UX & INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN
LePort Montessori
The Challenge
Students were experiencing burnout in a highly competitive academic district, so my team and I set out to help alleviate student stress, while still maintaining their competitive standing for high school applications. We introduced a project-based learning initiative, complete with hands-on learning spaces as a remedy for student burnout, and it also added marketing value to the school and additional skills to the students resumes, making them more competitive candidates for high school applications.
Two years after the inception of the project, students attended lessons in the school’s farm, wood shop and media/fine arts studio—creating paintings, furniture and podcasts, or harvesting fresh ingredients from the school farm for cooking lessons.
MY ROLES
Product Manager
UX & Design Lead
Grantwriter
THE TEAM
Matt Carter: Design, Outdoor Education
Robyn Barker: Planning & Logistics
DATE
2016–2018
Process
A labor of love
Research.
After interviewing students, teachers and parents, we determined that a project-based learning initiative was the best solution for the issue at hand. With project-based learning, students would relieve stress by learning in a hands-on, creative and independent way, becoming proficient in skills not typically associated with core academic subjects and allowing them to stand out when it came time to apply for high school.
Design.
My team and I applied for and received two grants to fund the project, totaling nearly $40K. Over the course of two years, the team iteratively designed processes and spaces for project-based learning, impacting nearly 200 students. With each iteration we evaluated our design with research and feedback from our stakeholders and users, and then adjusting the process, environment and logistics.
Result.
Upon the project’s completion, we had successfully created four fully-functional learning spaces—a school farm with chickens and ducks, a school garden with rotating crops, a combination media and fine arts space, and a wood shop. Students and parents reported increased levels of excitement and creativity, as well as student desires to pursue the projects they were able to try in school after graduation.
Student-centered design
Accessibility
The main challenges of this project were teacher buy-in and logistical feasibility. Our funding did not allow for any additional staff to be brought in, so we had to develop and refine workflows and processes that accommodated each teacher’s schedule. Through our iterative process (and a lot of teamwork) we developed largely self-guided and student-owned curriculum, allowing teachers to serve as guides, but also protect their valuable planning time.
Flexibility & Agency
The purpose of the project was to show students that there are many ways to learn, and that it’s important to make time to try new things or pursue a passion. One project, dubbed “The Green Project,” was entirely student created. Our process and curriculum design allowed for moments of spontaneity and fostering intrinsic motivation. The Green Project implemented a regular recycling program at the school, made calls to city officials to work out a drop off system, and went on to implement a composting station in the cafeteria.
From Sketches to Reality
The media & fine arts studio began as a storage space, but through understanding the new purpose of the space, and the students’ needs, we were able to give it new life.
0
eggs incubated
0
seeds planted
0
works of art created
0
photos taken
0
lunches composted
The Outcome
With two-full time teachers completing the majority of the work on this project—organizing construction, securing building permits and grant approvals, physical design and information design—I’m incredibly proud of the work we accomplished. Knowing that children benefitted from something that started out as a simple classroom observation makes this one of my favorite designs I’ve ever worked on.
To protect the identities of the minors involved in this project, many work samples are not included in this case study, but more information is available upon request.
