Context

DESIGN x HUMANITY is a non-profit learning and development organization dedicated to creating impactful learning experiences that promote inclusivity, empathy, and social awareness. The organization first started with a cohort of learning and development specialists, branched into scrum teams with a topic to dedicate a learning project in partnership with EdApp. The topic provided to my scrum team was “Implicit Bias in the Classroom.”

Problem

Implicit bias can have a profound impact on students’ educational experiences, affecting their sense of belonging and academic success. Teachers may unknowingly exhibit biased behaviors, which can lead to unequal treatment of students based on their backgrounds. This microlesson series aims to address this issue by providing K-12 teachers with the tools and knowledge to recognize and mitigate implicit bias in their classrooms.

Solution

Design a mobile learning microlesson that:

Raises Awareness: Introduce the concept of implicit bias, its impact on education, and the importance of addressing it for creating an equitable learning environment.

Provides Real-life Scenarios: Offer realistic classroom scenarios that depict instances of implicit bias, allowing teachers to analyze and identify these biases.

Offers Strategies: Present practical strategies and techniques for recognizing and countering implicit bias in teaching practices.

Encourages Reflection: Incorporate reflective activities that prompt teachers to evaluate their own biases and consider their implications on students.

Shares Resources: Provide additional resources, such as articles, videos, and case studies, for further self-guided learning.

Promotes Collaboration: Include discussion forums or peer-sharing opportunities for teachers to exchange experiences, strategies, and challenges.

The Process

From project inception to completion, our journey was marked by distinct phases:

Research

In the early stages, we conducted thorough research into several key areas:

The concept of implicit bias and its impact on education.
Current educational practices related to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Effective microlearning principles in teacher professional development.
Mobile learning app design best practices, especially within EdApp’s capabilities.

Our research laid the foundation for informed decision-making throughout the project.

Learning Objectives

We defined clear learning objectives for our microlesson series:

Ideation

The ideation phase involved brainstorming creative approaches to address implicit bias. We considered how to engage teachers effectively, where they typically access educational resources, and what motivates them to invest time in professional development. Insights from this phase shaped the design and delivery of our microlessons.

Visual Design

To create an engaging and impactful learning experience, we focused on custom visual design. We used hand drawn graphics in the project, abstracted to be recognizable yet not distracting. The visual elements aimed to show the diversity of the classrooms, and emphasized clear color contrast with bold red tones from the company branding. Procreate was the canvas for bringing these visuals to life

Final Design

The final design consisted of 3 primary sections to allow the learners to take a self assessment to gain further insights and increase their self-reflection opportunity on the sensitive learning topic, and return to the learning content with that information at the forefront of their minds.

Reflections & Lessons Learned

Throughout the design process, the DESIGN x HUMANITY scrum team learned several valuable lessons:

Collaborative Effort: Involving educators, diversity experts, and expert designers led to a more comprehensive and effective learning solution.
Bite-sized Learning: Dividing content into short, focused microlessons increased engagement and retention among teachers.
Scenario-based Learning: Realistic scenarios helped teachers apply concepts to practical situations, enhancing their understanding.
Ongoing Feedback: Regular testing and feedback loops ensured the microlesson series met the needs of teachers and effectively addressed the issue of implicit bias.

By focusing on these insights, DESIGN x HUMANITY successfully created a mobile learning microlesson series that empowers K-12 teachers to recognize and address implicit bias, fostering a more inclusive and equitable classroom environment for all students.

Future Plans

We envision a future where our microlesson series continues to evolve and expand its reach. Our plans include:

Developing additional modules addressing related topics
Partnering with educational institutions for wider adoption
Incorporating AI-driven personalized learning experiences
Expanding the series to address implicit bias in higher education
Through ongoing innovation and collaboration, we aim to make a lasting impact on education and create inclusive classroom environments worldwide.