User Interface Design Pedagogy: A Constructionist Approach

A major limitation in traditional class lectures that use textbooks, handouts, transparencies and assignments is that students often are unable to "experience" user interface design. This limitation can be overcome by using the constructionist approach, which allows students to experience user interface design by letting them "do" or "construct" so that they can understand and remember. This paper describes an Internet-based interactive case scenario that was developed, based on the constructionist approach, to teach students user interface design concepts in conjunction with the Questionnaire for User Interaction Satisfaction (QUIS). A proof of concept evaluation was conducted and the results indicate that this approach is effective in user interface design pedagogy.