For Teachers, By Teachers

An Anonymous Platform for Teachers to Share Experiences

An anonymous platform for Teachers to review their experiences working at various schools in the New York City Department of Education.

My Role — User Experience Designer

Project — Personal Project

Timeline — 4 Weeks

Research Goals

• Identify platforms where NYC teachers share experiences and reviews (e.g., Niche, Glassdoor, Inside Schools).
• Understand the key pain points teachers face in NYC public schools, focusing on resource inequality, teacher influence, and leadership trust.
• Examine how teachers build relationships with school leadership and each other within their schools.
• Assess current methods for teachers to provide feedback about their school environments, including anonymity and trust concerns.
• Identify strengths and weaknesses of existing feedback systems to better understand opportunities for improvement through a teacher-centered platform.

Problem Statement

NYC public school teachers need a safe and anonymous platform to share their experiences due to resource inequality across schools, high teacher/administration turnover, and concerns about anonymity when providing feedback.

Prompt:

How might we provide teachers with an anonymous, safe space to share their workplace experiences and connect with others in the NYC Department of Education?

Design Process:

• Research Goals: Understand teacher challenges, identify design opportunities, and focus on creating transparency without compromising anonymity.
• Methodology: User interviews, competitive audits, and secondary research.

Initial Thinking:

Teachers often feel isolated when facing challenges in their schools. By creating a review platform similar to Rate My Professors or Glassdoor, we aim to address this issue and foster a community where teachers can support one another.

How Might We (HMW) Questions:

1. HMW provide a platform for teachers to review schools anonymously while ensuring transparency and trust?
2. HMW create an engaging system where teachers can share both positive and negative experiences without retaliation?
3. HMW help educators identify trends in resources, administration, and school culture across NYC public schools?

Background Research:

Competitive Audit of Niche, Glassdoor, Inside Schools, and Fishbowl

• Niche: Strong user interface but lacks detailed teacher-focused insights and anonymity features​
• Inside Schools: Simple interface focused on student experiences, with limited teacher interaction​
• Glassdoor: Effective at maintaining user anonymity with interactive features, making it ideal for employee reviews

User Research: Background Research:

• According to research on NYC teachers’ experiences, educators often report feeling unsupported, citing a lack of resources, high turnover rates among administrators, and concerns over sharing feedback due to fear of retaliation

User Interviews:

Two user interviews were conducted with teachers working in NYC public schools (P.S. 307 and P.S. 295). These teachers provided critical insights into the lack of resources, inequitable support from administration, and the importance of anonymous feedback.

Secondary Research:

Research articles, including testimonials from NYC teachers, indicate that many teachers struggle with resource disparities across schools and administrative turnover, creating inconsistency in their work environments​.

Interview Findings:

1. Sarah Mitchell (P.S. 307 Teacher) felt frustrated by the lack of support from administration and believes that constructive feedback will help her grow as a professional.
2. Maria Gonzalez (P.S. 295 Teacher) desires more equitable access to resources and perceives a disparity of support as a teacher of color because she sees her White colleagues receive support often.

Pain Points:

1. Lack of Resources/Resource Inequality Across Schools:

• Teachers often do not receive the necessary tools and resources to execute the curriculum, leading to frustration.
• Example: “If our libraries should have those resources, then provide us with a good library… If you want us to use technology, then we all should have it.” (P.S. 307 teacher)

2. Teacher/Administration Turnover:

• Frequent changes in school administration disrupt teachers’ work and negatively impact school culture.
• Example: “This year, we have a new principal, and it’s been transitional. We’ll see.” (P.S. 295 teacher)

3. Anonymity Concerns:

• Teachers fear retaliation or being viewed negatively if they share their honest experiences.
• Example: “It’s very important to be anonymous because you can’t trust everybody.” (P.S. 307 teacher)

Design Decision:

Solution:

• The platform will feature anonymous reviews of schools, categorized by school resources, administration support, and teacher satisfaction.

Key Features:

• Anonymous submissions with advanced privacy features (e.g., no personal identifying information).
• Detailed filters for reviews (resources, curriculum, administration, diversity).
• Interaction features (like, comment, share) to foster community discussions, similar to Glassdoor.

Impact:

This platform will empower teachers by providing a voice in their work environments, encouraging transparency and accountability. It will also provide insight into the challenges teachers face, guiding improvements for school administration and resource distribution.

User Testing Feedback:

User testing was conducted with teachers from schools like P.S. 307 and P.S. 295, using a prototype of the app.

Feedback:

• Teachers appreciated the anonymity features, stating they felt safe sharing experiences without fear of retaliation.
• Navigation was intuitive, and users found it easy to find reviews.
• Suggestions included adding a rating system for school resources and a peer support system to foster teacher collaboration.

Key Quotes:

• “I like how I can create any username I like, and write about whatever topic that goes on in my day.”
• “Scrolling through the feed and learning that these were real anaonymous quotes from fellow teachers made me feel less alone in my experiences.

Reflection and Takeaways:

Creating an anonymous, teacher-centric review platform for NYC public schools addresses the unmet need for teachers to share their experiences without fear. In future iterations, I plan to add features for peer mentoring and resources sharing to further support teachers in under-resourced schools.

References:

1. NYC Teachers Union Report on Teacher Retention, 2023.
2. “The Challenges of Resource Inequality in NYC Public Schools.” New York Times, 2022.
3. Teacher Testimonies on School Administration in NYC Public Schools. Retrieved from.