How Design Thinking can Change the Ways International and Domestic Students Click with One Another

Design Thinking, UX/UI, Product & Service Design

Background

• Settings: Bachelor of Interaction Design (IXD) in Sheridan College

• Target Audience: First year international and domestic students

Problem / Why?

International students reported “feeling excluded and avoided by domestic students on campus,” which some of them eventually dropped out of the program. Since the program’s inception, student orientations, the occasion where students get to bond with one another, have been run separately for domestic and international students. With IXD being a work-intensive program, students had no choice but to settle quickly into groups whom they work / communicate well with, leaving little room for international and domestic students to truly connect with one another. 

Opportunities

• How might we provide students an occasion to experience exciting aspects of the program?

• How might we help students establish an immediate sense of belonging to the program, in hopes of lowering international students’ attrition rate?

• In the process of experiencing the program, how might we encourage bonding between students of diverse cultures, which requires empathy: the cornerstone of being a great Interaction Designer?

Persona Building + Academic Research

Design Process / How?

1. Discovering reasons and ways students were able / unable to bond

   Research activities: Academic research, ethnographic research (e.g. card sorting, on-site research), and interviews

   Phase results: International students either attempt to connect with domestic students but hindered by barriers in language and culture, or they conceal themselves because they were afraid to connect, mostly stemming from the fear of judgment. Both groups of students also had a tendency to make friends with those they work and communicate well with.

2. Identifying occasions that best stimulate bonding between students

   Research activities: Ethnographic research (e.g. on-site research), interviews

   Phase results: Students would appreciate problem-solving in randomized groups if (1) it improves their understanding of the program, and (2) it forces students out of their comfort zone to make friends.

3. Bridging between academic and social integration

   Research activities: Semi-structured interviews

   Phase results: Student orientations were considered one of the better occasions; however, student orientations in the IXD program had been run SEPARATELY for international and domestic students.

4. Redesigning First Year Student Orientation based on Design Thinking

   Research activities: Prototyping truncated versions (1h, 30mins, 2h) of Google Design Sprint (GDS) with first and second year IXD students

   Phase results: Some students decided to remain connected through Facebook and Instagram after the user testing session. But they needed someone to guide them through the GDS framework.

5. With current students, connecting new students to the IXD program

   Research activities: Prototyping a truncated version (3h) of Google Design Sprint (GDS) with first and second year IXD students AND third and fourth year facilitators

   Phase results: Sprinters and facilitators ended up having their own conversation outside the prototyping sessions (e.g. ‘who is your favourite prof?’). International students were pleasantly surprised by their own abilities.

Onsite Research + Analysis

Design Thinking Digital Handbook - Wireframes

Final Prototype(s) / What?

• Revamped First Year Student Orientation

  • First year students divided into sixteen teams, one facilitator per team

  • IXD spirit wear / t-shirts!

  • Hack kit consisting the following: t-shirt, stickies, pens, a sprint handbook (interactive prototype), etc.

  • Various HMW challenges highly relatable to first year students’ circumstances

  • Quick and sweet presentation of all sixteen team’s challenge and solutions

User Testing with Facilitators and First Year Students

Click to see the handbook on: Desktop, Mobile, and Tablet

The Big Day!

What did I learn?

• There is an aspect of Inclusive Design in this project that I really enjoy. International students can be considered individuals with situational disabilities as they are unable to communicate with domestic students. In lieu of asking the users to change, we designers should be experimenting with the system to fit the users.

• Do not be afraid to make many prototypes, to make mistakes, and to reiterate.

• When designing responsive web apps, keep in mind that people are not fond of reading long texts on their mobile devices.

• Depending on the target audience, choose a colour palette suitable to their emotional states and the nature of the application. In this case, vibrant colours like purple that represent excitement and innovation were well-received by students and millennials.

• Continue to reflect upon users vs business needs. In this case, this solution of redesigning first year student orientation is projected to be able to satisfy international students’ needs for connections, while retaining international students enrolment for the faculty.

What would I have done differently?

• If given more time, I would fully develop the interactive prototype into a functional HTML / CSS / Javascript prototype.

• Within the duration of this project, I spent the bulk of my time prototyping on human-to-human interactions. I would like to make an effort to run a separate series of user testing on the web app itself to refine its functionalities.