Enhancing HCI Capstone Courses Through Diary Study Methods: Feedback and Insights from Graduate-Undergraduate Collaboration

Abstract

Capstone courses in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) serve as critical platforms for bridging theoretical learning and practical application, providing students with essential skills for professional practice. In this paper, we present our pedagogical experiences integrating diary studies into the HCI capstone course, in which 35 senior undergraduates collaborated in teams on HCI-focused projects. 6 graduate students participated in mentorship and advisory roles, leveraging their advanced knowledge and research skills to guide the undergraduate teams. Two-week diary studies were designed and employed as an early-semester assignment to address disparities in knowledge, skills, communication, and interests within team collaboration. We explored the benefits of this approach through detailed post-diary interviews and self-reports from the participating undergraduates and graduate mentors. Our preliminary findings suggest that the diary study assignment effectively facilitated communication, understanding, and collaboration among diverse student groups. These results indicate the potential applicability of diary studies in similar educational settings and offer valuable insights for the design and implementation of human-computer interaction education in interdisciplinary contexts.