BRYN MAWR COLLEGE
Developing a new undergraduate
Education major at Bryn Mawr College
TEAM
Seven undergraduates studying Education
Education Department Head
Education Department Faculty
TIMELINE
Fall 2022 - Summer 2023, 9 months
ROLE
Learning Experience Designer
PROJECT OVERVIEW
Historically, Bryn Mawr only offered an Education minor.
Over the years, many students had expressed interest in a corresponding Education major.
In Fall 2022, I was selected to join a group of students and faculty designing this major. Our
proposal was presented to the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee last spring and implemented Fall 2023.
MY ROLE
I had just begun learning about the field of UX, and I was eager to apply it.
This project seemed like the perfect opportunity. I led UX research to uncover pain points in the existing minor, collaborated with peers and faculty to redesign the Education curriculum, and had fun exploring the intersection between UX methods and education theory in the process!
DESIGN PROCESS
KEY CHALLENGES
UNDERSTANDING CONSTRAINTS
Due to resource constraints, we couldn't hire new professors, offer more courses, or make drastic changes to the contents of existing classes.
IDENTIFYING
STAKEHOLDERS
The summer after graduation, I was hired by the Education Department to create resources for incoming students interested in the new major.
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
My peers conducted a competitive analysis of peer institutions’ education programs, while I ran needfinding surveys and semi-structured interviews with current students.
COMMUNICATING
OUR FINDINGS
We co-wrote an official proposal for the major, which was approved by Bryn Mawr’s Curriculum Committee.
IMPLEMENTING OUR PLANS
The summer after graduation, I continued my job with the Education Department to create resources for incoming students interested in the new major.
01. How might we develop a flexible major track that supports students pursuing various career paths, given limited resources?
At first, we hoped to expand the size of the department and offer more courses, but we quickly learned that this wouldn't be possible.
Although constraints were frustrating at times, they pushed us to think creatively. For instance, we partnered with other departments, so that we could include their courses as electives for the major.
02. How might we articulate the importance of these changes to Bryn Mawr's administration?
Beyond just creating a plan for the major, we needed to secure approval from the Curriculum Committee.
To do so, we wrote and presented a detailed report, backed by findings from our user research. UX frameworks were crucial in helping our team gain a deeper understanding of how best to support students' varying educational journeys.
NEEDFINDING & DEVELOPING SOLUTIONS
The needfinding surveys and interviews revealed seven key problems with the existing Education minor. Here are a few of them:
THE PROBLEMS
OUR SOLUTIONS
It was hard to get a seat in the required "entry point" course.​
​
​​​​
Alumni entering careers in higher education reported feeling unprepared.
​
​​​​
Students wanted to specialize in different pathways.​
​​​​​​​​​​
​
Some felt that the department lacked a strong sense of community.
Expanded the number of existing courses that count as entry points, and established criteria to categorize future courses as entry points.
​
Proposed a new course taught by senior Education majors, to give them experience designing a college curriculum without creating additional work for professors.
​
Established four new specialization options for the major: Elementary Education, Secondary Education, Higher Education, and Teaching in Out-of-School Contexts​.​​​​​
​
Developed an Accountability Partner program and other opportunities to build community within the department.
CURRICULUM DESIGN
Integrating these ideas, we developed the official requirements for the major.
OUTCOMES (AS OF SPRING 2024)
After just one semester, the new major has proven to be highly successful.
Although the raw numbers may seem small, Bryn Mawr has fewer than 2000 students total, so they represent a significant portion of the college population.
​
Over time, the scope of this project also expanded. I worked one-on-one with the department chair to develop resources for incoming students.
27
students declared an Education Major in the 2023 - 2024 academic year.
50%
increase in average number of students pursuing teaching certification per class year
15
courses from a variety of departments added as electives for the new major
REFLECTION
So how do UX research and education theory connect?
One thing I love about UX is its applicability to so many different contexts. As someone who values interdisciplinary learning, I'm always thinking about how my approach to UX is informed by my background in education and cognitive psychology.​
Human-centered design is akin
to learner-centered pedagogy.
Both methods encourage active student or user engagement and embrace continuous iteration of teaching methods / designs.
Good teachers and designers share a deep empathy for others.
Empathy fosters a learner-centered and human-centered mindset that is essential for creating positive and impactful experiences in both fields.
Constraints can be a great catalyst for creativity.
Constraints in UX and education encourage innovative problem-solving and push people to think outside traditional boundaries.
Information accessibility is a
critical concern for both fields.
Whether designing next-gen technologies or new curricula, the goal is to make information and learning accessible to all.