Having worked as a Lead UX/UI Design Teacher at Ironhack, a global school specializing in intensive technology bootcamps, for just over a year, I employed UX techniques to enhance the learning experience of every student. In this post, I’ll share the insights I gained from this experience.
Challenge I have always loved teaching and sharing my knowledge. This passion has motivated me to evolve in my profession. When I teach, I push myself to learn and stay updated, which makes me a better professional. Feeling that I receive so much from this process, I feel indebted to my students. Therefore, I aim to provide them with a memorable experience in return.
When I joined Ironhack, I was thrilled to learn that they prioritized results based on numbers and research, as well as caring about student satisfaction. Every week, students had to fill out surveys that helped measure their satisfaction with the classes and the school, in addition to evaluating the work done in the classroom.
Considering all this, my main challenge was how to improve the classroom experience for my students.
First Steps The beginning involved understanding all the existing processes and procedures before my arrival, as well as the actions already being taken for improvement. I spent two weeks gathering this information while actively participating in classes from day one to understand the needs up close.
Two crucial rituals were already practiced with the students: stand-up meetings at the beginning of the day to organize what had been done the previous day and plan for the current day, and retrospectives on Fridays to discuss the week’s events, both good and bad. Additionally, every Friday, students filled out a survey to evaluate the teacher, the classes, and the school.
With this information, I could start working on weekly improvements for the classes.
Day-to-Day The daily routine consisted of morning classes and afternoon projects. It was like leading several design teams simultaneously every day, with about 4 to 5 teams, each working on a different project per module. This gave me a unique experience of leading multiple beginner teams in different projects.
We held individual meetings with each team, helping with doubts and guiding the project direction, providing all the support and tools needed to solve problems as I would in a traditional design team in a company.
This allowed me to have wonderful and challenging experiences with different people and classes, in addition to diverse projects. The projects were driven by research, interviews, and real data, mimicking professional projects, which helped prepare students for the job market and improve the overall experience.
Overall, the student experience was good and improved over time as I refined the classes based on feedback. However, there were some specific challenges with certain classes, which I will outline below:
The First Class In the first class, I aimed to provide a good experience for the students, focusing on what had been documented by previous teachers. The first few weeks went well, but as time passed, some issues arose based on the data collected and conversations with the students:
- Students missed more interaction with other classes from different subjects.
- Some content needed to be deepened as students had difficulties with it.
With these issues identified, I prioritized actions based on the number of student requests and then moved on to the ideation process.
The first step was to resolve the interaction with other classes. By talking to the school, I discovered that there was a social event that had been sidelined due to low student participation. Based on the data and information from the students, I managed to reactivate the event, which was a success due to greater interaction among students, meeting their requests.
The second step involved the content. The solution was implemented in two stages: the first, situational for this class, was to provide reinforcement classes. For the following classes, the approach was to extend the lessons on challenging subjects, simplify the content, and include more practical exercises for better understanding and retention.
The Second and More Challenging Class In the second class, the challenge was different. While most students were generally happy, one student, in particular, was not satisfied with some points, which made me rethink certain aspects during the process:
- She lacked confidence in learning the material and had unresolved doubts about the content, which I took too long to identify.
- A Figma workshop didn’t go well due to an update that changed how the tool worked, causing some friction.
- An important question she asked received an uncertain answer from me, as I needed to research it, causing some insecurity.
These points taught me that even if only a few users have concerns, they should be heard, as they can lead to improvements that benefit all users and enhance the overall experience. Despite the tough feedback from this student, it made me reconsider my responsibility for student satisfaction and the amount of energy and effort I should dedicate to this task.
To address the issues, my assistant and I ideated solutions:
- Conduct daily knowledge tests with students and reinforce the culture of asking questions and expressing doubts during classes.
- Study and prepare each lesson better, even for content already taught in other classes, by researching the market, checking for updates, and testing programs on the day of the class.
- Deeply study even the subjects I only superficially mastered to provide a better experience for the students. I understand that a teacher won’t know 100% of every topic, but the deeper the knowledge, the better the experience for the students.
In the end, after these adjustments, the scores improved by 10%, surpassing the class average. The following year’s classes showed continuous improvement, and by the last class, I had nearly 100% student satisfaction with no issues.
Conclusion This experience taught me that student satisfaction in a school greatly depends on direct actions by teachers in collaboration with the administration. Listening to student feedback is essential for strengthening an educational brand, and the voice of each user can provide important insights for the organization.