Case Studies

PDF with more details available upon request

My Role

Content Designer, Lead Researcher, Project Manager

Audience

Academia, School Aged Kids

Designing and Testing a Research-backed Experimental Game Prototype

Problem Statement

Methods

Analysis

Outcomes

Can a game designed to target specific elements of mental processes be used as an intervention to train children in executive functioning skills? Over three years a prototype was developed and tested in research laboratory settings.
Literature Reviews, Competitive Content Analysis, Level Designs, Prototype Testing, Pilot Testing
Back-end data analysis, Psychological measure scoring, Statistical analyses to identify any changes in EF abilities pre to post gameplay
Prototype was developed and tested with success to secure grant funding for further development. This resulted in colleagues conducting later research studies and releasing a research-backed product to market.

My Role

Lead UX Researcher

Audience

Corporate, Adult Users

Launching a Corporate Learning Platform for Diverse Users

Problem Statement

Methods

Analysis

Outcomes

How can users across a large company, at various stages of their career find and effectively use online resources for just-in-time workplace learning and development? Across three phases of launch, a new LMS was tested for usability, effectiveness of marketing, and overall user experience. User response to online offerings and marketing approaches was studied over the first year.
Concept testing, usability tests (remote think alouds), A/B testing, heat map analysis, website traffic analytics, marketing materials analytics, surveys
Feature analysis, compilation of user pain points, ranking of marketing approaches and content appeal for user needs
Iterative process of improving user flow and graphic design of UI, curated learning offerings to optimize a successful company-wide launch. Traffic to the platform and specifically marketed offerings rose 40% between first and third quarter of the first year of launch.

My Role

Lead Researcher and Project Manager

Audience

Academia, Game Design Industry

Mixed Methods Research on Parents and Video Games

Problem Statement

Methods

Analysis

Outcomes

How do parents’ beliefs, attitudes and habits around video games relate to their children’s wellbeing? An examination of the gamer parent generation, looking to identify pain points and design affordances in children’s gaming and find opportunities for family bonding with technology.
Survey Design in Qualtrics, Qualitative Interviews (remote)
Survey scoring and subscale creation, statistical analyses, qualitative thematic coding, development of personas
Implications for future research in family learning, parent-child design recommendations to promote wellbeing for industry partners

My Role

UX Research Assistant

Audience

Preschool Aged Kids, Parents

Identifying Resources for Parent-Child Touchscreen Interactions

Problem Statement

Methods

Analysis

Outcomes

Can valuable parent-child interactions created by traditional book reading be recreated and enjoyed in interactive formats? In the development of an iPad app for preschool aged children, parents and children were observed in either condition of co-reading, with pain points for shared technology use noted.
Observation, Usability Testing, Interviews
Qualitative Themes, User Narratives for child vs. parent-child experiences, comparison of analog and digital experiences to generate design changes
Features were refined to help children and parents navigate the app more easily with the goal of a quality shared digital experience. Design recommendations of parent resources for digital products were generated.

My Role

UX Research Assistant

Audience

School Aged Kids, Teachers

Testing an Interactive Mixed Media Experience as Part of a Curriculum

Problem Statement

Methods

Analysis

Outcomes

Can children apply science learning from an informal learning space once back in the classroom? How effective is the design of an app and wearable technology for documenting and measuring scientific experiments in classroom learning? Aligning an outdoor playground experience guided by an iPad app and wearable technology to a teacher-generated physics curriculum for students to use in classrooms with students after a museum field trip.
Prototype Testing (Beta Phase), Observations, Usability Testing, Interviews, User Behavior Logs
Feature Analysis, Rubric Scoring / Evaluation of Learning, Thematic Coding
Improvements were made to the prototype with reports making client measure their expectations about the feasibility of the technology in that specific learning context. Curriculum adjustments were made to consider affordances and limitations of the technology for children’s learning.

Products Researched

A sampling of some of the digital products that have shaped my training as a researcher

Design
and Content
Creation

Mighty Minds Learning Program
for Literacy and Math (Noggin)
Shanghai Disney Resort
Orientation Program
for Disney Company Culture
All You Can E.T Game
for training Executive Functions
(NYU CREATE Lab)
Responsible Vending Program
for Disney Parks and Resorts Food and Beverage (Disney)

User
Experience
Research

The Monster at the End
Of This Book
Reading app (Sesame Street)
DLearn
Employee development platform (Disney)
SciGames
App for informal science learning
(New York Hall of Science) 
Project Columbia
Early reading prototype experience on Microsoft Kinect (NYU Games for Learning Institute and Microsoft
Research)

Evaluative
and Formative
Research

Sesame Street - S. 40-42
including Super Grover 2.0 pilot segments (Sesame Workshop) 
DEEP
Disney Executive Experience Program (Disney)
Elmo’s A-to-Zoo Adventure video game
for the Nintendo Wii
(Sesame Workshop) 
Abby’s Flying Fairy School
interactive storybook to promote critical thinking (Sesame Workshop) 

Publications and Presentations

Henry, M. (2023) “Reflections on 15 Years of The Joan Ganz Cooney Center,” Joan Ganz Cooney Center Website.  

Shao, Y., Froelich, F., Miller, R., Pisari, D., Bromley, M., Homer, B., Plass, J. (2023, April) Investigating the Wellbeing Potential of Digital Play Experiences for Children. Poster presented at AERA Annual Conference, Chicago, Illinois.

Henry, M. (2021) “Spotlight: Street Gang, How We Got to Sesame Street,” Joan Ganz Cooney Center Website.  

Henry, M. (2021) “Women in Tech: From the “Mother of Computing” to Our Mothers,” Joan Ganz Cooney Center Website. 

Henry, M. (2020) “Wishing on Dandelions with Some of Yokota’s Military Children,” Stars and Stripes Pacific. 

Henry, M. (2020) “Yokota’s Mask Crusaders pitch in to battle COVID-19,” Stars and Stripes Pacific.

Homer, B.D., Kinzer, C.K., Plass,  J.L., Letourneau, S.M., Hoffman, D., Bromley, M., Hayward, E.O., Turkay, S., Kornak, Y. (2014) “Moved to learn: The effects of interactivity in a Kinect-based literacy game for beginning readers,” Computers & Education, Volume 74, May 2014, Pages 37-49. 

‍Bromley, M. (2014, Mar) “Firewall Chats: Tweens and Social Networks in Restricted Settings,” Paper presented at Digital Media Learning DML Conference, Boston, Massachusetts. 

Vacca, R., Bromley, M., Leyrer, J., Sprung, M., Homer, B. (2014) “Emotional Health Games.” Book Chapter in International Game Designers Association’s Learning and Education Games Handbook. New York: ETC Press.  

‍Plass, J., Lake, R., Stratton, S., Bray, D., Bromley, M., Lucas, M., Maas, T. (2014) Emerging Best Practices: Testing Links in the Chain To Integrate New Solutions Into the NYCDOE Culture. White Paper from the Games for Learning Institute. 

Sprung, M., Leyrer, J., Bromley, M., Homer, B., … & Plass, J. (2013). Space Ranger Alien Quest: A Video Game to Assess and Promote Executive Functioning Skills. Poster presented at the Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association. Honolulu, HI, USA.

Milne, C., Plass, J., Homer, B., Schwartz, R., Brady, A., Yavner, S., Bromley, M., Kornak, Y. (2013, April) "The Messy Issue of Multimedia Simulation Integration in High School Chemistry Curricula." Paper presented at AERA Annual Conference, San Francisco, California.

Hayward, E., Homer, B., Pace, K., Bromley, M. (2013, April) Flexibility & Automaticity of Social Cognition (FASC): A Developmental, Multi- faceted, Continuous Measure of Theory of Mind. Poster presented at Society for Research in Children’s Development Conference, Seattle, Washington. 
‍
‍Bromley, M. (2013) “Kinecting” Physical Gaming to Learning: A Review of the Literature on the Design of Technology for Physical Gaming and the Role of Embodied Interaction in Cognitive Development. Submitted to New York University to complete the doctoral requirement of candidacy. 

‍Bromley, M. (2012, May). Space Ranger Lunch Launch: Designing a Video Game to Assess and Promote Executive Functioning Skills. Presented on behalf of the Games for Learning Institute at Games 4 Resilience: Spielerisch Selbstkontrolle und Emotionale Kompetenz fördern at Subotron Museums Quartier, Vienna, Austria.

‍Bromley, M. and Vacca, R. (2012). Design Patterns for Promoting Self-Reflection in Learning Games. Published in EDULEARN12 Conference Proceedings, Barcelona, Spain.

‍Bromley, M. (2011) “Come Read with Us! News from the E-book QuickStudy,” Joan Ganz Cooney Center Website.  
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