Anne Marie Sanquer   Final Assignment  Coursera Design Thinking for Innovation

Step 1-Consumer behavior visualization

Challenge and selection

My challenge was to improve the experience of students around applied projects in a class that was  being piloted in a downtown classroom.  I wanted to find possibilities for curriculum that revolved  around community integration weekly.    The project focused on a 14 week night class involving 35  students learning about consumer behavior in the downtown core.  My focus was to uncover how to  incorporate local businesses into the curriculum.  Selection included students going into their 3rd year  given that it was a 3rd year course in the degree program.

Application

I started the process by having students wander around a set area in the downtown core –four block  radius around the downtown classroom.   They took pictures to visually present  businesses that caught  their interest, consumer behavior they saw on the streets and in stores, and areas that seemed to have  a distinct culture to them (such as Chinatown). “Photography is a very rich way for us to understand our  world. “ (Topon, n.d.).   For example, students took a picture of a very expensive shoe store and  indicated that they would like to learn more about how the layout of the store induced consumers to  buy the expensive shoes.

The students were then formed into groups and shared their photos and what each meant to them— why they chose them, what was interesting, what they wanted to learn from them.

After sharing, the student teams chose 6 photos from the group to showcase which business and/or  area they wanted to visit and why.

All the groups submitted their photo collection.

I reviewed the submissions and then mind- mapped the topics based on the write-ups.  The mind map  help determined how the businesses would fit within the curriculum topics and readings.

I then ventured out to each of the businesses and/or locations and talked to the businesses about  organizing a student visit outlining the purpose based on the research.  For instance, in the shoe store  example, the  manager offered to provide a tour and explain how their use of natural wood and unique  settings showcased their  foot-ware providing a unique shopping experience and influencing buyers to  choose their shoes for their uniqueness—cultural and demographic influences that tied to the readings.

Insight and Approach

I have several take-away learnings from this exercise.  First, photography is easy with Smartphones now  and it really captures the visualization process.  A picture was a good bases for the students to put into  words the areas they would like to study.

The pictures were a great tool to help me mind-map and the mind-map helped visualize how the course  would unfold matching store visits with course readings and learning outcomes. The mind-map was  hand drawn and so not able to include in this report.

Last, the students had buy-in as they helped chose the sites to visit.

Anne Marie Sanquer   Final Assignment  Coursera Design Thinking for Innovation

I think this visualization process was great tool for a course that was in the community each week.  I  would like to use it again for course design where students are able to input their vision of the layout of  the course.  I think it could be done using the web instead of actual pictures if that is not possible where  students can research online the brands they would like to explore and why.

It would also work at the end of the course where students use pictures to capture what resonated with  them the most and then those could be used as a building tool for the next time the course is offered.

Florian Singer (nd). Visualization tool.  [video file]/ Retrieved from https://www.coursera.org/learn/uva- darden-design-thinking-innovation/lecture/xju53/visualization-tool

