Groundwork
Context
Graduate students are usually taking and teaching classes simultaneously in many programs. At best, there is minimal training provided before they give their first lecture.
Challenge
It takes a myriad of applications, notebooks, and planners to manage time, assignments, and lesson planning for the average graduate student.
Solution
My goal was to conceptualize a product that coherently merges lesson planning and scheduling into one location. Call it “GradPlanner.”
User research
Survey
29 participants
Many times I begin with a powerpoint, including main activities first (based on the class schedule) before adding additional smaller activities. I conclude with a homework slide.
Read the chapter and develop lecture notes. Then think of an activity to apply concepts.
I start by reading the assigned chapters. Then (with pen and paper), I write down possible questions for my students to consider during in-class discussions.
Overall, the responses have shown that not only are there multiple user groups who could benefit from a product idea like GradPlanner, there are a plethora of means and methods in which users lesson plan for their classes.
Interviews
2 participants
The participant claimed that she rarely lesson planned and would rather “wing it.” She said if she did lesson plan, her class would stray away from it. But, she expressed that she would feel more prepared if she did lesson plan regularly.
In general, she liked that there are less courses per semester and found the courses to be more engaging and challenging. But, the class time (e.g., 3 hours) can be taxing, especially having no prior graduate school experience.
The participant had trouble maintaining students’ attention during class and tracking attendance. She has taught in non-academic settings, preparing lessons and workshops, and has previosuly coached.
The participant tracked her tasks in multiple places, saying it’s helpful to have a planner in order to “get stuff done.”
She described her lesson planning process in terms of trial and error. Yet, she feels her structure is intuitive for her class: free write, reading review, application, homework, questions & concerns.
The participant enjoys the cohort she is a part of and likes how the courses are challenging and are applicable to the industry. However, time management is difficult given that she has had no prior graduate school experience.
She has received positive feedback about her teaching but feels as though she is not getting enough feedback and support from her supervisor. Before graduate school, she has tutored French in undergrad and provided classes for migrants in Italy.
Off hand, she mentioned that many in her cohort felt that time management was a common issue. But for her she liked having classes scheduled toward the beginning of the week, claiming it helped with mental stress.
To summarize the user research, I decided to hone in on one target user group: graduate students. I had better access to recruiting graduate students for future testing and felt as though GradPlanner should cater to them first, since they face the most difficulty having little to no experience teaching nor lesson planning.
User persona
Graduate student & instructor
McKenzie really enjoys her courses and the challenges that come with them. She likes her cohort and works well with them in her classes. Teaching is new to her, but she is excited to help students learn. She is very concerned about doing her job well and balancing her coursework with her teaching assignments.
At times, she struggles with imposter syndrome and feels as though she could use more support from her peers and supervisors in the classroom. Teaching is new to her, and she will take all the help she can get to do her best.
Design research
Competitor analysis
3 direct & 6 indirect competitors
Lesson-planning applications
- Nearpod
- Planboard
- Lesson Plan - Free
Calendar & task-management applications
- Google Calendar
- Business Calendar 2
- TimeTree
- School Planner
- My Study Life
- Egenda
Note, I had limited access to App 3. It also appeared to cater towards K-12 lesson planning and teaching more so.
Overall, conducting surveys, interviews, and executing a competitor analysis was a solid springboard for gathering information, understanding the marketspace, and finding a direction for GradPlanner.
Test results
1st iteration
Analysis
Participants provided useful feedback for improving the application such as creating a “first time experience” and decluttering the UI. They also expressed whether or not they enjoyed the look and feel of the prototype, providing an insightful emotional response.
GradPlanner v1 lesson editor
2nd iteration
Analysis
The tasks in the test plan may have been too simple, since they were relying on a fairly linear user flow. However, the card-sorting exercise provided useful insights into revising the information architecture & additional features participants would have wanted.
GradPlanner v2 lesson editor
3rd iteration
Analysis
There were more experimental features that could have been included and tested. However, this test indicated that the interaction design, information architecture, & core features needed some revisions to further align with users’ mental models.
GradPlanner v3 dashboard
Moving forward
Next steps
Analysis
The future iterations & testing for GradPlanner would be to consider a mobile version of the product. Determining whether a mobile app would need full parity with desktop or more simplified features would be the goal.
For user groups that prefer pen & paper, I explore adjacent GradPlanner products that utilize a structured notebook akin to a agenda or daily planner.
GradPlanner v4 dashboard
