TEECH THE CONQUEROR
Gamified training and mentorship app for new teachers that provides the tools and support needed for success
The Solution
Teech the Conqueror gives new teachers the tools and support needed for success. Through a partnership with retired teachers, users gain easy access to expertise teaching knowledge.
The app's mentors guide new teachers through an interactive platform, answer their questions and provide feedback on their learning journey.
My Role
Sector
Tools
Project Lead
UX/UI Designer
Education, Gamification
Design
Adobe XD
Adobe Photoshop
Miro, POP by Mural
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"How did I get here?..." This is a question many new teachers ask themselves during their first year of teaching. Teacher shortages are at an all time high with enrollment in teacher preparation programs dropping 34% since 2010 and 50% of new teachers leaving the profession within 5 years.
The Problem
New teachers report high levels of stress, anxiety, frustration and depression due in part to a lack of information and support.
The Process
To understand and define the problem, I read articles, academic studies and examined the current research on new teacher retention, support and mental health. This secondary research, along with the competitive analysis confirmed that many first year teachers were not getting the information, support and resources needed, and that there were not any apps directly addressing this problem. Before learning more about my users needs, motivations and experiences, I defined the following project goals:
Create a highly effective, engaging platform for new teachers seeking information, resources and support
Create a platform where mentors can connect, guide and manage mentees
Create a fresh, minimalistic visual design
Create a seamless user experience
Surveys & Interviews
How might we provide first year teachers with the
support, information & resources needed for success?
To answer this question, I began by creating a research plan and screener survey, in order to find appropriate participants and conducted semi-structured interviews. My goal was to gain insight, identify themes and find areas of focus. Here is some initial data from the screener survey:
Are you a new
first year teacher?
How did you enter
the field of education?
Are you experiencing stress, frustration, anxiety and/or depression from teaching?
Do you see yourself remaining a teacher?
For the initial round of interviews I recruited 5 participants, all current or former teachers. Examples of questions I asked include:
What level of support were you receiving?
What caused you the most stress as a first year teacher?
Walk me through what a typical day as a first year teacher was like for you...
How did you seek additional support and/or information when needed?
If you could have changed anything about your first year of teaching, what would it have been?
I labeled and coded each participant's answers using themed categories. Once coded, I started grouping them to see what themes would emerge. This is an example of how one participant's information was labeled/coded.
Synthesis: Thematic Analysis of Data
Understanding
the User
There were a lot of similar themes emerging from the information including that new teachers exhibit a lot of the same symptoms of stress from first year teaching, that mentor support is often lacking in schools, and that new teachers all tend to work excess hours past the contracted 40 hours per week.
After re-examining the information gathered from the interviews and conducting thematic analysis I was able to develop two main user personas. These personas were instrumental in helping to understand the needs, motivations and backstories of potential users.
Personas
Empathy Map
To provide a glance into the user as a whole I created an empathy map using the insights, observations and quotes collected from user interviews. This synthesis process helped me to really understand the user’s goals, feelings, thoughts and behaviors.
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The goal was to prioritize the user’s needs throughout the design process. Identifying both the user’s pain points and the benefits that could be gained helped to guide me toward meaningful innovation.
SAYS
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"I spent that time in grad school and student teaching and still walked in not knowing what I was doing."
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"It's like they dropped you in the middle of the ocean and said we wish you the best."
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"I'm a technician (auto mechanic) not a teacher."
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"I was trying to dive into the deep and couldn't really swim."
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"It's like a fire hose but eventually you'll learn to divert the water to various places."
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"Stressed would be an understatement."
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Working on cars all day was less stressful than dealing with kids."
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"I would go back to serving at a restaurant before I would go back to teaching."
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They were not adequately prepared beforehand
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They were not adequately supported
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They were expected to know more than they knew
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There should be training modules or manuals
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There should be a way to go online to find solutions on their own
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There should be reduced duties and/or extra planning if new
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Teaching is too hard
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New teachers should consider another career field
GAIN
PAIN
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Unhappy
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Scared of being written up or fired
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Frustrated or unsupported
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Conflicted on whether right career decision
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Dread at thought of going to work
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Excited about the weekend
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Unprepared and inadequate
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Lost
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Seek out information on their own
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Does not sleep well/wakes during the night
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Cry often, sometimes panic attacks/anxiety
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Exhausted, has no energy
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Work long hours, 10 -14/day, work on weekends
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Cope with food, alcohol, Google, hobbies
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Often take sick days
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Leave education or find easier position
DOES
FEELS
THINKS
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Not being clear on the what, how and why of tasks/duties
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No mentor or mentor who was too busy or inadequate
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Too many duties/tasks/expectations placed on new teachers
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Have little or no classroom management skills
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Are lacking in confidence, unsure of their ability
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Subjected to observations and teacher evaluations
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Learn more best practices
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Confident in ability to manage classroom
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Informed about daily procedures
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Achieve a work/life balance
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Reduce stress and anxiety
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Stay in education and build a career
Answers how might we (HMW) questions:
Solution idea:
Gamified Training and Mentorship
How might we provide 1st year teachers with the support, information and resources needed for success?
How can we provide varied, on demand training for 1st year teachers?
How can we engage teachers in their training, learning, and mentorship?
Key Ideas:
Gamification allows individuals to learn real-world applications and subject matter in a fun and engaging way
New teachers really struggle with standard teaching concepts such as classroom management
New teachers want to seek resources but their time is limited
Concept Mapping
Sitemap
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Once I had the concept developed my next step was to create a sitemap. I knew I would need two experiences, one for users who are mentors and one for users who are new teachers. I also wanted to map out the standard account, about us and contact functions.
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The sitemap showed a hierarchical diagram of how the screens would be prioritized, linked and labeled. This detailed sitemap served as guidance in designing the user flow. My next step was to identify the main red routes, or critical tasks that would be most utilized by users. I identified 3 red routes:
Sketches
Once red routes had been developed it was time for some initial sketches based on the supporting data, showing an overview of what the concept might look like in app form:
Guerilla Usability Testing
For the Guerrilla Usability Test I created a Marvel interactive prototype using the above sketches. The prototype covered the 3 identified red routes for users. The testing occurred over Zoom. Participants were given an overview then asked to complete various tasks (speaking out loud their thoughts and observations). The goal was to identify any areas that need clarity and hear suggestions on how to improve the app.
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The Guerrilla Usability Test resulted in the following findings:
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User did not know where to go next even after having been given a scenario
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Gaps in consistency
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Dead ends on specific screens
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Needs to be a way to explain the more ambiguous icons/game specific choices
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All the participants seemed to understand the primary purpose of the app
Wireframes & Wireflows
Once my sketches and guerilla usability testing were completed it was time to hop into the design software to create some wireframes. Using Adobe XD I created simple, digital designs of the mobile app screens to show the various components and functionality. When finished I arranged and connected the wireframes to create a wireflow to show how the screens interact.
Style Guide
In order to craft a consistent design system I created a style guide that reflected my brand identity. For this app I knew I wanted to have a minimalist neutral background that housed bright pops of color. For these bright colors I chose to go with a primary palette of Salsa red, Carrot yellow, and Viridian blue. Because I was designing for the iPhone I utilized the standard system font for IOS, San Francisco Pro.
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For the icons I chose Google Material Design icons because they blended beautifully with the Revkit chosen for my UI Elements. The imagery was tricky because I could not use stock photography. To save time I searched and purchased a character to represent Teech then created the neutral-toned background with the pops of color in Photoshop.
High Fidelity Mockup
To create my high fidelity mockups I used my wireframes as a guide. Working in Adobe XD I begin designing screen by screen using the positioning on the wireframes as a template. As I designed each screen I paid close attention to alignment, balance and visual hierarchy of the elements. To create the final look I focused on white space/negative space. Keeping this as a main focus resulted in a clean, minimalistic design.
Placement of color was key in not only creating a visually appealing design but also in pointing the user toward the next step or call to action. Space distribution was also vital in functionality. I focused on housing each element in their own “tab”.
Buttons are separated from visuals. Menus are separated from descriptions. By placing each element in their own space the user is easily able to visually categorize the information, therefore increasing discoverability and reducing confusion.
Using a neutral color palette for most of the background and for most of the visuals paired with the bright colors creates visual contrast and interest. For the typography I used the Viridian blue color and/or text size to emphasize key statements.
It was important that I create consistency in the design of all screens regardless of whether the user was utilizing the mentor view or the mentee view. Not maintaining consistency would create a disjointed experience for the user. I therefore used the same placement and color scheme for screens with similar functions. The gaming category screen mimics the puzzle screen, the mentor menu mimics the mentee menu and all information and notification screens use the same format. This use of repetition helped to create a cohesive design throughout the app.
To create a unique look I used rounded tabs, scroll bars and circular main menus. The app also uses pop-up descriptors and notifications to give the user necessary information without cluttering up the interface. Error and success notifications pop up at the top of the screen. Information pop-ups materialize when the user hovers (desktop) or taps once (mobile) on a menu options.
The desktop version directly reflects the mobile version. I created two different landing pages to show mockups of how the design could translate from mobile to desktop while maintaining the same look and feel. The same design principles were utilized.
Usability Testing (1st Round)
The usability was done remotely over Zoom. The goal was to test the design of the app to see if it is user-friendly and functions as intended. During the session participants were asked to complete a series of tasks using the app prototype on their screen. I observed users and took detailed notes as they tried to complete each task. Participants were asked to please try to “think out loud” as much as possible so I can capture their thoughts. These participants were recruited because they all had a background in education, corporate training or mentorship.
Main Testing Tasks:
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As a mentor, find how to monitor their mentees progress and assignments
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As a mentor, navigate to their emails and meetings
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As a mentee, find how to access teaching resources
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As a mentee, find how to access learning modules to get information/tips
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Findings/Usability Issues by Priority:
Usability Testing (2nd Round)
The 2nd round of usability testing was conducted again remotely over Zoom. The goal was to retest the design of the app to see if it is more user-friendly and functions better after revisions were made based on the results from the 1st round of testing.
Key Findings:
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Participants did not know how to start the puzzle in the first round of testing. I placed a start button on top of the puzzle in the second iteration. In the 2nd round of testing participants did not have any issues knowing where to click.
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During the 1st round of testing several participants said the wrong answer notification on the trivia game does not help you learn. I enlarged the notification to tell why the selection was wrong and to ask the user to try again. In the 1st round of testing this issue was pointed out by two participants but in the 2nd round nothing was mentioned
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Participants were a little confused by the review screen when it came to the ratings. I changed it to a self rating by new teachers instead of them rating the mentor. First round a participant felt like the task of reviewing assignments and the mentees giving feedback about their mentor were two very different things and therefore should be separated. Several users also felt that a mentee's ratings should be anonymous. This round of users did not mention the ratings.
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TITLE OF THE CALLOUT BLOCK
Conclusion & Reflection
Coming from the field of education into UX/UI design I have not only seen firsthand the struggles that plague new teachers but have also experienced it myself when I graduated with a Masters in Education and secured my first teaching position. The mentor that was assigned to me was very nice but was also busy, absent-minded and struggled to maintain her own classroom. I felt all alone and the joy from securing the job quickly turned to stress and anxiety. I was overwhelmed and came very close to leaving the field of education. My personal experience reinforced the importance of support for new teachers.
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The response to Teech the Conqueror was overwhelmingly positive. The educators that engaged with the app loved both the concept and the design. From idea to prototype, it was important to keep the focus on the user. By immersing myself in each phase and working diligently through the process, I was able to identify key themes and features that addressed the user’s motivations, emotions and needs.
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New teachers want a convenient, engaging way to interact, ask questions, learn and grow in their profession. Mentors want to easily manage their mentees, build relationships and accomplish desired tasks. Teech the Conqueror provides a unique platform for mentors and mentees to connect. Support for new teachers is just a download away.
