An interesting approach. Much better to start with learning rather than what is to be examined.  My suspicion is that you could use any number of different underlying frameworks (including any number of learning style theories and possibly even astrology) to achieve something similar: it's about thinking about the diverse ways learning happens more than the particular framework. I tend to use the Lewin/Kolb cycle in a similar way, sometimes Pask's serialist/holist model, occasionally even multiple intelligences. Though I am highly sceptical of all of them as meaningful representations of reality, it's useful in the design process, as you say, to have an aide memoire. With that in mind, using this framework might make it rather easy to forget reflection. Reflection seems to be an implied afterthought in the production learning type, rather than something central to the activity. This is quite strange, given Laurillard's Conversational Framework in which reflection plays such a central and critical binding role.

My more general slight concern with the approach is that, in a truly integrated design, all of these learning types are tightly intertwingled. Especially when experiences/activities are correllated with technological toolsets (as suggested by the cards), the metaphor runs the risk of being treated as one of assembling pieces to build a machine. It would be very easy to come up with a Lego-like construction, one of those awful designs where students go to one place for their discussions, another for their acquisition, another for their practice, etc. Perhaps it would be better thought of as being more like a cake, in which the individual ingredients are inseparable and indistinguishable from one another when they come out of the oven. And, of course, it makes a huge difference how you mix them, and how you bake them, with each part and each process deeply affecting all the rest.

Hi Shawn,

This assignment had be second guessing a lot of work that I had previously done, especially in assignment 2. It obviously builds upon the domain class diagram quite significantly. I knew this would happen eventually, but the problem I keep facing is whether I completed the domain class diagram correctly in the first place. It sounds like you are feeling the same pain as I did in this area.

I have some experience in introductory and intermediate object oriented programming (Java) so far, so this knowledge was easily applied to creating the design class diagram. And as was in your situation, I think that the creating the design class diagram helped me better understand a few concepts in object oriented programming. It makes me wonder why this specific diagram wasn’t introduced at all during my object oriented courses. Once could argue that for each assignment in my programming class, we could have created a design class diagram as well. To be honest, I think it would have helped in creating the actual program. Definitely something to bring to table when filling out a course evaluation in the future.

I agree that they sequence diagrams are very helpful in determining interactions for the system and user. I actually enjoyed making these. The only problem I faced was making the multi-layer design. I wasn’t sure if we have to develop the diagrams using 2 layers or 3 layers or how they wanted it. I find at the end of the day a lot of documentation and programming comes down to just making a decision and running with it. I found using this mantra helped me move along during these assignments and feel more confident in my answers.

I also feel that these diagrams are getting more important as we move along. Not just for creating the system in itself but also for determining how the system will handle queries. R. Muthukrishnan and H. Shanmugasundaram provide some good examples of how a system will handle a query using domain class diagrams, which really puts the process into perspective for someone who doesn’t fully understand the entire system [1].

[1]          R. Muthukrishnan, H. Shanmugasundaram, “Retrieving UML class diagram using ontology,” IUP Journal of Computer Sciences, vol. 9, no. 4, pp. 7-20, Oct, 2015.

Shawn and Benjamin, I couldn't agree more that the design class diagram was very useful in helping me to understand how object oriented programming comes together. I've done some object oriented programming in other classes and while I could do the assignments, I didn't quite understand the reasoning of the value in doing it that way, nor could I mentally picture exactly how it all came together. This diagram was instrumental in clarifying how it all works. I wish they had asked us to make these diagrams for each of the assignments. It would be extra work but it really would help visualize how it's supposed to work!

This assignment was really tough, but I have to say it was one of the best for helping me start to see everything come together. I did however, have to jump back and forth between the sequence diagrams to the design class and continually make updates. I'd start working on one, then realize I missed something in another and then vice versa until I was complete. Just the act of doing that with diagrams helped me realize how much time savings and value there can be going through the systems analysis and design process. If I had just jumped into the coding of this system, I would have made so many mistakes and had to repeat things. So it's a great lesson to have done these assignments to better understand their value. I'd love to get some experience working on a real programming team at a company that does systems analysis and design work before getting right down to the coding.

One more thing I'll add though, is the challenge of using the tools when making a sequence diagram. Despite knowing their value, I became very frustrated with the making of the sequence diagram. It was so hard to go back and add new things into the middle of the diagram if I had made a mistake and missed it. So it felt very inflexible like "get it right, or waste tons of time correcting". This might just be a lack of professional skills with the program, but hard to know. Either way, it was a good experience. Best of luck to both of you!