Student RESEARCH
Engagement
SEAN PRESTON
The Problem
2014
What’s Out There?
Student engagement in the American education system is severely
lacking. Students are learning the required subject matter, but they
are not engaged in it. This practice breeds an attitude of indifference
towards learning, especially when students are not encouraged to
focus on their own talents and interests.
Research Activities
Using an analysis of the resources that are currently on the market was
one of the first steps towards finding areas of opportunity for design.
Market Analysis
Why are these products the most successful?
Highly Engaging
Student Focused
Applied/Experiential Learning
Connects with Professionals
Shortcomings:
Shortcoming:
Exclusively Online
Only Digital Engagement
Areas for Design
Opportunity
More Student Engagement
Student Focused
David Miller
Less Student Engagement
Connecting students with the various people in their lives who can offer
them useful advice, support or help of some kind is a valuable way
to encourage them to succeed and also to validate their interests.
By performing research activities I began to look into how people
choose to connect and who they are connected to.
How do you learn best?
User Interviews
Issy
Director of Recruitment for Westphal College
Drexel University
Insight
The ability to be aware of and identify information about oneself on the spot comes from
the experiences we have had and how much time we devote to reflecting upon them.
Tracy Feld
The first of three research activities that I designed to engage
people, this one is the most involved. The purpose of this activity
was to observe how people engage in the process of identifying
and recalling information about themselves.
Online Survey
Exclusively an Engineering
Resource
Expert Interviews
Interconnectivity
Behavioral Analysis
Areas Being Addressed
Teacher Focused
Highly Student Focused
Straight-forward Tool
Ease of Use
Step-By-Step Help
Allowing students to develop the ability to
constructively self-analyze by way of an
engaging educational aid.
Age 16 - High School Student (11th Grade)
Pennsbury High School
The survey consisted of thirty-five
participants who answered various
questions concerning their learning
preferences. The chart indicates that
the majority of people prefer to learn
hands-on.
Jack
Audio/Visual Instruction
Hands-On Learning
High School Workshop
(7.0%)
Insights
Various restrictions, whether financial or cultural, can be highly discouraging for
students and bars them from pursuing what interests them.
Coordinator for Cooperative Education
Drexel University
Repetition
(37.2%)
Age 16 - High School Student (11th Grade)
Father Judge High School
(55.8%)
Insight
People need to focus on what motivates them and what they are good at.
Dawn Gibian
Insights
Students see the value in things they are involved in and want to have more genuine
experience doing the things they like.
Assistant Director, Office of Student Services
Drexel University
Olivia
Insights
Personality tests are not engaging enough to hold student interest. Students do not know
what to do with the information they are given.
Dr. Reisman
Age 14 - Middle School Student (8th Grade)
Orland Junior High
Insights
When a person is encouraged and, more importantly, allowed to pursue their
interests over time, the person will become confident about the direction they
choose to go in.
Program Director of Creativity & Innovation
Drexel University
Insights
Thinking in terms of how people learn is generally not as effective as thinking in terms of
how people engage in learning.
Activity Insights
Behavioral Analysis
The more experience a person has with the things they consider to be notable about themselves,
including their talents and interests, determines how readily the information is in their minds.
Interconnectivity Activities
People are not willing to put in too much effort or go too far out of their way in order to establish
communication. Connecting with people must be easy.
Online Survey
More people prefer to learn in ways that are more hands-on as opposed to learning through
rote repetition and audio/visual lectures.
User Insights
Various restrictions whether financial or cultural can be highly discouraging for students
and bars them from pursuing what interests them.
High School Workshop
Predispositions are important to consider. The experiences a person has had may skew their
views of subsequent experiences that they will have.
Design Criteria
Students see the value in things they are involved in and want to have more genuine
experience doing the things they like.
Expert Insights
The ability to be aware of and identify information about oneself on the spot comes from the
experiences we have had and how much time we devote to reflecting upon them.
Once a year, Drexel offers a high school workshop for students
who want to participate in the Product Design process. This year
I assisted Mike Glaser to obtain observational research and I also
helped structure the curriculum and activities for the day, giving me
an insight into the students interests.
When a person is encouraged and, more importantly, allowed to pursue their interests over
time, the person will become confident about the direction they choose to go in.
Access. Engage. Guide. Reward. Validate.
People need to focus on what motivates them and what they are good at.
#2 Design Criteria
Personality tests are not engaging enough to hold student interest. Students do not know
what to do with the information they are given.
Guidance
#3 Design Criteria
#5 Design Criteria
Validation
Accessibility
Thinking in terms of how people learn is generally not as effective as thinking in terms of how
people engage in learning.
#1 Design Criteria
Engagement
#4 Design Criteria
Rewarding
Opportunities For Design
More physical engagement. Focused connectivity between people.
More student-focused solutions. More guidance regarding engagement
awareness.