Design Challenge: DISCOVER into EMPATHY Phase: User Maps & Problem Statements

 

Problem Statement: 

• From teacher perspective:“I am a teacher trying to create community and manage stress in the classroom but am struggling because of the constraints and new pressures this year which makes me feel overwhelmed."

• From student perspective:“Students need a way to feel connected and safe with their classmates because mask wearing and social distancing prohibit them from interacting as they normally would/could.”

During my empathy gathering experience, I informally talked to co workers and students. This wasn't too difficult as we are all constantly talking about how we are feeling, what is working, what we wish we could change and how/if we could safely make the changes. From my coworkers (teachers), they expressed a high stress feeling constantly. Due to safety rules, students are in the classroom with their classroom teacher all day- including lunch and specials. There is no room for teachers to escape to and have a moment to themselves. There is no space for teachers to eat lunch away from their students. There is also minimal planning time, which teachers have while specials are occurring in their room. These factors are causing teachers to feel that this system is not sustainable for many reasons- including mental health of teachers/students. On top of all of this, they are struggling to create a feeling of classroom community. They are unable to meet at the rug for morning meetings or have small groups gather to work together. All of these factors are creating a problem for them.

From conversations with students, they are actually fairing better than teachers. They express frustrations over recess. They are not able to play tag, soccer, basketball and other games that they love to play. To help cope with this, PE teachers are spending PE times teaching them new, safe activities. They also feel frustrated with having to stay in the room all day (especially for lunch).