Marlo McCullar
Pronouns: she/her
Research Mentor(s): Jillian Webb
Research Mentor School/College/Department: LearnEarly / NonUM
Program: UROP
Session: Session 2 (10:00am – 10:50am)
Authors: Marlo McCullar, Jillian Webb
Abstract
Human-Centered Design is a multivariate approach that provides for problem-solving allocated explicitly toward a specific audience. This approach was utilized when considering ways to enhance STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) learning in children aged 3-5 in Detroit. Another significant aspect of this project is to increase young children’s exposure to local stories of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color) creators and incorporate their influence into early learning experiences. For example, Kenyon Sims, an 11-year-old boy diagnosed with Osteosarcoma, is represented, providing an opportunity for children to explore introductory scientific experiences in biological applications. A toy doll is featured, and children alongside their parents are encouraged to engage with it and, together, examine the role of various body parts in their daily lives and predict the effects of illness on those parts of the body. This primarily addresses the science aspect of STEAM learning, as children’s manipulations evoke the concept of cause and effect. Through this process, the child can make conclusions about their experiences with the doll and incorporate that information into their working knowledge of anatomical concepts of the human body. The first step of this user-based experimentation process was forming a minimum viable product as a baseline and assessing its efficacy via interviews with parents of communities in Detroit. After the first round of interviews with parents, it was found that incorporating active engagement, learning through observation, and selecting wording appropriate to the receiving community would aid in child and parent engagement. The results from this first testing session reveal that by presenting an initial prototype and asking the right questions to help us understand the problems we aim to solve, one can move improvements toward making a functional product.
