Week 4: How might we...?

In this week’s session, we took a significant step in shaping the direction of our project. Instead of jumping to ideas, we slowed down and worked with a structured template to deeply understand

our target user: the teacher.

Understanding the Teacher

We profiled a typical teacher — around 35 years old, teaching a diverse 8th-grade class, juggling heavy academic responsibilities alongside social-emotional ones.Her reality includes constant movement, multiple tasks, and limited time to truly monitor the evolving social dynamics among students.

Identifying Needs & Challenges

Together, we mapped the main pain points teachers experience in relation to classroom belonging and social cohesion:

• Students who struggle socially or remain outside the group.

• Closed social circles that leave certain students feeling disconnected.

• Issues that arise during the week without the teacher noticing in real-time.

• The difficulty of “holding” the class socially while also teaching content.

• A desire for tools that help identify early signs of exclusion or loneliness.

We backed each challenge with real quotes and examples the teacher might express.

Reviewing Existing Solutions

We listed existing tools teachers currently rely on, such as:

• Class discussions

• The school counselor

• Personal observation

  
  

But we realized these methods are slow, incomplete, and not proactive, often missing what happens beneath the surface.

Defining Our HMW

After gathering all insights, we synthesized them into our How Might We question — the guiding star for our solution:

How might we help the teacher strengthen class cohesion ahead of events and significant milestones during the school year that may intensify group divisions and social problems in the classroom?

This HMW turns the teacher’s challenges into an opportunity space and will shape all upcoming ideation.