Critical Thinking Sheets: Encouraging critical thought and sketched implementation design

Jonathan C. Roberts; Panagiotis D. Ritsos

Critical Thinking Sheets: Encouraging critical thought and sketched implementation design

Jonathan C. Roberts, Panagiotis D. Ritsos

School of Computer Science & Engineering

Research output: Contribution to conference › Paper › peer-review

Abstract

Learners are often asked to create an interface as part of their course. For example, they could be asked to “create a calculator”, “develop a stopwatch” or “develop an image processing app”. But students often struggle to know how to start. At the same time, teachers want their students to think critically about their assignments and plan how they will build an interface. We have developed, and used for two academic years, a structured “critical thinking sheet (CTS)”. It is a method to help students consider a problem from different views, and help them critically consider different aspects of the task. The sheet gets the learners to (1) sketch the solution, (2) explain the challenge, (3) detail system components, (4) list algorithmic steps, and (5) explain next steps and issues of implementation. In this paper we introduce the sheet, explain how we have used it, and discuss learner experience.

Original language	English
Publication status	Published - May 2019
Event	EduCHI 2019 Symposium: Global Perspectives on HCI Education, CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (ACM CHI 2019) - Glasgow, United Kingdom Duration: 4 May 2019 → … https://educhi2019.hcilivingcurriculum.org/

Workshop

Workshop	EduCHI 2019 Symposium: Global Perspectives on HCI Education, CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (ACM CHI 2019)
Country/Territory	United Kingdom
City	Glasgow
Period	4/05/19 → …
Internet address	https://educhi2019.hcilivingcurriculum.org/

5 Paper
4 Conference contribution
3 Article
1 Poster
More
- 1 Editorial

Critical Design Strategy: a Method for Heuristically Evaluating Visualisation Designs
Roberts, J. C., Alnjar, H., Owen, A. & Ritsos, P. D., 1 Jan 2026, In: IEEE Transactions on visualization and computer graphics. 11 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Open Access
File
15 Downloads (Pure)
Data Meets Creativity: Authentic Learning through Data Art Design and Exhibition
Roberts, J. C., 20 May 2025, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Computers and Graphics. 19 p., 104248.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Open Access
File
48 Downloads (Pure)
Challenges and Opportunities in Data Visualization Education: A Call to Action
Bach, B., Keck, M., Rajabiyazdi, F., Losev, T., Meirelles, I., Dykes, J., Laramee, R. S., AlKadi, M., Stoiber, C., Huron, S., Perin, C., Morais, L., Aigner, W., Kosminsky, D., Boucher, M., Knudsen, S., Manataki, A., Aerts, J., Hinrichs, U. & Roberts, J. C. & 1 others, Carpendale, S., Jan 2024, In: IEEE Transactions on visualization and computer graphics. 30, p. 649-660 12 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Open Access
File
79 Downloads (Pure)

1 Participation in Academic conference
1 Other

Data Meets Creativity: The Data Art 2025 Exhibition
Roberts, J. (Contributor)
12 May 2025 → 2 Jun 2025
Activity: Other
EduVis : Workshop on Visualization Education, Literacy, and Activities
Keck, M. (Chair), Huron, S. (Chair), Panagiotidou, G. (Chair), Stoiber, C. (Chair), Rajabiyazdi, F. (Chair), Perin, C. (Chair), Roberts, J. (Chair) & Bach, B. (Chair)
22 Oct 2023 → 27 Oct 2023
Activity: Participating in or organising an event › Participation in Academic conference

Best Short Paper (the David Duce award) for: Towards Developing a Digital application for the Five Design-Sheets Methodology
Owen, A. (Recipient) & Roberts, J. (Recipient), 16 Sept 2022
Prize: National/international honour

File

Design Methods for Computing (including Five Design-Sheets)
Roberts, J. (Participant), Ritsos, P. (Participant) & Headleand, C. (Participant)
Impact: Technological
Project Rainbow
Roberts, J. (Participant), Roberts, D. (Participant), Ritsos, P. (Participant), Gray, C. (Participant), Mearman, J. (Participant) & Butcher, P. (Participant)
Impact: Technological, Societal

Cite this

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title = "Critical Thinking Sheets: Encouraging critical thought and sketched implementation design",

abstract = "Learners are often asked to create an interface as part of their course. For example, they could be asked to “create a calculator”, “develop a stopwatch” or “develop an image processing app”. But students often struggle to know how to start. At the same time, teachers want their students to think critically about their assignments and plan how they will build an interface. We have developed, and used for two academic years, a structured “critical thinking sheet (CTS)”. It is a method to help students consider a problem from different views, and help them critically consider different aspects of the task. The sheet gets the learners to (1) sketch the solution, (2) explain the challenge, (3) detail system components, (4) list algorithmic steps, and (5) explain next steps and issues of implementation. In this paper we introduce the sheet, explain how we have used it, and discuss learner experience.",

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note = "EduCHI 2019 Symposium: Global Perspectives on HCI Education, CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (ACM CHI 2019) ; Conference date: 04-05-2019",

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Critical Thinking Sheets: Encouraging critical thought and sketched implementation design. / Roberts, Jonathan C.; Ritsos, Panagiotis D.
2019. Paper presented at EduCHI 2019 Symposium: Global Perspectives on HCI Education, CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (ACM CHI 2019), Glasgow, United Kingdom.

Research output: Contribution to conference › Paper › peer-review

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Critical Thinking Sheets: Encouraging critical thought and sketched implementation design

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