Example: an A-grade 2025 project, shown as its team would see it. Shared with the course leader’s permission, names removed. Nothing here saves.
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Step 02
Hypotheses
Each card is a bet: what you believe, and the result that would prove you wrong.
Hypothesis 3Validated
Students hold back feedback to lecturers because they fear it will make a bad impression, so they would only use a feedback channel if it were genuinely anonymous.
1 supporting
If students say they are comfortable raising problems with lecturers directly, or that anonymity makes no difference to whether they would speak up.
Evidence qualityStrongmostly first-hand interview
supportingFirst-hand interview
Same round. All five said they would use an anonymous feedback channel, and every one raised the same two doubts: "is it really anonymous?" and "will anything happen after I complain?" Earlier interviews gave the reason: students worry that unclear feedback makes them look like weak learners, and that pointing out problems with a course reads as disrespect.
— A team member
A team member · 1 version · wording is fixed now that evidence is attached
Hypothesis 2Inconclusive
Students would use one place that gathers course materials and campus activities, because the real pain is that these are scattered across Moodle, OneDrive, email and social media.
1 supporting · 1 contradicting
If interviewees say they already have a way that works for them, or if fewer than three of five would use it.
Evidence qualityStrongmostly first-hand interview
supportingFirst-hand interview
Week 12: one-to-one interviews with 5 HKBU undergraduates, concept described out loud. All five would use at least one of the three functions. Biggest pain named: materials scattered across Moodle and OneDrive, activity notices buried in email and social media. Three of five said "saves time" as their first reaction.
— A team member
contradictingFirst-hand interview
Same round. Two of five said they usually hear about events after they have ended, so a list would not help; they want reminders. One said what they need is "a system which is less troublesome", not another website to check.
— A team member
A team member · 1 version · wording is fixed now that evidence is attached
Hypothesis 1Validated
Students lose motivation mid-semester because workload piles up and assignment requirements are unclear, not because they stop caring about the subject.
3 supporting
If fewer than half of the students we survey name workload or unclear requirements as the reason, and most name loss of interest instead.
Evidence qualityFairmixed sources
supportingSurvey
Survey of 25 undergraduates across years, September. 60% noticed a decline in their motivation around mid-semester. Asked why: overwhelmed by workload and pressure 72%; dry, theory-heavy content 52%; passive lecture-style teaching 48%; high-stakes assessments 40%; cannot see the value of the materials 28%; time management 12%.
— A team member
supportingOnline research
Georgetown University's engagement survey: undergraduate engagement fell from 70% to 32% across one semester. Hong Kong students' rates of stress, anxiety and depression rose after COVID to 22.2%, 50.7% and 40.0%. A study of 4,772 students across 523 courses found attendance correlates with grades.
— A team member
supportingFirst-hand interview
Mid-semester interviews with 8 students and 3 professors. "Week 6, 3 reports plus 1 exam… the communication cost within the group made me want to drop out." "Didn't understand what the teacher wanted, leading to poor assignment performance." "Felt very encouraged when the UI design professor gave very specific, encouraging personal feedback." The same three themes came up unprompted: overload, unclear requirements, isolation.
— A team member
A team member · 1 version · wording is fixed now that evidence is attached
+Record another hypothesis
Hypothesis analysis
+Analyse another pair
First
Students would use one place that gathers course materials and campus activities, because the real pain is that these are scattered across Moodle, OneDrive, email and social media.
1 supporting · 1 contradicting
Second
Students hold back feedback to lecturers because they fear it will make a bad impression, so they would only use a feedback channel if it were genuinely anonymous.
1 supporting
Can both of these be true at once?Yes — both can hold
What would tell them apart?What a student opens first in a bad week. If they only ever talk about time saved, the feedback channel is a nice-to-have. If the feedback channel is the first thing they ask about, the resource search is the wrapper.
Where do you stand now, and why?Both hold, utility first. In the week-12 interviews "saves time" was the first reaction for three of five, but "do not want to bear it alone" was close behind. So one platform, not two, and the resource search leads.