Synergy through Making: Co-designing with Educational Stakeholders in Northeastern Nigeria
Gretchen Caldwell Rinnert, Kathleen Campana, Marianne Martens, Davison M. Mupinga, Joanne C. Caniglia, Grace Malgwi, Tsukuru Kamiyama, Allyson Filippi · Proceedings of DRS · 2020
Nigerian educational statistics reflect a country in crisis. Several factors drive this trend: early marriages; poorly-trained and underpaid teachers; and extensive armed conflicts. This paper describes a collaboration between three universities on a United States Agency for International Development (USAID) grant-funded project to intervene in this crisis. Focusing on the educational system in two states, the project aims to improve educational materials and teaching strategies in 200 schools. Our research team employs a co-design methodology informed by the “co-creation” work of Sanders and Stappers (2008), Druin’s (1999, 2002, 2005) work on “cooperative inquiry,” and Martens, Rinnert, and Andersen’s (2018)’s work on child-centered design. The participants provided the research team with personal perspectives through the creation of personas. This paper presents the results, and how we interpreted and analyzed the study. Our goal was to better understand the educational needs, community and people of Adamawa and Gombe states.