Elevated Engagement | Design
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TaTanisha Talton 

Design Process 

Prototype Design for my Capstone 

Who were my learners and what did they need?

Click on the image to see my prototype design.

The learners and the targeted audience I had in mind for the research conducted were fourth-grade students. But I quickly noticed that what I hoped to accomplish would also benefit the team of teachers I had the pleasure of working with.

My fourth-grade students needed to take ownership of the information taught and the knowledge obtained. I wanted to empower my students to understand what the data told. I always talked about scores with them and pulled them into small groups to support any misconceptions identified while monitoring and grading. But for me, it simply wasn't enough. Students needed to understand why they needed additional help and that it could have been because of a lapse of missed information. My research was to discover innovative ways to support students' abilities to become self-accountable. For students to elevate to engagement, they need to understand how their attendance and behavior affect their academic outcomes. So they needed to track their data using an e-binder. 

My teachers needed to understand how data tracking could benefit students and improve student self accountability in the upper elementary grades. Our professional development was beneficial in understanding the process of supporting students with their data and supporting students in collecting, analyzing, reflecting, and creating SMART goals to practice any identified struggles. 

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For an introduction to Design Thinking PROCESS GUIDE click image.

The Design Thinking Process by the Institute of Design at Stanford guided me in thinking of that one challenge plaguing me every year. The five phases: emphasize, define, ideate, prototype, and test helped design my capstone. In my years of teaching, I developed a deep understanding of getting students engaged in the learning process. Students need to understand the correlation between input and outcome. The challenge was how we got students to understand the importance of self-accountability concerning attending school, participating in learning and advocating for understanding. The solution was more challenging than finding the challenge. Brainstorming possible solutions was a challenge in itself. I knew what I wanted to accomplish and my outcome, but the road to getting there would be bumpy. After trying different prototypes, I selected the e-binder system. When understanding students' strengths and struggles, data analysis worked for me as a teacher. I used that same concept to drive my research in supporting students in discovering those same inquiries. The design process created for my students is a continuous cycle. The more I worked with the design, the more I tweaked the prototype—the evolution of research changes as knowledge grows. ​

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Logo Design Process 

First draft of my logo. I knew I wanted students to be engaged and their learning elevated.

Second draft of my logo. I wasn't sure about the order of my words. I also wanted them to be legible.

Final logo design. I wanted the design to represent what I was trying to do with student engagement and academic understanding.

My design components are a color palette of green and gold; exploding firework; words - Engagement, Elevated; blocked lettering; stair stacked overlapping center of firework to signify attainment based on elevated engagement. The logic behind my logo and why I designed it this way supported how the words would convey meaning. The words Elevated Engagement are stair stacked to represent moving upwards. I included the firework element to emphasize the 'aha' moment when students become engaged in the learning process by understanding the correlation between attendance and academic growth by tracking their data. It feels clean, concise, and essential. 

Research

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