Presentation on presenting the application of andragogy to design from 2015 Penn State Web Conference

1. Incorporating the principles of
andragogy into design
Web Conference at
Penn State
Treating users like learners
Victor Yocco, PhD
vyocco@intuitivecompany.com
@victoryocco

2. Intuitive Company is a user-focused
research, design, and development
firm in Philadelphia, PA
Manayunk,
Philadelphia

3. Contents
Users are learners
Andragogy
Six principles
How to make it work for you
Q&A time

4. Users are
learners

5. 5
A new application is released:
This app will solve all your problems! -
Design team
I’m not sure I know how to use it. - User
We’ve incorporated the latest design
techniques. It comes with an hour long
video and FAQs- Design team
How does it work? - User
We’ve done all we can do. - Design
team
Quotes

6. 6
Most digital experiences require
users to learn something:
New application
New features
Maximize efficiency
Teach content (learning applications)
Users are
learners

7. 7
We try to design for learning:
Onboarding process
FAQs, walkthroughs, help center
Multiple formats: written instructions,
screenshots, videos
Users are
learners

8. 8
Getting Philosophical (one slide only)
Deficit Model - users are lacking critical
information they need
Abundance Model - users bring relevant
knowledge and skills to the table
What’s Your
Model?

9. 9
How can our design:
acknowledge the unique needs of users
as learners?
incorporate what users already bring to
the table?
focus our content and how it is delivered
to educate users on our product?
Questions

10. Andragogy

11. 11
Background:
Knowles popularized use in the US
starting in the 1960’s
Translates to man-leading (as opposed
to child/pedagogy)
Initially a way to distinguish adult
education from child education
Actually a set of good learning principles
that apply to everyone
Andra-what?

12. 12
Six Principles:
Learners need to be involved in the
planning and evaluation of their
instruction
Learners prefer self-direction when
learning new things
Learners build on prior experiences
Andragogy

13. 13
Six Principles:
Learners need to learn quickly - in real-
life situations
Learners’ interest in learning is centered
on problem solving
Learners’ motivations to learn are
internal as well as external
Andragogy

14. 14
We are constantly updating and
redesigning our digital products
How do we incorporate the principles of
Andragogy into our design?
Which principle(s) are most critical to
address?
The Problem

15. The Principles

16. 16
Learners need to be involved in the
planning and evaluation of their
instruction
Co-creation; crowdsourcing
Card sorting to identify user focused
taxonomies
Usability testing for feedback and
iteration on design
Principle 1

17. 17
Learners prefer self-direction when
learning new things
Allow users to choose where to start
Allow frequent saving and picking back
up
Provide content in customizable chunks
Provide guidance - but let users make
meaning
Principle 2

18. 18
lynda.com provides
an example of self-
direction
Users choose the
topic and video
they want to view

19. 19
Learners build on prior experiences
Understand who your users are
Personalize experiences
Scaffold users with less experience
Principle 3

20. 20
Arizona State
University
Users select who
they are
(background
experience) and
then receive
personalized
content relevant to
that role

21. 21
Learners need to learn quickly - in
real-life situations
Learning should happen in context
Understand users mental models
Principle 4

22. 22
A guy or gal walks into a bar…

23. 23
Learners’ interest in learning is
centered on problem solving
Show how learning is relevant to a
problem needing solved
Consider when and why users need
instruction
Contextual help, tool tips, progressive
reduction
Principle 5

24. 24
Intuitive Voting uses an
instructional overlay

25. 25
Learners’ motivations to learn are
internal as well as external
Extrinsic motivation can light the fire
Intrinsic keeps it burning
Principle 6

26. 26
Extrinsic motivation comes from
outside of the individual:
Rewards such as cash, prizes, or praise
Extrinsic
Motivation

27. 27
Three key ways to stoke the fire of
intrinsic motivation
Challenging Tasks
Curiosity
Authentic Simulation
Intrinsic
Motivation

28. 28
Challenging
Tasks
Fitocracy

29. 29
Curiosity

30. 30
Authentic
Simulation

31. How to make Andragogy
work for you

32. 32
Make it work
Consider the six principles as a check list,
and identify how your experience
accounts for them
Look for quick fixes:
a 50-question FAQ can turn into
contextual help cues
an hour-long webinar can be broken up
into self-contained segments

33. 33
Make it work
Gather feedback from current and
prospective users to identify which
principles will have the most impact on a
specific audience
Use the findings to shape future
experiences and approach any problem
areas differently

34. 34
Make it work
Jarod Spool tells us to be proactive in
practicing our practice
Next time your team is tackling a design
flow, spend some time creating six
versions; one to address each separate
principle
Determine how the pieces of each might
fit best as a whole

35. So what?

36. 36
So What
It’s our duty as designers—as educators
—to design future digital experiences with
these principles in mind
You can think about your users as
learners
You should include elements of
education/learning in your design process

37. Q&A Time!

38. 38
Design for the Mind:
Available for early access purchase:
http://manning.com/yocco/

39. Thank You!
vyocco@intuitivecompany.com

40. 40
My UX Booth Article
The Adult Learner, Malcolm Knowles classic
book on androgogy
Androgogy in Practice, Elwood F Holton,
Richard A Swanson, and Sharon S Naquin’s
article, which includes useful checklists
Co-Creation: Designing with the User, for the
User, by Patrizia Bertini and Elsa Plumley
Additional
Resources

41. 41
Motivation in Education, by Dale H. Schunk,
Judith R Meece, and Paul R. Pintrich
Andragogy.net, the androgogy website
Co-designing with Children, by Catalina
Naranjo-Bock
Additional
Resources