ClimateScience
Encouraging Climate Action Through Education
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Climate Science's expert-curated course catalog educates users on the imperative to take action for climate change and equips them with the knowledge to do so effectively.
Overview
Climate Science is an organization that aims to make climate change education accessible and reliable, empowering individuals to proactively address climate issues. Despite being a crucial tool in raising awareness, the course module experienced consistently low retention rates over the past two years ....
How might we deliver a compelling narrative that motivates learners to mitigate climate change ?
The PROBLEM
Courses lacked structured information & overview
Making it hard to spark learners' curiosity and commitment to the program.
Comprehensive courses necessitating a significant time commitment and dedication to absorb.
Appeared to be geared towards children, yet provided advanced courses curated by experts, suitable for all age groups.
Existing Courses Page with course thumbnails ( left) ; Existing Course details page (right)
MOTIVATE LEARNERS
A unified narrative to motivate users
RETAIN LEARNERS
Sustaining learner engagement
Holistic Learning
New brand identity appealing to all ages
The Solution
Inspiring and engaging personalized learning for all
The new brand identity and designs aim to engage learners of all ages and types, making climate education fun!
Motivating learners with intrinsic motivators: personalized learning journeys and progress tracking
Driving climate action with extrinsic motivators: career opportunities and monthly challenges
Boosting learner engagement with bite-sized content and tailored recommendations for low-commitment learning
THE NEW COURSES PAGE
THE NEW COURSE Details PAGE
36%
Boost in learner retention through a strategy-driven solution
18%
Increase in average session duration with strengthened brand identity
Finally! Bite-sized, commitment-free learning with our courses.
- Kanika Prajapat, CLimatescience's CPO
Led overhaul of ClimateScience.org's course module, collaborating with 2 UX Consultants for qualitative research and brand identity recommendations, aligning with learner expectations across all ages.
However, crafting a solution to align with the organization's mission and learners' needs proved challenging .….
KICK-OFF
What motivates people to learn about climate change?
We conducted literature reviews, technical/competitive analysis, and 16 user interviews to develop 3 personas, aiming to grasp learner motivations and attitudes toward climate change and online learning.
Low Commitment
Jacob
Director, ABC
“ Busy with family and work, so time's tight. I donate financially, but seeing the direct impact of my effort is more satisfying ”
Mid Commitment
Lilly
Homemaker
“ Got 2 little ones, and I want them to live a happy life on a planet that doesn't melt! So, I'm adopting small lifestyle changes to make a difference. ”
High Commitment
Rob
Graduate Student
“ It's huge for me, but not everyone's on board. We gotta act together. I'm hitting up rallies and diving into research papers for the real deal. ”
Role of peer influence in shaping attitudes and actions?
Primary motivational factors concerning climate change?
What motivates long-term engagement and learning?
What are the specific learning needs of the target audience?
13/16
Participants' commitment to taking action was schedule-dependent. Motivation was influenced by the perceived value of goals and belief in one's ability to achieve them
12/16
Participants enrolled in online courses felt isolated and sought activities addressing various goals: learning, social interaction, and personal fulfillment
8/16
Participants expressed uncertainty about which course to begin with on the site due to unclear purpose and module connections, discouraging further exploration
This exploratory research pinpointed the core problem we needed to tackle….
defining the problem STATEMENT
How might we build a community of climate change enthusiasts through education?
We recognized the need for a new information system for ClimateScience that integrates Courses, Olympiad, and Community modules. This flexible structure, unlike the existing linear one, guides users between modules, motivates them, and aligns with our mission.
“ Providing insights works for managers, not so much for strategists relying on optimization tools ”
-STAKEHOLDER
For defining a layout to suit all users’ personas, I implemented a three-step process
STEP 1
Effective categorization of all tools
My objective was to tailor the layout to accommodate the needs of all user personas
Tools lacked suitable categorization. I conducted a card-sorting workshop with stakeholders to segment tools into appropriate categories based on their function, thereby restructuring the information architecture.
Card-Sorting Workshop
Existing IA
Account Dashboard
Insight Tools
Optimization Tools
Restructured IA
Account Dashboard
Monitoring Tools
Insight Tools
Optimization Tools
STEP 2
Mapping the defined categories to distinct personas for determining their priority
STEP 3
Most used tools such as insight/reporting and optimization tools were assigned a higher priority
80%
of the total width of the grid dedicated to the Insight Tools as they required a wider area for representation
High Priority
85%
Use Insight Tools
20%
of the total width is dedicated to the Optmization Tools
High Priority
100%
Use Optimization Tools
Moderate Priority
50%
Use Monitoring Tools
85% of the total real estate of the dashboard is dedicated to the High Priority tools
15% of the real estate is dedicated to lower priority tools appearing “on-demand”
However, allocating different priorities to various tool categories didn't yield favorable results 😕
“ These iterations are convenient for some but require a long scroll for other users ! ”
-STAKEHOLDER
Final outcome? Equally prioritizing tools by placing them at the same horizontal level
Final grid layout for the re-designed account dashboard
2 parallel sections ensuring equal priority for all tools
Dedicated space for all categories, increased find-ability