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Interactive French Course for Primary Students (Flagship Project)

Designing an Interactive French Course for Primary School Lockdown Learning.

Audience and context: Grades 4-5 students in a primary school during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown in India, taught online via Google Meet; constraints included limited tech access (basic laptops/phones), short attention spans (20-30 min sessions), and cultural shift from in-person to virtual classes with no physical books or CDs.


My role: Lead Learning Experience Designer (LXD), content creator, animator, and facilitator, applying ADDIE framework to build fully animated Google Slides decks integrated with live sessions.

Problem & Goals: Traditional textbook and audio CD failed to engage young learners remotely, resulting in low participation (under 40% active involvement), poor retention of basic French vocabulary/grammar, and high frustration from static materials. Skill gaps emerged in pronunciation and comprehension due to lack of interactivity.

Measurable goals included boosting session engagement to 80% via interactive elements, increasing vocabulary recall by 35% on weekly quizzes (measured pre/post), and achieving 90% course completion over one year by fostering constructivist learning through peer collaboration.

Process

Analysis: Conducted learner personas for 25 students (e.g., "Tech-Shy Tim" with phone-only access), teacher interviews revealing behaviorist drill needs, parent surveys on home tech, and task analysis breaking French basics into Bloom's Taxonomy levels (remembering vocab to applying in sentences). Needs analysis highlighted cognitivist gaps in schema-building for grammar.

Design: Used Backward Design for objectives like "Students will construct simple sentences (creating level, Bloom's)" aligned with Fink’s Taxonomy for human dimension (cultural relevance). Mapped content into micro-units with scenarios, drills (behaviorism), discussions (constructivism), and Self-Determination Theory for autonomy via choice-based activities. Assessment strategy: formative quizzes, summative projects.

Development: Built 5+ Google Slides prototypes with animations/transitions for drag-and-drop vocab matching, embedded audio for pronunciation, and clickable paths; tools included Google Workspace, Canva for visuals—no advanced LMS due to access limits. Iterated via teacher pilots.
 

Implementation: Blended delivery: 25-min Google Meet sessions with slides projected/shared screen, followed by home activities; scaled to full-year curriculum.
 

Evaluation: Tracked quiz analytics (35% score uplift), feedback forms (92% "fun and helpful"), and confirmative data over year showing sustained gains; iterated by adding more gamification post-midterm.

Results & Reflection

Completion hit 88%, quiz averages rose 37% (from 55% to 92%), with quotes like "Slides make French fun, not boring!" from students; before/after: static CD recall vs. animated retention. Teacher noted 50% more speaking practice.
Next time, integrate LMS quizzes for auto-analytics and add AR filters for higher constructivism, enhancing motivation per SDT.

Storyboard Snippet: Opening slide with animated vocab reveal—choice of paths fosters autonomy (SDT), progressing from remember (Bloom's) to apply. Screenshot: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1UNYdHdNtM45YT71gLmJ4VSYEYhuQjEtN2R1eW2TDh5s

Sample Screen: Drag-and-drop grammar activity using constructivist peer-share prompts during Meet—builds schemas cognitively. Screenshot: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1If3Rg2iq6aUZJT6mXNFggYQNzRx75M1fla4hCUkU20M

Activity Instructions: Pronunciation drill with audio loops (behaviorist repetition), embedded quiz for formative feedback. Screenshot: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1rVvDvh-gxLuKMLg5An58zOX7oumjveQj0RGrGZHET28/edit?slide=id.g1177c6aa633_1_1

Assessment Example: Sentence-building scenario at creating level (Bloom's), with rubrics for summative eval. Screenshot: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1uuBZTG7IsQLRuARSh0qvDug6k91ni5ziYBWQub-hAkA

Microlearning Unit: Cultural dialog animation integrating Fink’s human dimension for relatable French life. Screenshot: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/15uyED6qRCY3R_ho16Maj5hg74zQdM7ykPKWAPgyI5t0

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