Reflections on Teaching ‘Data Exploration and Visualisation’ in Multiple Modes

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Abstract

Whilst the visual arts is a very practical and tangible field, data visualisation is a combination of programming skills, data science and design theory. Each of these can be taught in a variety of ways, from traditional methods of lectures to technical programming classes or even asynchronous worksheets. The challenge is how to cover all of the required content within the constraints of the teaching period, environment, delivery method and ensuring the appropriate activities and assessment tasks. In this paper we reflect on the past 8 years of delivering the postgraduate unit ‘Data Exploration and Visualisation’ at Monash University. We present the four different ways that the same content has been taught to different cohorts, through a combination of on-campus lectures, large-format workshops, small group tutorials and online or hybrid tutorials and workshops, as well as various readings, videos and asynchronous activities. We explain the different external and internal requirements set for the teaching and describe the adaption of the teaching methods and assessments in order to meet these conditions. We reflect on our experiences of teaching multiple methods across different formats from very small to very large student cohorts.