PARTICIPATORY DESIGN WITH CHILDREN WITH SEND: !CAN TRUSTWORTHINESS ESTABLISH CROSS-LINKS BETWEEN DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES?!

Mina Vasalou, Laura Benton and Seray Ibrahim UCL Knowledge Lab

Focus and context of talk!•  Children with SEND are involved in the design

of their own Educational Technology (Benton and Johnson, 2015)

•  This is driven by the equal goal to empower and to understand children (Ladner, 2015)

•  How can research trustworthiness (validity) advance cross-links between communities

concerned with different groups of children? •  Three case studies involving three SEND

groups (autism, dyslexia and cerebral palsy) Ladner, 2015. Design for user empowerment. interactions !

Benton and Johnson (2015). Widening participation in technology design: A review of the involvement of children with special educational needs and disabilities. IJCCI.!

!

Participatory design as a !research approach!

KNOWLEDGE New problem definitions

Novel methods Design guidelines

Strong design concepts…

PD VALUES Empathy Empowerment Democracy

METHODS Telling

Making Enacting

Sanders, E. (2013). Perspectives on Participation in Design. In Wer Gestaltet die Gestaltung? Praxis, Theorie und Geschichte des Partizipatorischen Designs.!

Frauenberger et al. (2015). In pursuit of rigour and accountability in participatory design. IJHCS.!

Situated studies Progressing the discipline of"design and EdTech

E.g. •  Transferability of design knowledge •  Theory development through "

concatenation

CROSS-LINKS CAN BE MADE IF WE TRUST THE RESEARCH!

Trustworthiness and how its appraised

Transferability

Credibility & Authenticity

Criticality & Integrity

Dependability

Rigour, accountability &

cohesion Congruence

Creativity

RESEARCH GOAL: Transferability of methodological knowledge

EXPLORATORY QUESTION: credibility and authenticity of knowledge gained through specific PD methods

D4D ASD >

METHODS

TRANSFERABILITY

D4D DYSLEXIA > METHODS

CREDIBILITY &"AUTHENTICITY

PD METHODS DYSLEXIA & CP

KNOWLEDGE

DIVERSITY FOR DESIGN (D4D)!Transferable methods for enabling two groups of Neurodiverse children (Autism and Dyslexia) to participate in design!

Benton et al. (2014). Diversity for Design: A framework for involving Neurodiverse children in the technology design process @ CHI!

Transferability!

Involves the full articulation of the research context to enable others to assess if and how the research knowledge transfers, so

that knowledge is reusable Shenton, 2004. Strategies for ensuring trustworthiness in qualitative!

research projects. Education for Information.!

Neurodiverse !conditions

Neurodiversity reframing deficit focused views on

children!

Difficulties!

Innovative thinkers!

High energy!

Poor memory!

Obsessive routines!

Distractible!Impulsive!

Literacy difficulties!

Limited social skills!

Intense phobias!

Risk taker!

Creative!

Visual-spatial skills!

High precision!

Prodigious memory!

– Dalton (2013)

The TEACCH program (ASD)!

Recognise and responds to “characteristic and predictable patterns of thinking and behaviour”

Ensure flexible and individualized for a wide range of “developmental levels and behavioural

profiles”

Matches environment to an individuals

“abilities and ways of understanding and

learning”

Supports to make the specific activities more understandable to the

individual

Diversity for Design (D4D) framework!

Structuring design

environment

Understanding culture!

Tailor to individual!

Understanding culture!

Tailor to individual!

Additional supports in

design activities

DEVELOPING PD METHODS FOR CHILDREN WITH AUTISM!!

Theory-informed PD Method!

•  Theoretical review of strengths and weaknesses and culture of ASD

•  Strategic choices of PD features

PD Method iteration 1 on 1 workshops with 10 children designing a paper based interface

PD Method iteration 2 collaborative

workshops, 6 sessions with 6 children designing

feedback and reward mechanisms

D4D framework for children with autism (theory-informed)!

Structuring Environment

Additional Supports

Adult support: - engagement

- idea generation

Visual activities

Understanding Culture Tailor to Individual

Demonstrate existing tech

Quiet/familiar environment

Start with visual recap/ intro. Finish with summary/intro to

next session

Consistent session structure

Sessions weekly + same time/place

Routine to tick off activities

Visual schedule to engage /organize

Themed to hobbies/interests

Appropriate content for ability level

Staged idea generation

Visual design templates

Team building activities

Understanding Culture Tailor to Individual

Familiar activity structure

Structuring Environment

Additional Supports

Adult support: - engagement

- idea generation

Transfer ideas quickly to computer-based prototype

Visual activities

Understanding Culture Tailor to Individual

Demonstrate existing tech

Quiet/familiar environment

Start with visual recap/ intro. Finish with summary/intro to

next session

Consistent session structure

Sessions weekly + same time/place

Routine to tick off activities

Visual schedule to engage /organize

Themed to hobbies/interests

Appropriate content for ability level

Multiple modes of expression

Staged idea generation

Visual design templates

Team building activities

Start with fine details of design task

Link to existing knowledge/skills

Understanding Culture Tailor to Individual

Adult support: - sensitivities

- collaboration

Familiar activity structure Emergent uses

New

D4D framework for children with autism (practice-informed)!

DEVELOPING PD METHODS FOR CHILDREN WITH DYSLEXIA!

Theory-informed PD Method!•  Theoretical review of strengths and weaknesses

and culture of dyslexia •  Identify shared

characteristics with ASD •  Choices for new and transferable PD features

PD Method iteration 3 collaborative workshop

sessions, 4 children designing the navigation

and feedback of the literacy game

PD Method iteration!•  Observations of

teaching sessions; interviews with two specialist teachers

D4D framework for children with dyslexia (theory-informed)!

Structuring Environment

Additional Supports

Link to existing knowledge/skills

Understanding Culture Tailor to Individual

Provide alternative strategies for task

Quiet/familiar environment

Start with visual recap/ intro. Finish with summary/intro to

next session

Sessions weekly + same time/place

Visual schedule

Multisensory activities

Start with big picture of design task

Themed to hobbies/interests Visual activities

Visual design templates

Understanding Culture Tailor to Individual

Contributions to the broader community!

•  A design framework that scaffolds designers in the creation of new PD methodologies for children with a range of neurodiverse conditions

•  The demonstration of a process through which the D4D framework can guide the development of features for incorporation in PD, informed by theory and practice

•  The documentation and development of two PD methods for autism and dyslexia

•  Transferability of PD features across groups

Open Questions!

KNOWLEDGE

METHODS ‘Enabling’ environments

PD VALUES

WHAT IS THE KNOWLEDGE GENERATED BY DIFFERENT PD METHODS?!

Credibility and Authenticity!•  Does the description match the evaluation? •  Are multiple voices and realities heard?

Two case studies pursuing problem exploration as

research knowledge

Two user groups!

Dyslexia (4 boys) Cerebral Palsy (2 girls)

https://www.flickr.com/photos/goddessparkle/2809823842/!

http://www.cpsn.org.au!

New Reading app remediation and alternative ways of gaining meaning

Improving AAC to remove barriers to children

DESIGN PROCESS!

1 "Reading

preferences?

Visual probes

2 "Reading

practices?

Scenarios

3 "Experienced difficulties?

Vignettes

1 "Communication difficulties with

assistive technology

Personalized vignette with

closed responses

2 "Experiences of

technology shaped by interests

Trialing technology CE

REBR

AL P

ALSY

DY

SLEX

IA

4 "Critiquing/choosing reading

strategies

Design e.g.

5 Prototyping 1-2

reading strategies

Co-design

Research-led, close coupling

Child-led, exploratory

Dialogic

Self-directed

Findings!Researcher-led!

E.g. Reading preferences!Researcher: What books or stories do you like to read? Drew: Funny. Researcher: Funny? Can you give us an example of a funny book maybe that you – comes to mind? Drew: Tom Gates? [name of author] Researcher: Tom Gates? Anybody else? Matt: Scary films? Um, no scary books.

[Jon and Nat are avoiding eye contact with the researcher] Researcher: Scary books? You Jon, any ideas? [picking up the book genre probe] We have a

few ideas here just to give you a starting point. Adventure, biography, mystery, fantasy, realistic and historical fiction, realistic fiction… yeah?

Jon: Yeah. Researcher: Which book comes to mind for –

[Jon points to one of the pictures of a book title included in the probe] Researcher: This one? The Diary of a Wimpy Kid? Jon: Yeah. Researcher: Have you read this one or do you know of that book? Drew: The Diary of a Wimpy Kid, yes I’ve watched the movie as well.

Developmental

Existing disempowerment

Stigma

Assumptions about children

Constraints of responses

Findings!Child-led!

E.g. self-directed technology use!Abigail: LET’S COOK IT (system voice command in capitals) Researcher: Yeah, that’s right, we do need to cook it Abigail: (eye points to screen and vocalises but unintelligible speech) Researcher: That one there? This person here (finger points to screen) Abigail: PUT IT IN THE OVEN (Turns and looks at researcher)

WASH (vocalises and looks at researcher) Researcher: Wash up? Abigail: Yeah

(Smiles) Researcher: You’re right, we had so many dishes – Abigail: Yeah Researcher: from that cake we made.

(Abigail vocalises) Alright, we’ll get wet. Let’s open (acts out turning on a tap) let’s open the dish – put – let’s – open the water,

whoosh, water on, and wash the dishes, scrub, scrub, scrub, next one, (Abigail looks at screen and vocalises, R stops and looks at her then at the screen)

Abigail: PUT IT IN THE OVEN Researcher: Put it in the oven? What the dishes? Abigail: Yeah

PUT IT IN THE OVEN Researcher: The dishes? (playfully in disbelief) Abigail: (Looks and researcher then at screen)

Yeah

Shared Questions!

KNOWLEDGE Researcher-agenda required interpretive work

Child-agenda new ways of thinking about children Whose agenda?

PD VALUES Empathy through transgression? How can involvement in remedial technology empower children?

METHODS Reflexivity and correcting"

‘Enabling’ environments and "questions

THREE QUESTIONS!

1.  What forms should children’s participation take? How can adults be involved in ways that can enhance the authenticity of children’s contributions?

2.  For those who have done design research with children have you faced barriers to trustworthiness in your research?

3.  Are there other approaches for strengthening knowledge exchange between different communities concerned with design and children with SEND?

Transferability

Credibility & Authenticity Criticality &

Integrity Dependability

Rigour, accountability &

cohesion Congruence

Creativity