Table of Contents
- Summary
- Goals
- Outcomes
- Methodology
- Statistical Analysis
- User Interviews
- Emergent Findings
- Misunderstanding of the design principles
- Misunderstanding of the five Ds of web site production
- Challenges with answering scenario-based questions
- Recommendations
Summary
In this eLearning model learners are provided a standard course of study primarily composed of reading material. The learner completes the course of study at their own pace in preparation for a certification exam in user-centered design.
Learner satisfaction and course completion were declining in the course.
Goals
- Understand barriers and challenges of the learning journey
- Increase course completion rates
- Increase learner satisfaction
Outcomes
Course Completion Rates
23.53%
Increase
Initial 6-month course completion rates were 71.43%.
Course completion rates after implementing the recommendations were 88.24%.
Learner Satisfaction
Learner satisfaction was gathered through informal surveys after students completed the new learning path and certification exam. Below is some of the feedback collected.
Passed the Certification on the FIRST Attempt this morning. Big thank you to my Jessica for the exam prep information. Really helped me to fully understand the material and prepare me for the certification test.
Shane A.
I LOVE the video you made on scenario-based questions. It’s extremely helpful!!!
Melanie K.
For this course, I was fortunate to have the phenomenal Jessica Shields! She has a true gift for teaching and an ability to simplify even the most frightening of subject matter. She goes above and beyond by creating explanatory videos. THIS IS A TEACHER WHO TEACHES!! I have retained so much from her instruction.
Natasha R.
Methodology
Statistical analysis
Using objective data gathered from 60 exam coaching reports, I analyzed the scores by domain to determine the three lowest scoring areas where UX could be improved:
| Domain | Topic | Average Score |
| 3 | User-Centered Web Design | 51% |
| 5 | Color, Typography, Layout, and Wireframing | 46% |
| 6 | Designing a Basic Web Page User Interface | 55% |
User Interviews
After statistical analysis, I conducted individual user interviews with 20 learners that had taken and failed the exam. These interviews centered around their preparations for the exam, experience with the exam, and course satisfaction.
To better determine where the pain points were within each domain I asked targeted questions about the learners’ understanding of concepts within each domain.
Emergent Findings
Three main challenges emerged from user interviews:
- Misunderstanding of the design principles
- Misunderstanding of the five Ds of web site production
- Challenges with answering scenario-based questions
Recommendations and Next Steps
Misunderstanding of the design principles
To target the persistent misunderstanding of the design principles I designed a live training on the topic and a recorded version of the training to meet the needs of self-paced learning. The training outlined differences between the principles and provided examples. The presentation also included objective questions to provide immediate feedback on learning outcomes.
Misunderstanding of the five Ds of web site production
To target the persistent misunderstanding of the 5 Ds of website production I designed a live training on the topic and a recorded version of the training. The training outlined each of the Ds with examples and targeted learning checks. The presentation also includes objective questions to provide immediate feedback on learning outcomes.
Challenges with answering scenario-based questions
Learners found the style of exam scenario-based questions challenging because the learning material did not provide opportunities to practice with this style of question.
To help learn strategies for completing scenario-based questions I created both learning materials to explain strategies that can be used and practice problems.
For practice with scenario-based questions, I developed a multiple-choice objective assessment with 56 scenario-based items.
