Abstract

This study considers the initial stages and current progress behind the ongoing collaboration between a small group of graphic design and physics professors. Together, the objective was to design and develop a website for teaching problem-solving skills to college-level physics students. The motivation behind this project stems from the shortcomings of current science study guides that are limited to providing additional challenges/problems with minimal feedback to user actions. What is needed in these products is a user experience that actively guides students to navigate through the general decision-making skills necessary for effective problem solving in the sciences. This initial investigation will articulate and reflect on the collaborative processes between science education and design thinking/making working together to create an online physics education website. Rather than just expecting a right or wrong answer, this website is designed to respond to students’ assumptions and actively guide them toward the appropriate problem-solving strategies. In order to deliver on this goal, the designers were tasked with putting together a web interface that demanded systems-level thinking and thoughtful implementation of signifiers and feedback to its users. The challenge behind this multidisciplinary effort ultimately involved negotiating the boundaries, roles, timelines, and expectations between the design and science disciplines, as well as discussing how the principles behind UX/UI design can enhance and extend science pedagogy behind the traditional classrooms.