Building the first High School UX course
Designers and educators working together to give opportunities to a diverse range of students
Did you take any type of design courses in high school? Perhaps you worked through experiments and utilized the scientific method in your lab science classes. Or maybe you took art elective courses that allowed you to create and design for a portfolio. Some of you may even have attended a special school focused on science, technology, or the arts.
Consider the Societal Influence of UXD
What would our world look like if young people learned and practiced design thinking principles throughout secondary school age? It is often noted that the vibrant trial-and-error experimental learning style that a first grader possesses is lost to the rigorous style of school as grades progress. By the time a student becomes a high schooler, their sense of wonder in learning at school specifically has been “beaten” out of them.
What if you could take a user experience (UX) course in high school? How would that have influenced the way you approached life, college, and/or job searching and career-building? Imagine if students today had the opportunity to take not just one but an entire 4-year course pathway in UX Design as high schoolers. What types of innovative solutions to the world’s problems would be found?
One Teacher’s Investment
These are the types of things I have been discussing alongside others passionate in the UX and K-12 education communities. Recently, I spoke with Belinda Medellin, a high school digital media arts teacher who created the first (to our knowledge) high school UX course pathway in the United States. I was delighted to have her as a guest on the podcast UX of EdTech because she embodies a vision that I share: teach and facilitate UXD and design thinking to K-12 students.
Belinda was leading her graphic design students through a career unit and guided the students in using Glassdoor, Indeed, and other job sites. One of the students made the observation that jobs with the title of “UX Designer” seemed to make a significant income. “What is a UX designer?” This sparked an inquiry for the whole class (including Belinda) on what exactly is UX.
Belinda researched the role more thoroughly and discovered the benefits that it could have on her students. She was particularly interested in the emphasis on empathy and the opportunities that it could provide her students in the future. She got to work gathering her research and presenting it to her forward-thinking principal who quickly agreed for her to start building the course.
Standards and the 4-Course Pathway
One of her first moves was to organize a UX workshop with professional designers in the industry and her class. It was successful and once it was clear that UX was definitely on the students’ level, she continued partnering with professional designers to develop a list of standards. She was advised by an industry panel of designers to help her articulate some of what would be expected for the professional field. In the United States, each state requires a set of learning standards for every subject taught in public schools. To properly implement a new UX course, she had to develop these standards.
The state of Texas approved her standards for both a freshman and sophomore UX course. The 4-year pathway includes the following:
- 9th Grade: Foundations of UX Design
- 10th Grade: Advanced UX Design
- 11th: Digital Art and Animation; AP Psychology
- 12th: Practicum of UX Design
In their senior year, students are connected with designers working in the industry to begin internship level work.
The Effort for UX Education at a Young Age
Along the way, Belinda received help from a long list of partners and is still continuing to finalize the course pathway. To our knowledge in the U.S., there are no public high school courses specifically centering UX design but do include design thinking. Belinda’s work is remarkable because it is the first of it’s kind (with approved standards) and it lays a foundation for many other teachers and industry partners to build courses all over the country.
We share a vision with others who are working to bridge the gap between education and employment for the future. For example, Digital Influx is also providing a course globally for elementary children and shares in the vision for design education.
Perhaps you are a designer, teacher, or K-12 student interested in building a UX course at a school in your area. We want to connect designers with schools while also supporting educators. Teachers need access and contact with design professionals in order to develop internship and practicum opportunities. A free Starter Kit to navigating this process is also available.
Ultimately, UX of EdTech wants to connect the UX and education communities to give a wider range of young students opportunities in design work. What role do you want to play?
