Introduction

01

course overview

The Kandinsky Lesson is a digital, multimodal STEAM module designed to foster creativity and appreciation for abstract art and geometry among underrepresented learners (ages 9-14). Inspired by Wassily Kandidnsky’s work, the course combines visual arts with mathematical concepts.

Role

Project Manager and Team Lead. Guiding the team’s workflow, and managing the project, to ensure alignment with learning goals.

Learners

Targeted at lower ro middle-income, predominantly Hispanic students in California’s Inland Empire. These learners often face academic challenges and varying motivation levels.

Tools

Articulate Storyline 360

Notion

Google Drive

AI tools like ChatGPT (for drafting, editing)

WCAG accessibility guidelines

UDL (Universal Design for Learning)

Problem

Students lack accessible STEAM content tailored to their diverse learning needs.

Learning Disparities

Measurable goal

To enable students to analyze, appreciate, and create abstract art using geometric principles.

Improve Engagement

Research

02

Persona

The team developed detailed learner personas to better understand the needs, preferences, and challenges of their audience. These personas emphasized collaboration, cultural responsiveness, and visual interactivity as keys to motivation and engagement.

The following is one of the personas created.

Personas LINK

Amber Castillos  

“I like reading and writing, and when I can use both English and Spanish.” 

Race: Hispanic

Ethnicity: Salvadoran

Age: 12

Gender: Female  

Socio Economic Status: Low Income

Reading Level: 8th Grade

Motivation: Motivated by grades and doing well. May benefit from STEAM instruction. 

Background info:

Amber was born in El Salvador and moved with her family to the Inland Empire at the age of five. She is bilingual, speaking both Spanish and English fluently, and has a strong passion for reading and writing. While she is less enthusiastic about Math and Science, she enjoys spending time with her friends during lunch.

Design

03

Backwards Design

Learning Objectives

Content

Practice & Feedback

Knowledge gaps

Limited engagement in traditional math or art lessons.

Lack of access to technology-supported creative experiences.

Inconsistent levels of motivation and academic readiness.

learning objectives

Analyze Kandinsky’s artwork by identifying geometric shapes and explaining their impact.

Demonstrate appreciation for how abstract art expresses emotion through geometry.

Create original abstract artwork suing geometric shapes.

measurable goal

Help learners connect geometry and abstract art to enhance appreciation and personal expression through guided exploration.

Action

Design a self-paced, accessible online module using UDL principles and AI-assisted drafting tools.

activity

Think-Pair-Share discussions

Art analysis slides

Interactive angle-identification tasks

Game-like knowledge checks

Final art creation activity with reflection

Information

Background on Kandinsky and abstract art

Geometric shape vocabulary and emotional resonance

Examples of mathematical elements in art

Video/audio content for multi-sensory input

Stule Guide

primary

#D1495B

#0072B2

secondary

#EDAE49

text

#000000

#FFFFFF

Background

#F9FBFDFF

Heading

Font: Open Sans

Size: 40

Subheading

Font: Open Sans Semi-Bold

Size: 22

Body

Font: Open Sans Regular

Size: 16

Designs

Testing

04

Measurement

Alpha prototype submitted for feedback (SAM iteration 1)

Gold version completed after revisions (SAM iteration 2)

usabiity

Checks on navigation, interactivity, accessibility (color contrast, alt text, captions)

feedback

The team evaluated functionality, accessibility, and learner experience. Special attention was paid to making interactions obvious and valuable while maintaining clear language and accessible formatting.

Conclusion

05

Take aways

The corse was successful after the two weeks of followup. Further research and more testing will be needed in the future to determine the outcome and to see if the learner was able to meet the targeted goals. Overall, this was an insightful process.

experience the course