Impact
W.W Norton identified growing demand for scaffolded learning tools and critical skill tracking through a 2023 survey, revealing strong instructor interest. This finding kicked off a 3-year research and design project resulting in Elevate, a scaffolded learning platform that breaks complex assignments into manageable steps while tracking critical skill development.
Through research with 460+ participants, I validated 35% growth in scaffolded learning adoption and confirmed 76% of schools require or encourage critical skills reporting. The Elevate prototypes are complete and being used to demonstrate the platform to colleges while Norton developers prepare for launch.
My Role
As a lead UX Designer on this 3-year project, I owned the entire design process, from initial research and ideation to prototyping and testing.
Conducted and analyzed research with 460+ participants across 4 phases (surveys, interviews, usability testing)
Designed and iterated on high-fidelity prototypes for both student and instructor interfaces
Presented research findings to stakeholders to align on product direction
Collaborated with Product Manager, Design Director, and developers to create research-driven prototypes
Problem
Our 2022 survey revealed instructors needed two things that existing platforms didn't offer: scaffolded learning tools to break assignments into manageable steps, and critical skills tracking to report on student development in areas like critical thinking, problem-solving, and writing.
Research & Discovery
Initial Survey
2023
Qualitative Validation
2023
Usability Testing
2024
Follow-up Survey
2025
Design Challenges
Students needed to build confidence with low-stakes questions before tackling higher-stakes graded assessments. The challenge was to make this flow feel motivating and intuitive, and not overwhelming.
Solution
I added visual indicators on the assignment homepage to communicate which sections are graded vs. ungraded. Each step got a "graded" label, and the top of the page showed an overall grade breakdown. I also added brief descriptions at the start of each step explaining what to do and how it would be graded.
Testing confirmed that this design worked, all students understood that "Getting Started" was a prerequisite review only for completion, not accuracy.
02 / Communicating Critical Skills
Instructors wanted to track critical skills like critical thinking, problem-solving, and writing, and make that progress transparent to students. Students didn't see how answering questions connected to these broader skills, so I needed to make skill development visible and meaningful without adding confusion.
Solution
I added a gamified system where specific questions were tagged with critical skills. When students answered correctly, they earned stars that appeared on screen and moved into their skillset panel. This created a clear visual connection between the content they were learning and the skills they were building. Testing showed students found the stars motivating and understood how the material connected to the skills—one student even called it an "interconnected relationship between the material and the skill."
03 / System Flexibility Across Disciplines and Assignment Types
The platform needed to accommodate diverse content types (tutorials, videos, different question formats) and assignment structures (with/without writing components, with/without graded quizzes) while working across Biology, History, Psychology, and other disciplines. Despite all this flexibility, the student experience still needed to feel intuitive and straightforward, avoiding cognitive overload.
The platform had to work across multiple disciplines (Biology, History, Psychology) and handle different content types—tutorials, videos, various question formats, writing assignments, and graded quizzes. With all this flexibility, it was important that the student experience feels simple and intuitive.
Solution
I designed a modular system that could accommodate different content types and assignment structures while keeping the experience simple for students. I added a left-hand panel that showed their Progress, Resources, and Skillset, plus collapsible sections so students could hide content if it got overwhelming. Testing across different subjects showed that 7 out of 8 students could successfully navigate the core features, which proved the interface hid the system's complexity while staying intuitive for students.
Visual Design
After testing and refining the user flows, I created visual designs for both students and instructors facing screens. I wanted the interface to feel modern and engaging while still working for a college audience.
Key design decisions:
Clear visual hierarchy so students could see the difference between low-stakes and high-stakes sections
Gamified elements (progress bars, skill badges, stars) that felt meaningful, not just decorative
Left-hand panel providing access to Progress, Resources, and Skillset
Flexible components that could adapt across different disciplines and content types
Visual clarity in grading transparency and critical skill tracking
Outcomes & Impact
The student and instructor interfaces are complete, and we've validated strong demand through testing and research. The prototypes are currently being presented colleges while Norton finalizes content for development, with development planned for the next phase.
Key Results:
Validated a 35% market growth in scaffolded learning adoption
Confirmed 76% of schools require or encourage critical skills reporting
Created a flexible design that works across multiple disciplines
Delivered prototypes that show stakeholders what the platform can do
Key Deliverables:
Research reports from 460+ participants across 4 phases
User personas and journey maps
Two prototypes (Elevate and Seagull Skills) for testing
High-fidelity student and instructor prototypes
Demo-ready prototype
