Session 2 - Understanding the Student Experience
Purpose
Develop an in-depth understanding of student needs and motivations for tailored blended learning designs.
Method
Gather Insights: Explore students' experiences and challenges.
Identify Goals: Use the 'jobs to be done' framework to define specific student learning goals.
Plan Resources: Determine the necessary resources and experiences for these goals.
Outcome
A clear set of student-focused objectives and initial ideas for an effective student-centred blended learning environment.
Before you start
This session is crucial for enhancing student learning experiences. A redesigned blended learning course may not effectively improve student achievement without understanding their needs, pain points, and aspirations. Tailoring the learning journey to student needs is key to success. Allocate as much time as needed in this session to gain essential insights for your course design. Consider involving team members with insights into student motivation or experience in user research. While this session provides basic guidelines, feel free to adapt and use additional methods to deepen your understanding of student needs.
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A - Gaining Empathy for Our Students
⌛ - 45 - X min
WHY?
Understanding students' experiences is key to creating a learning environment that aligns with their needs, motivations, and challenges. Educators can design more effective and engaging blended learning experiences by empathising with students.
WHAT?
The aim is to deeply understand students' daily experiences, frustrations, barriers, and motivations.
HOW?
STEP 1 - Gaining Deep Understanding
Interview Students: Conduct interviews focusing on their daily school experiences. Build rapport, then delve into detailed questions about their day-to-day activities, feelings, and moments of engagement or disengagement.
Observe Behavior: Shadow students to observe their behaviours, particularly when they deviate from the norm, indicating unmet needs or motivations.
Seek Inspiration: Recall instances where you successfully addressed a student's specific challenge, noting their reactions and the strategies used.
STEP 2 - Plan Research Actions
Clarify Problem Statement: Revisit the initial problem statement to ensure alignment on the project's goals and scope.
Assign Research Tasks: Plan and distribute research activities among team members, using a tool and activities table for organization.
Set Deadlines: Agree on deadlines and work division to ensure focused and timely research.
STEP 3 - Synthesizing Findings
Share Insights: Use a design charette board to share and discuss findings. Focus on capturing precise, visual insights on sticky notes.
Infer Meaning: Look for patterns, contradictions, or surprises in the data to gain a deeper understanding.
Select Key Insights: Identify and select the most valuable findings, marking them for further discussion.
RESULT
A comprehensive understanding of the student experience, with key insights and observations that will inform the next steps of the design process.
B - Framing Jobs to be Done
⌛ - 30 min
WHY?
To translate student needs and challenges into actionable goals, we use the 'jobs to be done' framework, which helps identify specific tasks or progress points students strive to achieve.
WHAT?
Using the insights gathered, frame 'jobs to be done' that reflect the student's needs in learning, teaching, and school environment.
HOW?
STEP 1 - Identify Jobs
Review Reflections: Examine insights from step A, focusing on the columns 'I wonder if this means' and 'what stood out for us'. These reflections provide a starting point for understanding student needs and goals. Ensure team agreement on these insights. Consider grouping similar findings or rephrasing notes for clarity.
Frame the Jobs: Based on these insights, formulate specific 'jobs to be done'. Use the format: "Help me [specific job to be done], so that I can [desired outcome or benefit]." Individually, write one job statement per post-it. (Time: 5 mins)
STEP 2 - Share Jobs
Present Jobs: Each team member shares their 'jobs to be done' statements.
Group Jobs: Cluster similar 'jobs to be done' statements together.
STEP 3 - List the Final Jobs
Prioritize Jobs: Select and prioritize 'jobs to be done' validated by your research. Focus on ensuring accuracy and relevance.
Document Jobs: Write down the 'jobs to be done' briefly, listing only the specific jobs without the outcomes or benefits.
Acknowledge Predefined Jobs: Note two universal student jobs: "Help me feel successful" and "Help me have fun with friends," identified by prior research. Discuss how these integrate with or complement your findings.
Reflection and Read-Out: Conclude with a team reflection and read aloud the final list of student 'jobs to be done'.
RESULT
A clearly defined 'jobs to be done' list represents students' needs and goals within the blended learning context and is tailored to the challenge focus.
C - Brainstorming the Jobs to be Done
⌛ - 45 min
WHY?
This step further develops the 'jobs to be done' by identifying the necessary experiences and resources to fulfil these jobs, ensuring a comprehensive and effective approach to meeting student needs.
WHAT?
Brainstorm and detail the experiences and resources required to accomplish the 'jobs to be done'.
HOW?
STEP 1 - Understand the Job Architecture
Learn the Levels: Recognize the three levels of a job: the job itself, the experiences provided to complete it, and how resources are integrated for its completion.
Exercise Goal: Focus on brainstorming solutions for the second and third levels to foster effective, student-centered learning experiences. At this stage, set aside constraints like time, budget, or expertise to encourage a wide range of ideas.
STEP 2 - Brainstorm Experiences
List Needed Experiences: For each 'job to be done', identify various required experiences. These might include mentoring, fostering student agency, or creating meaningful work experiences.
Step 3 - Define Resources
Determine Resources: For each identified experience, list the necessary resources and how they should be integrated to deliver the learning experience effectively.
Time Management: Allocate no more than 10 minutes per job for this task. Detailed resource planning can be expanded upon once a specific idea is chosen for the final learning journey.
RESULT
A comprehensive blueprint of experiences and resources required to fulfill the identified 'jobs to be done', forming the basis for designing a student-centered blended learning environment.
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