Personal Project - 2024
5 Months
Spatial Interaction Design
Beyond the Digital
In an era where educational technology often prioritizes digitization over human experience, CalCurious explores a fundamental question: How might we use emerging technologies to enhance, rather than replace, our natural ways of learning? This project investigates the potential of Extended Reality (XR) to create learning experiences that feel human, intuitive, and embodied, using calculus education as a lens to understand broader implications for educational technology.
The Context
The rigid, exam-centric education system in India stifles students' creativity and does not adequately accommodate diverse learning styles. With the rapid integration of digital tools in education, traditional learning approaches often prioritize rote memorization over experiential and kinesthetic understanding.
Current educational technology often creates a disconnect between physical and digital learning experiences. Students, especially in higher grades, lose touch with kinesthetic learning as they progress through increasingly abstract subjects. This project recognizes that the solution isn't simply to digitize existing teaching methods, but to fundamentally rethink how technology can support natural learning processes.
As a Human Centred Designer, I made sure to put the user first, iterate rapidly and ensured that stakeholder needs are taken care of.
1
Field Research
Visited multiple schools including 10x International and Poorna Learning Centre to understand how students engage with mathematics. Observed classroom dynamics, teaching methods, and student interaction patterns, revealing a significant decline in kinesthetic learning opportunities in higher grades.
2
Secondary Research
Conducted in-depth interviews with students, movement practitioners, mathematics teachers, and XR developers. These conversations revealed crucial insights about embodied learning, the challenges of teaching calculus, and the potential of mixed reality in education. Special focus on how dance pedagogy principles could inform mathematical understanding.
3
Co-creating with Practitioners
Collaborated with practitioners to develop interaction mechanisms that feel natural and intuitive. Workshopped ideas for translating physical movements into mathematical understanding, resulting in the development of gesture-based interactions for manipulating graphs and understanding calculus concepts.
4
Prototyping & Testing
Prototyped and tested multiple iterations of the experience, using the ARCS framework (Attention, Relevance, Confidence, Satisfaction) for evaluation. Conducted user testing with 6 participants, including students and teachers, gathering feedback on gesture controls, visual feedback, and learning effectiveness. Each iteration refined the balance between engaging interaction and educational value.
I genuinely wish this approach had been available when we were learning these topics—it would have made the process so much more comprehensive and enjoyable!
-High School Graduate
Full Case Study Coming Soon…
I'm currently in the process of documenting this project on this website. Feel free to contact me for more information or view the complete documentation here ->