Assessing the Usability of the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s Digital Teaching Resource

Experience Design Research
Written By Cathy Sigmond

Client: Philadelphia Museum of Art | Location: Philadelphia, PA | Funding: The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Global

 
 

We explored usability and classroom application for the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s new interactive digital resource for teachers and students. 

OVERVIEW

From 2023 to 2024, Kera Collective collaborated with the Philadelphia Museum of Art to understand teachers’ experiences with and perceptions of the museum’s first interactive digital resource for teachers and students. 

Since the digital resource served as a new format for PMA, it was important to understand the usability of the guide—how teachers might (asynchronously and synchronously) use and engage with resources, as well as teachers’ feedback on content structure, breadth, and age-appropriateness. Moreover, the evaluation explored how teachers integrate the resource into their teaching (teacher prep, independent study, etc.). 

Lastly, the evaluation built on our impact planning for PMA’s Chinese Art Initiative (CAI); incorporating outcomes from the CAI impact framework, we explored how the digital resource encouraged close looking, personal connections, and a sense of cultural empathy.

APPROACH

To help inform the development of the digital resource, we divided the evaluation into two phases:

  • Phase 1 (Usability): In 2023, we conducted interviews with 10 middle school teachers who had reviewed a beta version of the digital resource. Teachers were from across the country, and, in these interviews, we explored their thoughts on the resource’s usefulness, content structure, breadth, and age-appropriateness.

  • Phase 2 (Classroom Application): In 2024, we used teacher interviews and a study activity to understand how the digital resource functioned in the classroom. 5 teachers from across the country used the digital resource in their classrooms, integrating it as they saw fit. After using the resource, teachers administered an anonymous student activity (PMA’s See/Wonder/Connect worksheet) to assess student outcomes. We conducted 15-20 virtual interviews with teachers to document their reflections on the digital resource and its classroom applicability.

CLIENT TAKEAWAYS

  • During Phase 1, we learned that teachers found the resource to be well-organized, logical, and understandable, with a digital interface that is easy to understand and navigate. Teachers also saw it as a helpful tool for effectively balancing interaction, historical information, and skill-building opportunities. They also found the resource to be versatile, aligning with many different subjects (in addition to art) and offering teachers multiple ways to engage with Chinese art and history in their classrooms.

  • For Phase 2, PMA used our research from Phase 1 to make a few adjustments to the digital resource, and we began exploring how the resource functioned in the classroom. Phase 2 findings helped affirm ways in which the digital resource reflects and helps enact the CAI audience outcomes. Additionally, students found the resource engaging; low-tech close-looking activities, used in conjunction with the digital resource, encouraged student engagement and modeled the digital resource’s close-looking approach.

Ultimately, we found that the digital resource addressed CAI framework’s audience outcomes on close looking and empathy. Significantly, teachers perceived the resource as successful in encouraging close looking.

Cathy Sigmond

Cathy brings many years of experience in education and experience design to her role as Head of Strategy at Kera Collective. 

Having previously worked in a variety of educational settings, Cathy is driven by her constant fascination and delight at how people make discoveries about the familiar and the unfamiliar. 

Cathy loves helping to shape experiences that spark curiosity and make a difference in people’s lives. She particularly enjoys the rapid, iterative nature of design-based research and the deep insights that come from qualitative research, especially on projects exploring interactions with the digital and built environments. 

Cathy shares her passion for experience design research widely and regularly guest lectures for graduate programs, including the Fashion Institute of Technology’s Exhibition and Experience Design Program and the Pratt Institute’s School of Information. Cathy served as the co-chair of the Museum Computer Network’s Human-Centered Design special interest group from 2018-2021.

Outside of work, you can usually find Cathy playing soccer, thrifting, or making her way through her large cookbook collection. 

Cathy’s favorite museum experiences are immersive; she will always vividly remember walking through the giant heart at the Franklin Institute, being surrounded by birds at the Peabody Essex Museum, and hearing centuries-old instruments come to life at the Museum of Musical Instruments. 

Next

Understanding Visitors’ Perceptions of American Art and Interpretation for the Baltimore Museum of Art’s American Wing