Design Challenges and Stories: Integrating Reflective Design Learning in Computer Science

Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff AZ

Investigators

Abstract

Design is a core activity in computer science and software engineering and it determines the function and quality of software systems. As a result, it is vitally important that computer science graduates possess strong design skills. Conventional curricula, however, do not adequately support design learning since they isolate the explicit study of design to only a few selected courses while using ill-suited instructional techniques. This project is aiming at significantly improving the strategies used to support design learning in computer science, through two key thrusts: the first is developing a modular instructional approach that enables students to use reflective learning in creating narratives called design stories; the second thrust is developing the Design Learning Repository, which allows educators to search, access, and contribute instructional materials that adopt the project's approach. This work is addressing the shortcomings of current practice by infusing the study of design throughout the computer science curriculum. A solid grounding in reflection-based learning theories contributes to the project's intellectual merit, further added to by adopting techniques well-suited to the nature of design and by using evidence-based evaluations of learning gains. The broader impacts of this project have far reaching potential: the intervention method is being strongly institutionalized at the home university and is affecting a highly diverse student body, while collaborations are promoting adoption at partner universities. More broadly, the dissemination activities and transformative strategies being pursued may change how design learning is supported throughout the computer science educational community.