Exploring Perception in Computer Graphics Education: A Swedish Perspective
Amani Najimudeen, Anne-Kathrin Peters · 2024
Understanding human perception is fundamental to computer graphics. However, computer science and engineering education have a track record of neglecting human concerns in favour of technical and scientific matters. The diverse and rapidly evolving nature of the field also means that educators need to be highly selective in what concepts and skills to include in syllabuses, potentially complicating the inclusion of perceptual topics in computer graphics courses. This study explores the treatment of perception as a topic in introductory computer graphics courses at Swedish universities, through analysis of course syllabuses and the attitudes of educators. Data from 22 syllabuses, three interviews and six responses from a survey were collected across twelve universities. While educators agree on the importance of understanding human perception in graphics creation, the results present a diverse set of approaches and attitudes toward teaching it. Approaches ranged from minimal inclusion to dedicated lectures, across varying perceptual topics, and perception was rarely mentioned in the course objectives. Overall, approaches seemed influenced mainly by student backgrounds, time, educator experiences, and challenges of addressing foundational skills. Based on these findings, some ways to better integrate perceptual aspects in existing curricula are proposed.