Summary
With over 65 activities and counting, this comprehensive and continuously evolving activity generator provides a fun way for matches in a local youth mentorship program to find activities to do together. These activities are personalized to the pairs’ interests, preferences, and schedules. Try it out! Which activity did you get?
Overview
The Solution - or at least part of it
For this project, I had the privilege of partnering with a youth mentorship program that I was a former participant in. In collaboration with the program staff, who served as the Subject Matter Experts for this project, we designed a mentor activity generator for matches to use.
Together, we articulated the goals of the project to include: minimizing the time spent selecting the activity, creating a sense of shared choice, and providing adequate knowledge of the activity options.
Design Theory
The Successive Approximation Model (SAM) served as the primary framework for this project. I selected this instructional design model over ADDIE and others because of its emphasis on varied feedback, encouragement of multiple reevaluation and revision stages, and rapid development - all of which was needed when designing a tool that would be used by so many unique match pairs.
Since one goal of this experience was to give the mentor and mentee a feeling of shared choice and agency, Nick Shackelton’s Affective Context Model also heavily influenced the design of the project. This model proposes that learners attach significance to affect, or “emotions'', rather than information. Said differently, the theory states that learners remember more about how they felt during a learning experience than the actual content. Therefore, regardless of whether or not the match ends up committing to the revealed activity, they will have felt shared choice during the experience- which strengthens their relationship and further works towards the overall goal of the mentorship program.
The Process
Action Map
I created a shared mind map using Mindmeister to help the program staff and I visualize the questions and answer choices as well as their respective branches. Over the course of several staff meetings, we were able to create questions that ranged from logistical, such as access to transportation, to preference based, such as creative or competition based activities.
Text-Based Storyboard
Once we were satisfied with the breadth of our questions, I transferred the tree-like paths of the action map onto a text-based storyboard so that we could add relevant website links, activity resources, and programming notes. I also ensured that this document was shared with the program staff.
Since this was a question-based project, developing the text-based storyboard was relatively simple. That being said, this step required an immense amount of collaboration from the SME's, who had a vast knowledge of match activities and were responsible for much of the content development.
Furthermore, using tools like Mindmiester and GoogleDocs saved us a lot of time and energy because it was much easier and more efficient to make changes on those cloud-based tools than in Storyline.
After identifying the problem, I then designed the look and feel of the activity generator using Adobe XD. As I designed the course, I frequently referenced the project goals as a guiding compass for many design decisions. For example, I decided to keep the amount of words on each screen minimal to reduce the reading time spent on each slide, to increase accessibility to all age levels, and to minimize cognitive overload. In order to create a sense of shared choice, the generator also asks for the names of both members of the pair, which are then included in the reveal.
Design and Development
This was developed using variables, layers, triggers, and branching scenarios in Articulate Storyline 360.
After answering the preference questions, the pair is given an activity based on their responses. On the activity reveal screen, the users are able to begin the process from the start, access a comprehensive document containing a list of all activities and their descriptions, or add a contribution of their own.
Additionally, participants that have been in the program for longer or who are familiar with the local community are more likely to have more knowledge about activity choices than someone who is new to the program or the community. To accommodate this spectrum of knowledge, we decided to make the master activity list optional, so that users can choose whether or not they want to view it based on their own knowledge.
Results
The match activity generator was distributed to matches via email and promoted on social media. We decided to solicit participant feedback using a simple Google Form so that program staff could independently view user responses and additional activity suggestions.
I also implemented xAPI tracking to monitor match activity preferences as well as whether or not users viewed the Master Activity List. This data driven approach will help program staff better understand which activities matches prefer and which resources are most helpful to them.
Take-Aways: Reimagining existing tools in new ways, promoting project sustainability, and cultivating client relationships
One of the most common applications of Articulate Storyline is to create eLearning courses. However, because knowledge gaps are not always the problem, courses are not always the right solution. That was certainly the case for matches, who already possess the qualities needed and received formal instruction on how to be a good mentor during the program orientation. The problem was instead revamping the activity selection process, which pushed me to explore ways to use Articulate Storyline in imaginative ways.
Additionally, this project taught me a lot about promoting project sustainability and designing learning experiences that can evolve with the users. For example, one of my favorite parts of this project is that the Master Activity List and Activity Suggestion Form in Google Suite are living documents, meaning they can be updated at any time.
Furthermore, the ability to contribute to a mentorship program that gave so much to me inspires me to pursue opportunities that allow me to apply my instructional design skills to meaningful work.
Finally, I also learned so much about the role of listening in cultivating client relationships. Rather than assuming what the client needed, I asked questions about problems matches were having and tried to listen more than I spoke during meetings. More often than not, these conversations not only added to the quality of the content, but also improved the user experience because the knowledge base of SME's includes knowledge about the users too. This collaborative approach to client relationships has already led to conversations of having a Fall & Winter Edition of this tool, so stay tuned!
Know of a mentorship program or other organization that can benefit from a tool like this? If so, I would love to hear from you!
