operationColossus{
Year:
2026
Client:
Undergrad Capstone
Scope:
Educational Design
Operation Colossus reimagines education as a more inclusive, visual, and motivating experience. By removing the fear of failure that often discourages learning, the kit uses electronics and comics to spark curiosity, support neurodivergent youth, and encourage meaningful cross-disciplinary learning.
How might we create motivation in learning from neurodivergent youth by combining cross disciplinary learning present in hobbies & artistic practices and tactile practices like sketching and prototyping?
Background
Neurodivergent youth have been left behind in education. They often have to more then half of Toronto’s high school youth report serious levels of psychological distress. Neurodivergent students experience twice the emotional burden their peers do.
Highlights
operationColossus{ is a series that lets students learn through edutainment.
Problem
Secondary Research - Literature Reviews
Education continues to be defunded creating a larger barrier between students and effective education. Neurodivergent students already experience challenges in their education and these changes widen the gap in achieving their desired learning outcomes.
Journals online reveal that in school youth experience:
Classrooms aren't designed for neurodivergent minds.
Neurodivergent youth have worse mental health then their peers
Neurodivergent people struggle to access support in every level of education
Neurodivergent people are over represented in creative fields and under represented in academic and S.T.E.M. fields.
Research
Primary Research - Interviews
Once the R.E.B. application was approved, we recruited 6 neurodivergent adults to take a retroactive look to their high school experience. I held multiple interview and codesign sessions with these individuals.
The interviews built a picture of their general feelings and experiences in high school. Key insights that stood out were:
They lacked autonomy and felt very limited in their futures.
They often went to external tutors to learn course material.
Students often prioritized grades over comprehension and left class unsatisfied.
Students are discouraged from pursuing art and connecting their learning to creative practices.
Primary Research - Co-Designs
Once the R.E.B. application was approved, we recruited 6 neurodivergent adults to take a retroactive look to their high school experience. I held multiple interview and codesign sessions with these individuals.
The interviews built a picture of their general feelings and experiences in high school. Key insights that stood out were:
They lacked autonomy and felt very limited in their futures.
They often went to external tutors to learn course material.
Students often prioritized grades over comprehension and left class unsatisfied.
Students are discouraged from pursuing art and connecting their learning to creative practices.
Development
Solution
Comic Book
Once the R.E.B. application was approved, we recruited 6 neurodivergent adults to take a retroactive look to their high school experience. I held multiple interview and codesign sessions with these individuals.
The interviews built a picture of their general feelings and experiences in high school. Key insights that stood out were:
Plug & Play Modules
Once the R.E.B. application was approved, we recruited 6 neurodivergent adults to take a retroactive look to their high school experience. I held multiple interview and codesign sessions with these individuals.
The interviews built a picture of their general feelings and experiences in high school. Key insights that stood out were: