Project: Diagnostic Prep | Developing tutorials for K-2 Students
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Responding to the Field
User Level: K-2 students
Problems to Solve: Reports from the field showed that K-2 students were struggling (actually crying) when taking the Diagnostic test — their first experience with the learning platform. Students were cognitively overwhelmed as this was often the first time they were using a computer while being expected to take a very difficult test. Educators felt frustrated since they couldn’t offer individualized help to their students.
Key Issues Reported by Educators:
Project Constraints
The time and length is unbearable
Takes several 45-min sessions to complete
Kids are just getting used to being in school and sitting for a period of itme
Global progress bar UI is not clear to young users and doesn’t convey time left
Teachers struggle to help
Teachers are overloaded during this process when multiple kids get stuck.
Kids are clicking through items out of frustration and not getting the accurate instructional lessons afterwards.
Kids unfamiliar with tech and tests
These young users are new to computers
Don’t have the dexterity to handle a mouse or trackpad effectively
Limited understanding of a test, especially an adaptive one giving intentionally difficult items
Student’s don’t understand they are done as the experience ends with no explanation
User Constraints
Students can’t read yet
We can’t know which items they will see or which tools they may use during the experience
Technical Constraints
System can’t differentiate input device or platform being used by student
Can’t update the Diag items themselves to make them more age-appropriate
Can’t insert tutorials at point-of-use
Can only add to the already overwhelming experience, not take away through cutting items
Must deliver by next product release date
Must be cohesive with existing (less than ideal) visual design of the Diag
Research
What are these users capable of?
Performed UXR to determine the average 4-8 year olds’ developmental skills (both fine motor and cognitive).
What are our goals?
How will we approach this?
What are competitors doing?
Determined how competitors were handling their assessment introductions and tutorials.
Scope
How do we approach grade levels?
Provided options to stakeholders that balanced tight back-to-school schedule and differing approaches based on grade-level and vastly different user capabilities by age.
How do we approach implementation?
Determined that developing modular components to insert at various points in the Diagnostic would give the optimal experience within the constraints and get us as close as possible to “point-of-use” tutorialization.
Journey Mapping
How does our approach align to potential flow?
Prototyping
Several rounds of prototyping helped us to refine the user flow and determine the main areas of focus (for both instruction and user testing). We continued to refer to our goals and approach pillars.
Several rounds of testing helped refine individual moments of feedback and support.
End Result
Several rounds of prototyping helped us to refine the user flow and determine the main areas of focus (for both instruction and user testing). We continued to refer to our goals and approach pillars.
Ideally we would have liked to make more direct changes to the Diagnostic itself, but we were successful given our tight constraints.
The time and length is unbearable
We added 12-15 minutes to the experience. However, the tutotialization helped prevent students from getting stuck on unfamiliar items or when frustrated by lack of context — essentialy a wash for time.
Teachers struggle to help
We developed Professional Development material to help teachers better prepare their students for the diagnostic. This included a short video and printables.
Kids unfamiliar with tech and tests
Kids slowly built confidence as well as fine motor skills during the tutorial and the game intermission.
Students can articulate what they are doing and why its important to work hard on it.
Students exit the Diagnostic with a feeling of completion and celebration.