Monsternums App
UX RESEARCHER / EDTECH / 2024
Role
Apprentice UX Researcher
TEAMS
Product Strategy
Project Management
Design
Research
Writing
Development
SKILLS
Research Planning
Literature Review
Competitive Analysis
Usability Testing
User Interviews
Research Reports
Recruitment
TOOLS
Figjam
Google Docs
Google Sheets
Google Forms
Zoom
Slack
Discord
Timeline
Phase 3 (July 2024 - August 2024)
ROLE & IMPACT
30-50% of individuals
with ADHD have a learning disability (LD)
⅓ of children
with ADHD have math learning disabilities (MLD), where a student displays deficits in one or more of the following areas: number sense, memorization of arithmetic facts, accurate fluent calculation, and/or accurate math reasoning
14-17 year-olds
with ADHD showed less math proficiency despite having similar match calculation scores
I was lucky to contribute to another project at Tech Fleet, a remote 501(c)(3) nonprofit of 10,000+ members that helps provide Agile tech industry experience to promote fair access to tech careers! This time around, I joined in the middle of Phase 3 of the ADHD Math Team as a Research Apprentice. I collaborated with a team lead and 3 other research apprentices while aligning with 30+ cross-functional members and our client, Anne Canterra.
Since its first phase in April 2023, the team’s mission has been to develop a math learning platform, MonsterNums, that caters to the unique needs of children with ADHD. The team strives to empower users with customized, engaging learning. All in all, the team is dedicated to revolutionizing math education and creating a world where everyone has the opportunity to succeed.
For this phase, I helped execute various research strategies with my teammates to discover what makes for effective digital learning for students with ADHD and provide user-driven recommendations to design teams to better align the experience with our users’ needs.
Working on this project has been great for my growth, as it has helped me improve my communication within large teams, flexibility with managing deliverables in the midst of high team turnover, and knack for effective research strategy.
PREVIEW OF INSIGHTS
The MonsterNums Phase 3 geometry lesson MVP succeeds in providing clear, engaging, interactive, and age-appropriate math learning for students with ADHD.
However, the flow could be structured such that new concepts build upon each other, and simpler wording could be used.
Together with more developed gamification and situational design, these insights can be implemented to engage students and advance them in their learning more smoothly.
PROBLEM
Children with ADHD face cognitive difficulties, which hampers learning.
ADHD (Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) is a disorder marked by challenges with attention, impulse control, and executive functions (ex. problem-solving). Those with ADHD may experience heightened sensitivity to stress and over-stimulation, alongside possibly other disabilities.
Students with ADHD may find it hard to stay focused and succeed on academic tasks. This includes performing mathematical tasks, like detecting, manipulating, and comparing numbers.
SOLUTION
Leverage conducive research methods to gather insights that can help create a more effective learning experience for students with ADHD.
In the latest phase of MonsterNums, us researchers focused on informing the instructional design and flow of future lessons, starting off with a geometry lesson. By utilizing insights from previous phases’ secondary research and usability tests, we helped the Design and Writing teams align the learning experience with our users' needs, all to ease their learning challenges and improve their understanding of math.
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES & TIMELINE*
Objective 1
Research the user experience of common online math curricula
Objective 2
Build a panel of educational experts for individuals with ADHD
Objective 3
Develop a usability testing plan for the phase’s MVP
Objective 4
Begin IRB process for future phases to do research with children
*This is a timeline based on my trajectory as a Research Apprentice from when I joined in the middle of the phase in July 2024.
CHALLENGE
High team turnover slowed our progress.
When I joined in the middle of the phase, there was a 60% turnover in just the Research Team alone! This often resulted in a surplus of deliverables with not enough researchers, and the need to onboard new members constantly.
OUR APPROACH
Despite the turnover slowing our progress, we were able to quickly adapt our team structure and work delegation, and maintain consistent, open communication!
What especially improved our collaborative workflow (across 30+ members!) was maintaining consistent, open communication through a point of contact (POC) system. With one member of each of 6 departments acting as a representative for other departments, this ensured all members were aligned, which propelled us smoothly through the phase! Shoutout to Slack and Discord for making all this remote communication possible!
literature review
Multisensory teaching and chunking enhance math learning for those with ADHD
To start, I reviewed secondary research done by a late teammate to build my understanding of effective learning and design strategies for those with ADHD.
According to CHADD, The ADHD Centre, and Joon, below are some key accommodations that help children with ADHD grasp math.
Break down tasks and provide breaks
Simplify complex math concepts into smaller, manageable steps and provide breaks to help students refocus
Use multisensory teaching techniques
Engage multiple senses with visual aids and hands-on activities to enhance understanding and retention
Incorporate mnemonic devices
Encourage the use of mnemonic devices, especially if presented in a fun, colorful way, to aid memory and recall
Avoid speed and pressure
Give students ample time to immerse themselves in math problems without rushing
AFFINITY ANALYSIS
Similar platforms deliver digestible, responsive, and scaffolding lessons that help students meet national standards
We then finalized an affinity analysis on Figjam started by another late teammate on 3 similar digital platforms: Prodigy, IXL Math, and Khan Academy. We analyzed them according to their curricula, instructional strategies, learning outcomes, and content balance, focusing on geometry concepts for this phase’s MVP.
Our insights helped us draw out effective math standards and instructional strategies for our target users, U.S. children who are 8 to 11 years-old/are in 3rd-5th grade, to guide the Design and Writing teams’ work and deepen our team’s understanding for future interviews and usability tests.
Geometry Curriculum Topics
The Common Core standards, which encompass the majority of U.S. states' approach to math education, should underlie the app’s curriculum, standards, and learning outcomes. Topics for 3rd to 5th graders include shapes, area, and angles.
IXL Learning and Khan Academy chunk and build upon concepts and provide adaptive, responsive learning to meet students where they’re at
Effective Learning Delivery Methods
Scaffolding learning breaks complex concepts into more manageable chunks that increase in difficulty
Self-paced, adaptive learning tailors content to the learner's level, keeping them engaged and challenged
Platforms provide immediate feedback; learning by mistakes while having consistent support, practice, and encouragement motivates students
Platforms teach the theory, then have students practice
Gamification motivates students to complete and succeed in lessons to strive towards a bigger goal
CHALLENGE
Not being able to conduct research with children.
At the time of this project, Tech Fleet did not have an Institutional Review Board (IRB). That meant we were not authorized to conduct research with our target user group, children with ADHD.
OUR APPROACH
We reached out to SMEs and educators with experience!
While we may not have been able to gather truly target user-driven insights, we pivoted by recruiting neurodivergent subject matter experts (SMEs) and math educators instead. This still opened a window into challenges students with ADHD face when learning math, best practices, and expectations on these students’ interactions and impressions with our prototype.
Thanks to our team lead, we also got the ball rolling with obtaining an IRB, which means we are on the way to being able to conduct research with children in future phases!
PROTOTYPE
Users can choose from various geometry concepts to practice
Users learn about that concept, then practice what they’ve learned with interactive, real-life exercises with the help of hints if needed
Users practice more concepts to earn more bananas for their character and reach the hut
USABILITY TESTING AND INTERVIEWS
Educators think the prototype is great! But it could be better...
With the prototype ready, we conducted moderated usability tests on Zoom to evaluate its ease of use, efficacy in motivation and learning concepts, and impressions on the content and visual design.
We first focused on recruiting primarily U.S.-based educators from online educational communities, including Facebook Groups and Reddit, who have taught math education for students ages 8-11 years-old with ADHD.
Due to the phase’s short timeline, we were only able to recruit and test with 3 participants after a week of recruiting. However, we still gained some valuable insights* below! Additionally, interviewing these participants about their teaching history, teaching best practices, and challenges helped reinforce our knowledge of best educational practices.
USABILITY TEST HIGHLIGHTS
3
participants
100%
usability tasks were a success
Symbols and navigation were clear - users knew where to go when asked to look for something
Symbols and navigation were clear - users knew where to go when asked to look for something
Users liked how simple, focused, and calming the visual design was; it’s not overwhelming for students
The exercises are applicable to the real-world, making it more engaging and interactive for students
The language in the exercises is overall clear and appropriate for the target student demographic
The lesson jumps suddenly from angles to triangles, which is typically a separate lesson in the Common Core
Information in the hint would have been helpful for students to see before the exercises, and could be reworded much simpler
Seeing angles in different directions right away may be confusing for some students
INTERVIEW HIGHLIGHTS
Learning Challenges and Successes of Students Ages 8-11 with ADHD
Students struggle to build on foundational concepts, making it harder to grasp advanced material later on
Students can get easily bored by memorization and repetition; they find visual, multisensory tools like Desmos, Prodigy, and Kahoot to be more engaging
Students prefer positive feedback and lenience, especially for minor errors, and often find it difficult to explain their thinking clearly, sometimes skipping steps in their logic
*This is only a summary, not an analysis, based on a small sample size of 3 participants. Qualitative patterns usually emerge after 5-6 tests, so this merely provides initial feedback for the team to iterate on the prototype. More testing is needed for definitive conclusions.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR NEXT PHASE
Scaffold the exercises such that they build upon learning through an intuitive progression, without overwhelming or confusing students
Start lessons with easier concepts, then progress to more advanced ones.
Motivate students more by making their progress more clear and celebrating it
Add a progress bar of how many bananas are left to obtain, and connect earning bananas to a larger goal, like customizing your character.
Enhance the responsive UI and content design of the platform to convey appropriate situational feedback
Incorporate the color red if the student gets the exercise wrong, or green if correct, and tailor the app’s dialogue to encourage another try or compliment the user
Simplify the definitions of topics to be more appropriate and clear for students ages 8-11
REFLECTION
*cue Mulan soundtrack*
What I Learned
Stakeholder management and misalignment are daunting, but don’t be afraid to defend your ideas; they matter!
Life happens. And it will impact how much you can accomplish day to day, and that is okay.
What I’d Do Differently
Begin recruitment earlier; pose a tentative testing schedule and recruit likely target participants to broaden our sample size and be able to analyze patterns.
Review past phases’ research findings; this could save a lot of time and resources!
Conduct more secondary research on the challenges individuals face with ADHD comorbidities, along with recommended digital learning strategies
What’s Next
Continue supporting the Design and Writing Teams with helpful insights and recommendations, especially with regards to testing gamification!
Conduct user interviews and usability tests with our true target user group, students ages 8-11 years-old with ADHD once we obtain our IRB!