What if teacher development stopped designing for teachers and started understanding who they actually are?
What if teacher development stopped designing for teachers and started understanding who they actually are?
Inside the Staffroom is a method for understanding teachers in India through a behavioral perspective. With new policies and regulations altering the educational landscape and teacher expectations, there is no better understanding of what inspires and challenges teachers. Fold labs' Inside the Staffroom project delves into the motivations and obstacles that teachers face.
Design Research
Data Visualization
Experience Design
Design Research
Data Visualization
Experience Design
My Role
Design Researcher
Experience Designer
Timeline
9 Weeks
Client
Fold Labs
Client
Fold Labs
Inside the Staffroom is a tool to understand Teachers of India from a behavioral lens. As the NEP 2020 (National Education Policy) implementation takes swing, there is an ever increasing focus on teacher development programs across the country. Policies like the NPST (National Professional Standards for Teachers) set clear standards for what teachers should achieve and how they should progress. However, they do not capture the everyday motivations, barriers, and opportunities that shape different teachers and their learning appetite.
Through six evidence-based teacher personas and cross-sectional Deep-Dives, we create a way of thinking about teacher development that moves the teacher training ecosystem, beyond one-size-fits-all training focused on just competencies. Instead, it shows a pathway for true behavioral transformation.
Inside the Staffroom is a tool to understand Teachers of India from a behavioral lens. As the NEP 2020 (National Education Policy) implementation takes swing, there is an ever increasing focus on teacher development programs across the country. Policies like the NPST (National Professional Standards for Teachers) set clear standards for what teachers should achieve and how they should progress. However, they do not capture the everyday motivations, barriers, and opportunities that shape different teachers and their learning appetite.
Through six evidence-based teacher personas and cross-sectional Deep-Dives, we create a way of thinking about teacher development that moves the teacher training ecosystem, beyond one-size-fits-all training focused on just competencies. Instead, it shows a pathway for true behavioral transformation.
Snippets from the Project
Snippets from the Project
Each persona is mapped out in depth using different thematic parameters and are also accompanied with barriers and enablers of the teachers. Along with this, the project puts together some hypothesis about teacher mindsets and behaviors, and analyzed our research against policy frameworks like the NPST.
The Context
The Context
Fold Labs is a design studio specializing in Learning Science, Behavioral Psychology, and Systems Theory within the Indian Context. They specialize in translating complex policy contexts and community insights into human-centered design frameworks and tools.
During my Summer 2025 internship at Fold Labs, I worked as Design Researcher and Experience Designer to transform existing extensive research into a bite sized and engaging form. We synthesized behavioral insights about the six teacher personas, and designed an data visualization website, which talks abouts Indian Teachers behaviors in great depths.
Fold Labs is a design studio specializing in Learning Science, Behavioral Psychology, and Systems Theory within the Indian Context. They specialize in translating complex policy contexts and community insights into human-centered design frameworks and tools.
During my Summer 2025 internship at Fold Labs, I worked as Design Researcher and Experience Designer to transform existing extensive research into a bite sized and engaging form. We synthesized behavioral insights about the six teacher personas, and designed an data visualization website, which talks abouts Indian Teachers behaviors in great depths.
This work is privately hosted at the moment and password protected.
View it here: thinfi.com/0lepm
This work is privately hosted at the moment and password protected.
View it here: thinfi.com/0lepm
The Challenge
The Challenge
India's teacher development policies (NEP 2020, NPST) set competency standards but ignore the behavioral realities, teachers' individual motivations, daily barriers, and learning appetites remain invisible.
How might we shift from one-size-fits-all training to personalized development pathways and different parameters of learning that understand who teachers are, what motivates them and what are the barriers they face? How can me make an easy to absorb research body which can talk to multiple stakeholders working in the education sector?
India's teacher development policies (NEP 2020, NPST) set competency standards but ignore the behavioral realities, teachers' individual motivations, daily barriers, and learning appetites remain invisible.
How might we shift from one-size-fits-all training to personalized development pathways and different parameters of learning that understand who teachers are, what motivates them and what are the barriers they face? How can me make an easy to absorb research body which can talk to multiple stakeholders working in the education sector?
My contributions
My contributions
1
Design Research
Design Research
Mapped NEP 2020 policies and secondary education research. Reviewed Fold's existing primary research, identified key themes relevant to current teacher development context, and synthesized findings into actionable research directions.
Mapped NEP 2020 policies and secondary education research. Reviewed Fold's existing primary research, identified key themes relevant to current teacher development context, and synthesized findings into actionable research directions.
2
Insights Synthesis
Insights Synthesis
Continued secondary research on teacher behavior and motivation. Synthesized themes from existing data, identified patterns across teacher segments, and created structured insight frameworks to guide design decisions.
Continued secondary research on teacher behavior and motivation. Synthesized themes from existing data, identified patterns across teacher segments, and created structured insight frameworks to guide design decisions.
3
Brainstorming Design Concepts
Brainstorming Design Concepts
Explored multiple visual and interactive approaches to represent teacher personas and behavioral insights. Developed concept sketches and narrative frameworks to translate complex research into accessible formats.
Explored multiple visual and interactive approaches to represent teacher personas and behavioral insights. Developed concept sketches and narrative frameworks to translate complex research into accessible formats.
4
Visual Scripting and Illustration
Visual Scripting and Illustration
Created visual narratives and illustrations that brought persona stories to life. Designed icon systems, infographics, and visual language to communicate research insights clearly across the website.
Created visual narratives and illustrations that brought persona stories to life. Designed icon systems, infographics, and visual language to communicate research insights clearly across the website.
5
Experience Building and Protyping
Experience Building and Protyping
Designed the website's information architecture and user flows. Built interactive prototypes showing how teachers would navigate personas, explore deep dives, and discover insights relevant to their context.
Designed the website's information architecture and user flows. Built interactive prototypes showing how teachers would navigate personas, explore deep dives, and discover insights relevant to their context.
My learnings
My learnings
Pragmatic vs Idealistic
Working with other designers, learning how to be realistic and idealistic when making crucial decisions in larger projects, and recognizing what the primary aim and value are as a guiding anchor as you progress through such projects.
Accessibility Feature
Constantly evaluating any design from an accessibility standpoint, will users be able to navigate it, or will this cause more confusion than benefit , is something I plan to include into my practice.
Learning to get used to Trial and Error
I aim to practice getting acclimated to repeated trials and errors, as well as learning to keep the vital information consistent.
Working at Fold!
Working at Fold!
It was quite a amazing learning curve to collaborate with other design researchers in a behavior design firm! They created a collaborative environment where there was absolutely no hierarchy through ongoing conversations and sincere reflection!
I developed a solid understanding of design systems, research methodologies, visual communication, and clear communication throughout my time at Fold.
Saturdays at Fold were the best because we all put aside our work and actively learned something, whether it was about current trends, game design, or human psychology.
It was quite a amazing learning curve to collaborate with other design researchers in a behavior design firm! They created a collaborative environment where there was absolutely no hierarchy through ongoing conversations and sincere reflection!
I developed a solid understanding of design systems, research methodologies, visual communication, and clear communication throughout my time at Fold.
Saturdays at Fold were the best because we all put aside our work and actively learned something, whether it was about current trends, game design, or human psychology.
We know this is not ideal but the mobile version of this project is WIP!
You can view the project on desktop!
We know this is not ideal but the mobile version of this project is WIP!
You can view the project on desktop!
IK, that was a long Scroll !
Here are some other projects
Can "Development" Listen?
A Participatory Research workshop unpacking and empowering to imagine divergent futures from Kotagiri, Niligirs
Can "Development" Listen?
A Participatory Research workshop unpacking and empowering to imagine divergent futures from Kotagiri, Niligirs
Experiential Participatory Futures • Speculative Design • Qualitative Design Research • Learning Experience Design
Experiential Participatory Futures • Speculative Design • Qualitative Design Research • Learning Experience Design
Tata 1 mg
UI/UX Case study
Tata 1 mg
UI/UX Case study
Experience Evaluation • UI Redesign • Interaction Design
Experience Evaluation • UI Redesign • Interaction Design