Experience of Teaching Data Visualization using Project-based Learning
This is an incremental contribution focused on educators and students in data visualization courses, offering practical insights for curriculum design.
The authors tackled the challenge of teaching data visualization through project-based learning within a university semester, addressing issues like time constraints and online group work, and concluded with improvements to the course structure.
We report our experience in two installations of a course on data visualization that featured project-based learning. Given the rationale of this approach, we show which input was provided when necessary for the students to achieve their goals. We also discuss and compare the tools we found useful for students to accomplish their goals. Fitting project-based learning into the standard schedule of a semester at University is a particular challenge, because it is hard for students to devote longer periods of time when working on their projects. Furthermore, online learning was a challenge to effectively perform group activities and work. We address didactic considerations, our course structure, tools, and student projects. Finally, we draw conclusions on the results and improvements in the course structure.