From concept to classroom: Developing instructor dashboards through human centered design

Abstract

Dashboards visually provide automated feedback and communicate classroom data that instructors cannot otherwise recall. To date, dashboards have been designed more from a technical than a pedagogical perspective. Although researchers have called for a human-centered approach to dashboard design, research documenting design processes has been limited in the literature. In the present study, a human-centered approach was employed to design an instructor dashboard. The design processes and illustrative prototypes are presented, along with the features participant instructors perceived to be the most and least helpful. The integration of a human-centered approach to guide the processes involved in designing actionable instructor dashboards is also discussed. Three components of a human centered approach are recommended: (a) designing with multiple stakeholders, (b) aligning pedagogy with analytics, and (c) training on data use. This research contributes to the field by demonstrating how human-centered design can bridge the gap between technological potentials and pedagogical features in instructor dashboards, ultimately leading to effective integration of such tools in higher education classrooms.