons on how to use experimentation for design.
