Date of Award

2024

Document Type

Open Access Master's Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Applied Cognitive Science and Human Factors (MS)

Administrative Home Department

Department of Psychology and Human Factors

Advisor 1

Leo C. Ureel II

Advisor 2

Shane Mueller

Committee Member 1

Laura E. Brown

Committee Member 2

Michelle Jarvie-Eggart

Abstract

This thesis explores the role of human factors in the realm of code critiquers and students’ experiences with them. Across three studies, the work utilized Design Thinking to improve the user experience of WebTA for introductory engineering students learning MATLAB. The first two studies gathered observational and interview data to empathize, define, and ideate a new user interface (UI). Said UI was prototyped and then tested with the third study. Overall, the surveys’ data suggests that most students found the new design to be more appealing, useful, and purposeful; however, there is still plenty of room for improvement. Additionally, analysis of student behavior while using WebTA is very suggestive of enhancing students’ learning. Future work will include more robust usability testing, validation & further prototyping of interactive help documentation, and the creation process of a dashboard for professors to employ as an aid to their pedagogy.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

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