Generating multiple-choice questions is known to improve students' critical thinking and deep learning. Visualizing relationships between concepts enhances meaningful learning, students' ability to relate new concepts to previously learned concepts. We designed and deployed a collaborative learning process through which students generate multiple-choice questions and represent the prerequisite knowledge structure between questions as visual links in a shared map, using a variation of Concept Maps that we call "QMap." We conducted a four-month study with 19 undergraduate students. Students sustained voluntary contributions, creating 992 good questions, and drawing 1,255 meaningful links between the questions. Through analyzing self-reports, observations, and usage data, we report on the technical and social design features that led students to sustain their motivation.
Students working on programming homework do not receive the same level of support as in the classroom, relying primarily on automated feedback from test cases. One low-effort way to provide more support is by prompting students to compare their solution to an instructor's solution, but it is unclear the best way to design such prompts to support learning. We designed and deployed a randomized controlled trial during online programming homework, where we provided students with an instructor's solution, and randomized whether they were prompted to compare their solution to the instructor's, to fill in the blanks for a written explanation of the instructor's solution, to do both, or neither. Our results suggest that these prompts can effectively engage students in reflecting on instructor solutions, although the results point to design trade-offs between the amount of effort that different prompts require from students and instructors, and their relative impact on learning.
Game design is increasingly used in modern education to foster Computational Thinking (CT). Yet, it is unclear how and if the game genre of student-designed games impact CT and programming. We explore how game genre impacts CT development and programming routines in Scratch games designed by 8th-grade students using a metrics-based approach (i.e., Dr. Scratch). Our findings show that designing particular games (e.g., action, storytelling) impact CT and programming development. We observe, for instance, that CT skills develop and consolidate fast, after which students can focus on aspects more specific to game design. Based on the results, we suggest that researchers and educators in constructionist learning consider the impact of game genre when designing game-based curricula for the learning of programming and CT.
Users are fundamental to HCI. However, little is known about how HCI education introduces students to working with users, particularly those different from themselves. To better understand design students' engagement, reactions, and reflections with users, we investigate a case study of a graduate-level 10-week prototyping studio course that partnered with a children's co-design team. HCI students participated in two co-design sessions with children to design a STEM learning experience for youth. We conducted participant observations, interviews with 14 students, and analyzed final artifacts. Our findings demonstrate the communication challenges and strategies students experienced, how students observed issues of power dynamics, and students' perceived value in engaging with users. We contribute empirical evidence of how HCI students directly interact with target users, principles for reflective HCI pedagogy, and highlight the need for more intentional investigation into HCI educational practice.
Software developers often make interface design decisions and work with designers. Therefore, computing students who seek to become developers need some education about interface design. While prior work has studied difficulties that educators face when teaching design to computing students, there is comparatively little work on the difficulties computing students face when learning HCI design skills. To uncover these difficulties, we conducted two qualitative studies consisting of surveys and interviews with (1) computing students and (2) educators who teach interface design to computing students. Qualitative analysis of their responses revealed 18 types of learning difficulties students might experience in HCI design education, including difficulties around the mechanics of design work, project management skills, the wicked nature of design problems, and distorted perspectives on design.