Toward infusing modular and reflective design learning throughout the curriculum

Design is a core activity in computer science and software engineering, but conventional curricula do not adequately support design learning since they isolate the explicit study of design to only a few select courses. This paper reports on our initial efforts toward addressing this challenge through an intervention focusing on the modular deployment of design challenges and design stories throughout the curriculum: Design challenges allow learners to work through open-ended problems, which is followed by the creation of a design story narrative through the use of a structured reflection framework. Our intervention strategy is intended to be easily adoptable within existing curricular structures and leverages reflective-learning theories.