Seasoning Data Modeling Education with GARLIC: A Participatory Co-Design Framework

TL;DR

This paper introduces GARLIC, a participatory ER modeling framework that enhances data education by integrating stakeholder involvement, critical awareness, and practical skills through a workshop-based, role-playing approach.

Contribution

The paper presents GARLIC, a novel pedagogical methodology that extends existing frameworks to teach participatory ER modeling in an accessible, collaborative, and ethically aware manner.

Findings

GARLIC facilitates inclusive data modeling education.

Students develop technical and social skills in ER modeling.

The framework encourages critical reflection on data representation.

Abstract

Entity-Relationship (ER) modeling is commonly taught as a primarily technical activity, despite its central role in shaping how data systems represent people, processes, and institutions. Prior research in participatory design demonstrates that involving diverse stakeholders in modeling can surface tacit knowledge, challenge implicit assumptions, and produce more inclusive data representations. However, database education currently lacks structured pedagogical approaches for teaching participatory ER modeling in practice. We introduce the GARLIC methodology for teaching and learning participatory ER modeling. GARLIC adapts and extends the ONION participatory ER modeling framework of Makovska et al.(HILDA 2025) into a workshop-based learning format that combines role-playing, collaborative synthesis, guided critique, and iterative refinement. GARLIC is designed to develop both technical modeling skills and critical awareness of the social and ethical dimensions of data representation. GARLIC lowers the barrier to participatory ER modeling and equips students with practical skills for collaborative, inclusive data model design.