Active Learning

Strategy Finder

Role: UX / Learning Experience Designer
Skills: UX Research · Information Architecture · Learning Strategy · Figma · Visual Design · Design System

This case study presents a prototype web platform designed to help college instructors discover and plan active learning strategies aligned with their course goals, class size, and time constraints. The project demonstrates how user-centered design principles can make pedagogical decision-making more intuitive and evidence-based.

Approach

I approached the project as both a learning experience designer and a visual designer, focusing on how to make pedagogical knowledge more usable and fun to interact with:

  • Conducted user research through graduate teaching assistant and faculty interviews and instructional design literature to identify key decision-making factors.

  • Mapped learning design needs into an interactive search interface that filters strategies by teaching goals, class format, and time investment.

  • Designed a clean, intuitive protoype interface using visual design principles to enhance engagement and usability.

Challenge

Faculty often struggle to identify which active learning strategies fit their specific course context. The existing resource (pictured to the left)is a Google sheet managed by the on-campus Teaching and Learning Center. It is fragmented, and tedious to navigate, limiting adoption and experimentation in teaching practice.

Outcome

While not yet implemented, this case study illustrates a viable and scalable replacement for existing instructional strategy repositories. The design simplifies exploration, encourages experimentation, and empowers instructors to design engaging, student-centered learning experiences.

By combining UX design and learning science, the Active Learning Strategy Finder models how well-designed digital tools can transform faculty development and learning support systems in higher education.