Empathize
Students will engage in a Kwanzaa Cultural Exploration Day, conduct structured interviews with African-American community members or cultural practitioners, and create an evidence-based empathy map capturing authentic user insights about how the Nguzo Saba principles are lived and experienced.
Day 1
Define
Students will synthesize their Kwanzaa user interviews and empathy maps to identify patterns, define a focused user-centered problem, and craft a clear How Might We statement grounded in direct evidence from community members.
Day 2
Ideate
Students will generate a wide range of possible interactive station concepts for the Kwanzaa Culture Carnival, using their interview evidence and "How Might We" statements to guide divergent thinking before narrowing to their strongest, user-centered ideas through structured evaluation.
Day 3
Prototype
Students will build rapid, testable prototypes of their Kwanzaa Culture Carnival stations and individual mosaic tiles, gather real user feedback, and iterate their designs based on documented evidence before moving to final presentation.
Day 4
Test/Present
Students will conduct a final round of authentic user testing with a new audience member, refine their interactive Kwanzaa Culture Carnival stations based on evidence, and present their full design journeyβ€”linking interview insights, problem definition, prototype iterations, and final decisionsβ€”to community stakeholders during a culminating showcase.
Day 5