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Research Phase Reflections
Research Phase Reflections
Kathy
Kathy
During the analysis phase, one of the most challenging aspects was defining our primary goal and focus. Initially, our research centered on integrating exploratory learning and phonics, as we believed the lack of phonics instruction was a significant issue in academic experiences. However, as we got deeper into our research, we realized that our initial assumption may not have been accurate. Our original target audience of 4K to 5th graders were too broad of a scope, making it difficult to create a focused and effective approach. The insights we gained from interviews were particularly valuable, helping us refine our focus to 2nd graders. Ultimately, our team identified confidence, autonomy, and stamina as our three main areas of emphasis, which we believe are more aligned with the actual needs of our target group.
Another significant challenge we faced was determining the primary stakeholders in our design process. At various points, we debated whether to prioritize the needs of students or teachers. This uncertainty caused disruptions in our progress, as we struggled to design activities and platforms without a clear stakeholder focus. After careful consideration and reflection, we concluded that our primary focus would be on the children. This decision provided us with greater clarity and allowed us to align our design choices with the needs and experiences of our young learners.
While this phase of the project has been both rewarding and occasionally frustrating, it has strengthened our understanding of the design process. The iterative nature of refining our goals and identifying key stakeholders has been invaluable. I am eager to continue working on the remaining milestones and to see how our final project evolves. With our clearer focus and commitment to supporting 2nd graders in developing confidence, autonomy, and stamina, I believe we are well-positioned to create a meaningful and impactful learning experience.
Beca
Beca
One of the things we learned while going through the analysis phase was that the greater issue with students’ literacy didn’t rely so much on ‘hard’ skills like phonics, vocabulary, storytelling, oral language, etc, but actually stemmed from the soft skills of confidence and attention span. Since these soft skills are like the bedrock of learning, the lack of them spread out to negatively impact students’ learning ability of those hard skills. This made us pivot to addressing soft skills and building them instead of focusing on technical solutions like implementing more phonics in the curriculum. It does leave us with questions about what the best ways to go about this is, and what practices are already in place that address these issues, but definitely gives us a way forward.
Our whole group actually shares a pretty similar background as educators involved with primary & secondary education, so I feel like our primary issue was diversifying our brainstorming and points of view so we didn’t get stuck in a rut. Sometimes, our considerations would be far too broad, trying to address the entire curriculum in our solution. We had to think not just as educators, but more as designers and developers–focusing on this as a specific project, what we could physically do and create, instead of the sweeping changes we’d like to see put into place in the educational system. Reminding ourselves to narrow our focus and draw directly from our research and interviews was very helpful when we felt overwhelmed or lost.
For this project, I thought it was very important to keep an open mind. I often find it difficult to pivot and regroup, feeling like I’ve wasted my time, but I tried to remind myself that what we didn’t find out was just as important as what we did. We ended up in the position of having to reassess about half our concept–we started out thinking that phonics was the key to literacy skills, and that its absence or incorrect practice was a major factor of the declining literacy rate, but it turns out that was not the case. Having a mixture of literature and direct insight from people on the ground level (teachers & reading specialists) played a huge role in encouraging me to question our assumptions and identify other routes, as I felt I was getting a more complete overview of the situation–seeing both the forest and the trees.
Design Phase Reflections
Design Phase Reflections
Kathy
Kathy
The analysis phase was really helpful in clarifying who our learners were and identifying the needs of our target audience. It allowed us to narrow our focus and ensure that our objectives were specific and aligned with those needs. This foundation made the design process more intentional and purposeful.
One major aha moment during the design phase was realizing that our focus had naturally shifted, not just toward integrating phonics and exploratory learning, but toward something even deeper and more impactful. We began asking ourselves a powerful question: Are we truly trying to raise literacy rates, or are we aiming to build confident, capable readers? That shift in perspective helped reframe our entire approach, reminding us that reading is not just about decoding words, but about fostering joy, voice, and self-efficacy. It pushed us to design experiences that emphasize collaboration, reflection, and agency, not just skill mastery. This clarity helped us create a more meaningful, student-centered solution that supports both academic growth and personal development.
One concern I have with the solution is not being able to see it play out in real time with actual students. I believe observing how students interact, respond, and grow through the experience would give me a clearer sense of its true impact. I also wish we had spent more time creating a tangible or immersive visual experience, rather than focusing on a separate tool project. Being able to prototype or simulate the design would have made the concept feel more alive and actionable. Seeing the full experience unfold visually would definitely make me feel more confident in its effectiveness and implementation.
One area we can improve on is time management and sticking to the timelines set for our deliverables. Staying on schedule would help reduce stress and allow more time for refining our ideas. However, what really worked in our favor is that we bring experience as teachers and understand the language, needs, and realities of the classroom.
Beca
Beca
Our research and analysis became the bedrock of our design phase. Speaking to many teachers gave us such a clear insight into what the reality of reading skills looked like in the classroom, and how we could address it. It guided us into the metaphorical space of our design–extending reading recovery support to 2nd grade, in a way that felt situated and natural. I don’t think we’ve ever really lost sight of our overall goal that emerged from those insights, building confidence and fostering a love of reading.
My main concern with our solution is the ease of implementation, and how that would affect the willingness to try the solution. I think we all have the tendency to dream big and work hard to design a solution that we think will be helpful, but as all designers know, no plan survives contact with the enemy audience. It can be really hard to conceptualize all the numbers and logistics that go into these things, though we’ve certainly done our best, so if there was a way to test run this and get more concrete results to take back and iterate on, it would be super helpful.
In general, I felt like this section of the project was a real learning experience for me–I’m accustomed to research and comfortable analyzing it, but I was learning so much about theories, methods, and especially things like logic models that I found myself a bit adrift at times. I found myself wondering if I actually knew what I was doing half the time, but there was no other choice but to get it done and then get feedback so weirdly, it made me a little less stressed about the whole process.
Carlos
Carlos
During the design phase we collectively noticed that we had to pivot from phonics instruction to literacy as a whole. The information gathered from interviews all had one common theme when it came to reading, stamina and confidence. Thus we decided to create something that can help 2nd grade educators, while also giving students autonomy throughout the process.
Our backgrounds in education made some team meetings flow very nicely as jargon used was understood by all. Overall I believe our communication could have been slightly better but I had a great time learning alongside my two classmates!
Evaluation Phase Reflections
Evaluation Phase Reflections
Kathy
Kathy
This course was honestly the most resourceful and realistic one I took this semester. Working in a team with people who had different perspectives and skill sets made a strong impact on our research process. It taught me the value of collaboration and how diverse thinking leads to more creative solutions. Milestones 7 through 9, focused on Design Evaluation, felt like the smoothest part of the project. By that point, we had clearly defined our audience and refined our solution. We were able to combine our unique strengths to create a meaningful and engaging experience for both children and educators. Overall, this project showed me how effective teamwork and thoughtful design can truly make a difference.
The most challenging part for me, or perhaps the area where I had the least opportunity to make a strong impact, was designing the website. I truly think Beca did an outstanding job with it. I’m very curious about her design process and would love to ask her how she was able to organize and present the information in such a clear and concise way. Her work made the site easy to navigate and visually engaging. It was impressive to see how her skills brought our ideas to life. I realized how much thought goes into user-friendly design. This part of the project inspired me to learn more about web design in the future.
Beca
Beca
Taking this course in conjunction with a learning design internship was really insightful - I was more on the development end during my internship, so being on the research and design end in this project was a really great insight into a lot of the resources, theories, and methodologies it takes to get there. It’s absolutely crucial to work with good SMEs in this line of design. This experience has made me realize that I like the Development phase the best of the Learning Design process. I enjoyed most of the journey, but creating materials and visualizing the lesson is just something I really enjoy–and why I’m really excited to get cracking on finishing up my Tools Project!
This was a great learning experience for me when it came to learning what AI can–and can’t–do in the design process! I tried out running a simulation with AI to test our design, and while I found some pretty good insights and thought the visualization of the scene came out pretty well, I think ChatGPT might have spared our feelings a bit too much when it came to evaluating the effectiveness of the design. Perhaps with a more robust user persona/profile and tinkering with the ways to run the simulation, or even working with a SME while running it, I might be a bit more satisfied with how that test run turned out. However, I still really wish we’d been able to run our test with a real class, though I recognize how difficult that implementation might be.
Personally, my biggest challenge this phase was wrapping my head around the evaluation portion. While we fortunately had experts in Kathy and Carlos that made finishing it a breeze, I wish I’d had the time to take a more active role in the development of the evaluation plan and report to better understand a process my teammates could explain to me.
Carlos
Carlos
This course was so helpful as it connected to my teaching practice. The sessions regarding learning assessment helped me in organizing the data for IEPs. Oftentimes, new special education teachers don’t receive proper orientations and are forced to learn on the fly. The refresher on assessments has allowed my IEP data collection process run smoothly.
Furthermore, the evaluation plan student led activity allowed me to both practice backwards planning and delve into the purpose of evaluation plans. I enjoyed this so much that I aided in the creation of it for the Challenge project. I find the overall process fascinating and similar to that of an IEP in terms of how one collects and analyzes data.
The most challenging part of this assignment was staying organized and completing all the work assigned that week. Thankfully, I had great group members that alleviated this stress with their encouragement and weekly checklists that kept us all accountable!
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