VizCoach: Designing an Orchestration-Based Tool for Data Visualization Education

Visualization courses are commonly found in university settings, but many students (particularly those from computer science or STEM backgrounds) struggle learning the ``design thinking'' aspects of visualization. In this paper, we investigate how to design and engineer a technology-enhanced learning platform for teaching visualization concepts called VizCoach. VizCoach adopts a hands-on, orchestration-based approach that abstracts away the coding aspects of visualization construction, allowing students to focus on applying design thinking principles during learning. VizCoach also supports instructors by providing workflows tailored for creating and moderating learning activities. Empirical evaluations help validate that VizCoach supports design and engineering requirements for successful orchestration and design thinking learning scenarios. We also discuss how tools like VizCoach contribute to technology-enhanced learning for visualization, and can provide opportunities for future research into visualization learning processes.