PSSA

Problem Student Support Alliance (PSSA), is an underground group organized by students in Chinese middle schools. These students want to against education and help more and more students overcome together. In the Alliance, no grade standard, everyone is the best!

Background

It was my personal experience: sometimes I cannot pop out a creative idea, and I feel no confidence in my creative ability and imagination. Thus, I started to think about whether it is caused by my education experience in China. As known for its exam-oriented mode, Chinese education makes a lot of students feel pain in their studies. As a result, I decided to help Chinese students who are suffering from exam-oriented education, calling for their minds, and finding a way to let them pour out their emotions and forget the terrible exams momentarily.

Research: Contextual Interview

For the interview, I prepared 4 questions and ask some Chinese students who had accepted Chinese education.

Based on these 4 questions, I got some diverse answers.

Example Interviewee: R.W. (24)

Answer 1: Yes, from primary school to my undergraduate period. I think Chinese education limited our mental development and led to students can not make choices on their own and have to let their parents help them choose.

Answer 2: I feel miserable in the exam-oriented education period. Because all the things that my parents and my teachers order me to do are not in my willings. And in the exam-oriented education mode, the grade becomes the only way to standard a student. In my opinion, if you got a low grade, you will be totally repudiated.

Answer 3: I want to find a way to pour out my accumulated negative emotions. I love to do anything but not study. I played for the band (be the guitarist), and attended the dance club. But actually, I still try to find the positive or the interesting part of the study field. I would find the point and contact my teachers.

Answer 4: When I was depressed, I want some items that can stay with me, especially some soft and fluffy cute toys. Because they can listen to my concerns silently and they also can take my beating to vent.

Research Conclusion

Based on the interview, I design a character called Chan, a Chinese student who extremely dislikes studying.

With Chan's encounter, I want to build up an organization that:

Give them chances to pour out their emotion, pour out their pressures, enjoy encouragement, and escape from their study.

And I will use Chinese in my project.

Based on the interviews, I search for some relevant pictures to let me think deeper. And then I confirm my visual forms for my project:

• Stickers: can have different types used for encouraging students

• Mini bean bag: soft, can be grabbed and thrown, pouring out pressure and emotion easily

• Notebook: write everything!

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Design Process

• 4 Monsters

For these 4 characters, I want to make a series of fluffy monsters. Because most of the interviewees want a fluffy toy to stay with them when they are frustrated with the study. Also, monsters are always being treated as a villain of the piece, and the problem students also are treated as the bad guy by teachers -- so they are quite similar. What is more, our organization PSSA aims to try to destroy the pedantic Chinese education system and so do the monsters.

• Stickers

The stickers are a series with three types: rewards, pouring emotion, and interaction:

• For the reward sticker, I take the reference for the badges, and I try to let the reward have less relationship with the study subjects, and be much closer to people's personalities and hobbies.

• For the pouring emotion stickers, they are 4 square stickers, all of which are showing depression and frustration of the study and education.

• The interaction stickers, need to coordinate with the notebook. Students can stick them into the notebook to communicate with each other.

• Notebook

The notebook is a media that give students a space to pour out emotion and pressure

In the notebook, we can notice their unstable mental status and give them encouragement and comfort.

• Mini Bean Bag

• It is also a tool to help students pour out their emotions and release their pressures.

• They can grab it hard, throw it, play the games, and also, they can write their disliked teacher's name on the bean bag.

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-OUTCOME-

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How to use it?

• LOCATION: corridor

  • students will take a break and go out of the classroom

  • attractive for students

• HOW TO SHOW YOUR IDENTITY?

  • the logo sticker

  • students can stick it anywhere

  • (pencil case/ books/ bags/ uniforms)

• HOW CAN THEY PARTICIPATE IN?

  • based on their willings!

  • logo sticker is FREE TO TAKE

  • but DO NOT talk about this to teachers!!!