Senior Design Challenge:
Designing for Engagement
January - June 2025
For the Mountain Views Supervisory Union (MVSU) & Killington Elementary School (KES)
Skills: Human-Centered Design, User Research, Prototyping, Data Analysis, UI/UX Design
THE "TL;DR"
The Problem:
Male students at KES face significantly higher rates of disciplinary actions and lower academic achievement, signaling deep-rooted disengagement from the learning process.
The Solution:
The Killington Cup, a recurring intra-class competition designed to foster collaboration, class conscientiousness, and grit by turning curriculum-aligned lessons into low-stakes, high-engagement team challenges.
Watch the 10-minute final presentation here.
USER RESEARCH
Methods:
Conducted desk research on national gender gaps, interviewed subject matter experts in psychology and education, analyzed existing school surveys (Quaglia/PBIS), and performed 2 ethnographic site visits to KES.
The "Ah-Ha" Insights:
Unfair Discipline
Boys perceive they are disciplined more harshly than girls for similar behaviors, which undermines their conscientiousness.
Reward Mismatch
Current reward systems (like "pom-poms") motivate girls through verbal praise, but boys strongly prefer physical, tangible rewards or gamified success.
Consistency Gap
Teachers desired more creative freedom and consistent school-wide behavior expectations.
THE PROBLEM
At Killington Elementary, only one-third of boys reported liking school, and a mere 25% felt important in their own classrooms.
This mirrors a wider trend where girls are 14% more likely to be "school-ready" at age 5 and consistently outperform boys in reading across every state.
THE DESIGN PROCESS
Ideation:
Explored 3 initial directions: a Fall Teacher Retreat for norm consistency, "Killington Candyland" for gamification, and a PBIS (Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports) overhaul.
Prototyping:
Tested a class-wide competition with the 5th-grade class where teams created mascots and collaborated on "mega-stories" using their personal narratives.
Observations:
Time pressure enhanced collaboration, and students were most engaged when they had the agency to choose their medium (drawing vs. writing).
FINAL DESIGN
Collaborative Teams
Monthly co-ed seating arrangements where boys and girls must practice grit together.
Biweekly Competitions
Curriculum-tailored activities (e.g., Math Bingo, Relay Races) that allow students to practice social-emotional skills in a low-stakes environment.
The Idea Bank
A living resource for teachers to "plug and play" new competition ideas, reducing their planning workload while increasing classroom joy.
Feedback Loop
Student feedback cards with emojis allow for continuous sentiment tracking throughout the year.
REFLECTION & NEXT STEPS
Key Learnings:
Success should be relative; what looks like a "high" or "low" for one student depends entirely on their individual baseline.
Next Steps:
Following a successful one-year pilot with the 5th grade, the goal is to expand the Killington Cup school-wide to build long-term engagement across all grade levels.