Empowering learning experiences for STEM Interns
Hack for LA's 'Tech Work Experience' pilot program involved training high school STEM interns in soft skills, peer networking, & industry-ready skills through real-life projects.
◉ As the lead UX researcher, I kick-started the UX team, & led the end-to-end generative research to discover areas of improvement for the pilot program, & actionable insights for upcoming cohorts. (skip to impact)
AFFILIATION — Hack for LA
METHODOLOGIES — Agile, Thematic Analysis, User Interviews, Affinity Mapping
TEAM — Bonnie Wolfe (Director), Priyanka Talwar (Product), Rabia Shaikh (Product), Tin Do (Data)
ROLE — UX Research Lead
STEM enrollment rates declining ↓ due to inaccessibility & lack of awareness
According to the NSF, approximately 40% of students who intend to major in STEM fields end up changing their major or dropping out of college.
This high attrition rate was attributed to
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lack of mentorship for underrepresented groups
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inaccessibility to STEM resources, and
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limited awareness of STEM field opportunities
Extrapolating Hack for LA's research to help reduce attrition rate
By connecting the micro and macroscopic goals, the research aimed to enhance intern learning experiences, and foster greater STEM interest among local high school students. In extension, pushing the needle towards reducing the attrition rate.
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Formulating 'how might we' statements & user interviews
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To narrow the objective down to specifics, I formed 'how might we statements', which were further categorized into codes; forming the basis for user interviews.
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User interviews were chosen to account for the shortage of time, and the requirement for understanding the student experiences thoroughly. All 6 interns were interviewed specializing in areas of user experience, front-end development, project management, & back-end development.
Using thematic analysis to analyze & synthesize responses
Using thematic analysis (along with interpretive + descriptive codes), the interview questions were grouped under similar themes.
For synthesis, responses for questions with the same code were grouped together. Each code contained individual questions & responses belonging to it. Insights were derived for each code, and the corresponding recommendations were made.
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Testing the pilot program & discovering key insights
The internship program met it's 3 objectives for:
LEARNING EXPERIENCES
by teaching industry specific skills through workshops
PEER NETWORKING + MENTORSHIP
through availability of mentors and peers for guidance
SUSTAINING MOTIVATION IN STEM
with interns wanting to associate with hack for LA for future projects
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100% of the interns reported that mentors were consistently available for guidance
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Despite other internship offers, interns reported choosing Hack for LA because of the program structure
The onboarding process was still under development for the pilot program, being a major pain point for interns
Interns faced difficulties —
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While setting up and navigating Git/Github
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Due to lack of communication during the initial stages
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In understanding the contributing guide on their first try
Discovering improvements for various phases of onboarding for enhanced experiences
BEFORE ONBOARDING
IMPROVE PRE-EVALUATION
for intern applications, to test essential pre-internship skills
CONDUCT INTAKE INTERVIEWS
to undestand intern constraints & to make them feel heard
CURATE A GUIDE
about protocols to set up pre-requisites like Github
DURING ONBOARDING
DETERMINE PREFERRED COMMUNICATION
cater to preferences, provide training in standard business communication
PROVIDE RESUME BUILDING SPREADSHEET
to help effectively document work
Providing Hack for LA with a comprehensive analysis of the internship program
COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS OF INTERN EXPERIENCE
provided Hack for LA with an in-depth understanding of intern experience through end-to-end generative research
HELPED BUILD A SCALABLE RESEARCH TEAM
that conducted multiple levels of research, viz. understanding the mentor perspective, performing intern skills analysis
KICKSTARTED PROCESS IMPROVEMENT
for next year's cohort as the founding member of the UX Team
Deep dive into UX Research & Agile Methodologies
This project initiated my UX Research journey, enabling me to deepen my understanding of EdTech and enhance my skills, both individually & within a cross-functional team. Based on my study & experience, I authored a thematic analysis guide for Hack for LA's research teams.
Additionally, I learned to —
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Test & implement unfamiliar research methodologies in an Agile environment
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Present my research findings to cross-functional teams and stakeholders
The case study has been edited for readability. For more details, please reach out.