The Problem
Teachers are overworked, overwhelmed, and undervalued, especially with the new challenges that come with teaching in the age of AI.
i-Ready is a trusted and valuable software that helps teachers track student data, and adjust lesson planning to match the needs of their class.
However, with the rise of Teachers pay teachers, and other teacher support groups, Curriculum Associates wanted to help support teachers in community with eachother, learning how to best support their students through i-Ready.
IDEO & Curriculum associates asked: How might we make it easier for teachers to create communities of practice on i-Ready to learn from and with each other?
I was a lead interaction designer on this work, and mentored a new designer of color.
The Process
During this project, I conducted interviews and observations to learn about how teachers use i-Ready. I downloaded and used the software in the test environment with fake student data, to understand how the features connected and explore how to organically introduce community into the tool.
Working with and for Educators
My favorite part of this work was collaborating with educators. I interviewed 10 educators who use i-ready, to learn how they use i-ready in their classroom, and what they wish the tool would help them with. I asked about where they go for tips on i-Ready and was directed to a lively facebook group full of pointers and ideas on implementation.
I brought sacrificial concepts to the interview sessions, and rebuild and remixed them to meet each teachers need. These sessions, in combination with learning the software, and lurking on the facebook group helped me create concepts that naturally enhanced the software, and infuse community support in the moments where it was most needed.
Through this process I learned:
Teachers need real tips from other teachers, not more resources
Teachers need a faster way to see how their students are progressing
Teachers need support in the moment, not another dashboard to dig through
The Solution
With all of this in mind, I prototyped four core concepts for Curriculum Associates to pilot in i-ready. Ranking and prioritizing them on an impact and feasibility matrix helped support stakeholder decision making.
The Concepts
Supercharged Community Tips
A community-powered tool that provides implementation tips for iReady resources from like-minded teachers to promote easier and faster adoption.
Educator Need: To find the best way to implement CA resources to meet the needs of their students.
Data Wizard
Prototype Overview
A conversational tool within the i-Ready dashboard that allows teachers to ask contextual questions with the goal of improving their data literacy.
Educator Need: An efficient method to understand how their students are progressing.