Download - Youth-Centered Design Methodology
Designing digital STEM resources FOR and WITH middle school-aged youth
Sarita PillaiEducation Development Center, Inc.
Overview
Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC)
Portfolio of youth media and technology projects National Science Foundation funded
projects The FunWorks (thefunworks.org) Girls Communicating Career Connections
(gc3.edc.org) Middle School Portal (msteacher2.org)
Process
Preliminary Data on Youth: Literature Review
Guiding Data From Youth and Educators Online Surveys Focus Groups
The Heart of Participatory Design: The Youth Co-Design Team
Product Creation: The Final Product Evaluation: Pilot and Field Testing
Process
Literature Review Research, methodologies, instruments, data Content and Design
Guiding Data From Youth and Educators Online Surveys – breadth of data Focus Groups – depth of data
4-6 participants Focus on “how” vs “what”Contextual information missing from survey
Youth Co-Design Team
Learner-centered design principles 6 - 8 youth, specific populations 12 - 20 weeks, afterschool setting Project-developed curriculum of activities
Team building & trust Orientation to project goals Activities (scaffolded and cummulative) –
information gathering and skill building Youth as consumers AND producers of
content creating new knowledge
Case Study: MSP2
Middle School Portal 2: Math and Science Pathways (MSP2) for middle grades students and teachers
Online Survey 440 middle school youth 617 middle school educators
Youth and Educator Focus Groups 5 middle school youth from Boston, MA 6 middle school educators (NSTA)
Categories of data - Science/math topics, favorite websites, technology use, web design preferences, evaluating online information
The Co-Design Team
The Design Team
9 students, 13-15 years old, 7th/8th grade Recruited through a community
technology center Urban setting – Boston Application process Participation incentive Extensive IRB process – not for the faint
of heart!
Design Team Activities
Pre-assessment of computer/Web knowledge/skills
Identification of relevant and engaging Web elements
Creation of STEM Web site mock-ups Paper Balsamiq
Critique of STEM Web site mock-ups Post-assessment of computer/Web
knowledge/skills
Design Preferences
Clear layout, easy to navigate, ‘original’ content
Use of color, balance between text and images, not childish
Limited introductory information and text, more interactivity, video
Multiple search options, limited search results
Ability to create/add content Dictionary feature
Designs
Designs
Process Challenges
Session scheduling, communication beyond sessions
Effective work in groups, trust and incentives
Memorandums of understanding Design partner vs. mentor Development of, and revisions to, activities The impact of importance - participatory
design
Thank you!
Sarita PillaiEducation Development Center, Inc.
[email protected] http://www.edc.org
The FunWorks (thefunworks.org)Girls Communicating Career Connections
(gc3.edc.org)Middle School Portal (msteacher2.org)