During this milestone, prototyping and user testing gave us the insight that it is by being empowered to teach something that they know and love from their home that newcomers feel empowered, valued and listened to - as opposed to constantly having to learn, absorb, and be in a state of "not really knowing". Another important result of this prototype was that we realized we needed to serve an emotional need of making newcomers feel supported, not just an informational one.
What is the question?
Does swapping the roles of the newcomer and a member of the dominant culture (by having the newcomer teach the member of the dominant culture) allow the newcomer to feel empowered?
Description of the Prototype
What kind of prototype would you build?
1. Match two people with similar interests, one from the dominant culture with a newcomer.
2. Have the newcomer blindfold the dominant culture member and teach her/him a cultural skill or tradition.
3. Check in with both both parties about how it felt to be learning or teaching.
How would you get feedback from answers to answer this question?
The blindfolding makes dominant culture member feel less in control and slightly lost, which is the psychological state the newcomers are in within a new culture. Sharing a cultural skill gives the newcomer an opportunity to express their true self and might help her/him feel more empowered. We wanted to learn if swapping the roles in this specific way, by making it possible to share meaningful information, makes the newcomers feel empowered with what they can bring to their new environment and form new relationships.
Conclusion from User Feedback
The feedback reiterated our user's need that newcomers need to feel empowered, to express their cultures and to feel supported by your new environment. The changes prompted by the prototype were that, blindfolding will not be necessary. We will focus on this prototype because it had the most positive feedback. The teaching component was very important so we will focus on that. We took away that teaching builds relationships. The teaching component of the prototype will help enable that. Our final design will facilitate the transfer of cultural information to all members of the urban community.
Examples of the Prototype
1. Katherine learned bellydancing from Asli
2. Margaret learned about the Japanese Coming of Age Day from Carrie
