Coding IxD: Enabling Interdisciplinary Education by Sparking Reflection

TL;DR

This paper presents Coding IxD, an interdisciplinary course designed to foster reflection and collaboration between computer science and design students, aiming to improve education through research-based teaching principles and practical projects.

Contribution

The paper introduces a novel interdisciplinary course structure for coding interaction and design, developed through research-driven methods and reflective teaching practices.

Findings

Interdisciplinary teams created innovative interactive prototypes.

Research-based teaching phases enhanced student reflection and collaboration.

Course development over years improved educational effectiveness.

Abstract

Educating students from diverse disciplinary backgrounds is challenging. In this article, we report on our interdisciplinary course coding interaction and design (Coding IxD), which is designed for computer science and design students alike. This course has been developed over several years by consciously deliberating on existing hurdles within the educational concept. First, we motivate the need for Coding IxD and introduce the teaching principles that helped shape the course's general structure. Our teaching principles materialize in four method-based phases derived from research through design. Each phase consists of several methods that emerged to be suitable in an interdisciplinary context. Then, based on two selected student projects, we exemplify how interdisciplinary teams can arrive at novel interactive prototypes. We conclude by reflecting on our teaching practice as essential for a meaningful learning experience.