Abstract
Many high school mission statements involve transforming the youth into leaders of their community. Yet there appears to be a disconnect between school content and its application to the challenges in the youth’s community that results in a low-level sense of empowerment. MyHood addresses this gap by having the youth see themselves as critical thinkers and citizens fully engaged in the transformation of their communities.
Students are aware of conditions in their communities and opinionated about the the changes they would like to see happen. Adolescents need to be able to uncover, explore, and discuss topics related to their territories as a means to engage with their communities and grow up involved in the solution of problems that matter to them. Instead of believing that changes are not possible – or only the government’s responsibility – these learners need to develop a positive, personal and in-depth relationship with the places they live in. By developing youth protagonism and civic engagement, MyHood seeks to give voice to young learners of underprivileged neighborhoods using the Design Thinking framework and digital mapping technologies.
The combination of such elements makes MyHood a distinctive and powerful platform for young underrepresented learners. First, maps help students develop a sense of place toward their own neighborhoods and a sense of belonging to larger urban areas. Using map layers, learners and users will be able to visualize their communities in a powerful, augmented way and, thus, learn to ask different questions and tell different, more critical stories about their lives. Second, learning the human-centered approach of Design Thinking will allow students to dive deep into other realities and different possibilities, developing a critical and mature stance towards reality.
Students are aware of conditions in their communities and opinionated about the the changes they would like to see happen. Adolescents need to be able to uncover, explore, and discuss topics related to their territories as a means to engage with their communities and grow up involved in the solution of problems that matter to them. Instead of believing that changes are not possible – or only the government’s responsibility – these learners need to develop a positive, personal and in-depth relationship with the places they live in. By developing youth protagonism and civic engagement, MyHood seeks to give voice to young learners of underprivileged neighborhoods using the Design Thinking framework and digital mapping technologies.
The combination of such elements makes MyHood a distinctive and powerful platform for young underrepresented learners. First, maps help students develop a sense of place toward their own neighborhoods and a sense of belonging to larger urban areas. Using map layers, learners and users will be able to visualize their communities in a powerful, augmented way and, thus, learn to ask different questions and tell different, more critical stories about their lives. Second, learning the human-centered approach of Design Thinking will allow students to dive deep into other realities and different possibilities, developing a critical and mature stance towards reality.
Design Process
Phase 1: Understanding our Learners |
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My partner, Fabio Campos, and I came into the program wanting to address a trend we noticed in our experiences in education. We challenged ourselves to design a tools that could address the disconnection school-community, the gap in active learning opportunities, and the deficit view adolescents from low-income neighborhoods have about their physical surroundings. With this lens in mind, we wanted to further understand our learners and conducted:
(1) Exploratory surveys
(2) Qualitative interviews
The survey results brought light into adolescents views and beliefs about their communities and their power as agents of change. First and foremost, the survey showed that high school students are aware of the most prominent and visible problems of their neighborhoods. By giving concrete examples of what they see as negative around them, they proved that basic awareness of challenges is not a problem to be solved. The results also made clear that that while students believe an individual can produce some change in a community, students on average did not believe they themselves can do so. At the same time, students don’t feel confident pursuing tasks that they believe the community needs for change.
Our interviews showed that some youth believe that the purpose of an academic education is separate from their community. Education is seen as a way gateway to “what is going on out there” in the world and a college education. This perspective shows how communities are not seen as vehicles for growth and learning. According to Westheimer and Kahne (2004), civic participation that don’t promote critical analysis and social change produce an individualistic and conservative view on citizenship (2004). The survey supports this notion as a low percentage of students have had the opportunity to create, design, or build something specifically for their community .
Westheimer, J., & Kahne, J. (2004). What kind of citizen? The politics of educating for democracy. American educational research journal, 41(2), 237-269.
(1) Exploratory surveys
(2) Qualitative interviews
The survey results brought light into adolescents views and beliefs about their communities and their power as agents of change. First and foremost, the survey showed that high school students are aware of the most prominent and visible problems of their neighborhoods. By giving concrete examples of what they see as negative around them, they proved that basic awareness of challenges is not a problem to be solved. The results also made clear that that while students believe an individual can produce some change in a community, students on average did not believe they themselves can do so. At the same time, students don’t feel confident pursuing tasks that they believe the community needs for change.
Our interviews showed that some youth believe that the purpose of an academic education is separate from their community. Education is seen as a way gateway to “what is going on out there” in the world and a college education. This perspective shows how communities are not seen as vehicles for growth and learning. According to Westheimer and Kahne (2004), civic participation that don’t promote critical analysis and social change produce an individualistic and conservative view on citizenship (2004). The survey supports this notion as a low percentage of students have had the opportunity to create, design, or build something specifically for their community .
Westheimer, J., & Kahne, J. (2004). What kind of citizen? The politics of educating for democracy. American educational research journal, 41(2), 237-269.
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Phase 2: Defined Needs and Benefits |
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Given the results of phase 1, we concluded that we must address the following needs:
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By addressing these needs, we aspire for our learners to achieve the following outcomes:
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We specified our problem space in the following statement:
HOW MIGHT WE CREATE OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE YOUTH TO THINK CRITICALLY ABOUT THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS AND FEEL EMPOWERED TO MAKE A CHANGE?
Phase 3: Approach |
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Phase 4: Theory of change |
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To achieve our learning outcomes, the Theory of Change (right) starts with an adolescent's basic level of cognition about his neighborhood's main challenges and ends with the development of agency and empowerment for social impact. In summary, our Theory of Change is comprised of six steps:
1. Simple Awareness: As explained above, students have a basic level of awareness of their neighborhood, mainly focused in deficitary topics (eg. homelessness, lack of public services, etc) 2. Spatial Awareness: By using the crowdsourced map, students evolve to a more refined form of awareness, now able to know where events and occurrences are physically localized in their surroundings. 3. Design Thinking Tools: Students learn to go beyond the visible symptoms they pinned on a map. They learn about how to reflect about what they see and challenge assumptions, thus acquiring a more critical stance towards the places they reside in. Moreover, this inquiry-based process opens space to recognize not only negative aspects but also resources around them. Fundamentals of design thinking will be used to have students think about their community, and assess what they can or can’t control. |
4. Systems Thinking Knowledge: After understanding underlying causes for various types of events, adolescents will be able to form connections between them, thus becoming literate in the type of complex data a map can provide. With Systems Thinking knowledge, learners will be able to understand the emerge and interconnections between various resources and challenges and, in the future, across multiple themes.
5. Opportunities for Impact: By better understanding how events are connected, their spatiality and possible causes, adolescents will be able to scope down what seemed impossible to tackle to a challenge that can be proposed to people his age. By reading the complex stories a map can tell (systemic spatial literacy), adolescents will be able to formulate opportunities for change and propose public calls to action. 6. Self-Agency: By becoming equipped with a deeper level of spatial awareness, by becoming more critical about what happens in their surroundings and, finally, by learning tools that allow them to frame opportunities for impact, adolescents will finish MyHood's learning trajectory with an increased sense of empowerment and self-agency. Students will then end by understanding not only how elements of their communities are at play, but how they can play a role in events. |
Phase 5: Design Method
Phase 6: Low fidelity Prototype and Iterations |
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We began with paper prototypes that resembled our theory of change. We created the activities to address the following questions:
General Method:
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Scaffolding questions for users to creating a Call to Action.
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In conclusion, our learner studies showed that students found that the process helped them realize the extend of knowledge they had about issues, and promoted conversation about their community. However, considering their limited time during the day, they believe the platform would need to be part of school in order for them to use it.
“I think that for me, seeing all of our neighborhood, it comes to a realization how limited, at least for me, [this theme] is.” |
Phase 7: High Fidelity Prototype |
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POWER PIN
This refers to existing or potential resources and allies that can catalyze the change a learner wants to implement. |
TARGET PIN
This emphasizes WHERE you think would be a great opportunity for change for the neighborhood. |
CALL TO ACTION PIN
This shows where people are taking action in their community by discussing a how to address the proposed change. |
The general overflow of our product.
Screen A shows the user's first view after logging into the platform: a map with no data points.
Screen B shows the selection of a topic through which users will analyze their communities ("Themes").
Screen C Shows data points related to the selected data point, populated by other users.
Screen D shows the optional scaffolding questions users will go through before adding a new data point.
Screen E shows the final process of categorizing a data point into Power or Target and describing it.
Screen B shows the selection of a topic through which users will analyze their communities ("Themes").
Screen C Shows data points related to the selected data point, populated by other users.
Screen D shows the optional scaffolding questions users will go through before adding a new data point.
Screen E shows the final process of categorizing a data point into Power or Target and describing it.
Screen F is the first of a series of three prompts that stimulate further reflection and analysis.
Screen G shows the last stage of posting a Call to Action, with a field for description.
Screen H shows the call to action pin now geotagged on the map, along with other data points.
Screen I represents what a user sees when a Call to Action data point is accessed.
Screen G shows the last stage of posting a Call to Action, with a field for description.
Screen H shows the call to action pin now geotagged on the map, along with other data points.
Screen I represents what a user sees when a Call to Action data point is accessed.
