Gathering Design Requirements During Participatory Design: Strategies for Teachers Designing Teacher Tools

• In Event: 31.063 - The Design of Teacher Tools, Evaluative Tools, and Learning Environments That Promote Motivation and Design Thinking

Abstract

In spite of wide recognition of the value of teacher participatory design, there is little evidence to serve as guidance for maintaining effective teacher-researcher design partnerships. We describe three strategies drawn from contextual inquiry for engaging teachers in the design of technologies to support their own practice: discussing physical artifacts, reacting to scenarios, and writing user stories. We illustrate the use of these techniques for designing specific tools during professional development workshops. Eliciting design ideas from group members benefits teachers in allowing them to contribute their experiences to the tools that will support their practice; and researchers, who ultimately gain a deeper understanding of the relationship between technology, design, and education; and of their own roles in facilitating that interaction.

Authors

• Camillia Faye Matuk, New York University

• Libby F. Gerard, University of California - Berkeley

• Jonathan Lim-Breitbart

• Marcia Linn, University of California - Berkeley