HIGH-LEVEL DESIGN CONJECTURE
Students need to be guided through the massive amount of information that is required for successfully passing the PMP certification. There will need to be a way to ensure students can track their completion process of going through the material. To support this there will be a dashboard/anon board for students to check on their progress. It is important for users to receive feedback on their work Bogost (2008), Gee (2005), Salen & Zimmerman (2004), we believe this will lead to more engaged and informed learners ultimately resulting in a higher pass rate for the actual certification exam.
Students are typically internally driven and motivated to do the work but find the material dry and boring. There will need to be a variety of ways in which students are interacting with the material. For example some of the ways that the product can ensure entertainment is to use videos, have some games using the material, places to make decisions, opportunities to build out some of the documentation they are learning about. Work by Ak & Kutlu (2017) support the idea of using animations to decrease mental effort. Research by Prestopnik (2016) shows that tension between learning and entertainment can be beneficial. Incorporating this concept in our design will help to keep the cognitive load low and allow students to focus the effort in other places.
Students often have a difficult time staying motivated due to the large volume of information to be covered. Having a method of suppling feedback or a type of reward system will help with the students remaining confident in their journey. Students tend to have high anxiety regarding gaining the PMP certification. Attaining the certification is often associated with promotions, higher level salaries and/or better job opportunities. As a result of this students place a lot of pressure on themselves to obtain this certification. To combat this anxiety, this product will approach learning from a fun aspect of various lighthearted situations allowing student to have opportunities to express creativity, make decisions, and have fun with the material. Engagement and motivation in the learning process is a key part of success and should be considered during the design process Jarvel & Remington (2014) and Dawley & Dede (2014).
The information learned for the exam can seem detached from the way they practice the concepts in the application setting. In order to help with transitioning the content to previous knowledge various relatable story lines will be used that contain scenarios that most people have high familiarity. For example, current story lines being considered are wedding planner, instructional designer, home builder, and vacation planner. This feature is supported by research by Fernández-Vara (2011) who discusses the benefits of environmental storytelling. Using alternate realities to visualize Schell (2005) the project management experience is expected to increase the connection between the information being covered and the real-world experience. Gibson (2012) informs us that VR worlds that are designed to replicate physical and construct of real settings. Bainbridge (2007) and Castronova (2005) also share findings that support that virtual worlds enable participant to simulate social and economic phenomena.
There is a major gap in most learning materials regarding the content for project management and the application setting. Current study aids produced will teach the student the content to help them pass the exam, but not how to make it work for how you run projects. There is a disconnect. To address these two different learning objectives, there will be a bifurcation in design so that student can tailor the learning for them and their specific learning goals and needs. The ability to have part of this project as a VR environment will allow the assessment of learning in authentic and embedded ways allowing feedback to be provided in a timely effective manor Dede (2012). Nelson (2007) shows us that within autonomy guidance can be provided to foster various learning outcomes, so to incorporate this we will be offering a self-guided version as well as an option to have a tour guide through the information.
It can feel overwhelming to master the content for the exam. The material will need to be properly chunked into logical and manageable pieces to aid in student’s ability to mater the information in a more efficient and effective way. Ketelhurst (2007) has found that participation in virtual worlds can increase self-efficacy, so we have attempted to bring this feature in to maximize the learners’ experience.
Theoretical frameworks that are being used to guide this work include ethnography as well as embodiment. In regard to ethnography, the various roles that learners will be able to engage in are centered around the US customs and practices for those various roles. If the product is taken overseas, through will need to be given regarding brining the product in line with cultural norms. The Virtual AR situated learning environment incorporates extended cognition into the embodiment zone allowing for students to experience a reality outside themselves and manipulate their environment for earning purposes.
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