Bloom’s Taxonomy as a Lens to Explore Student Learning of Design Thinking in Software Engineering Education and Training
Resumo
Background: Design Thinking (DT) has been widely adopted in Software Engineering (SE) for its emphasis on creativity, user understanding, and iterative problem-solving. However, in the context of SE Education and Training (SEET), there is a lack of empirical research exploring how students internalize, engage with, and perceive DT-related content. Aims: Our research aims to understand how SE students perceive and internalize DT concepts during their training. Method: We conducted semi-structured interviews with nine students who had previous contact with DT through an SE course. We used Bloom’s Taxonomy as a foundation, as it offers a structured framework to assess the cognitive levels students reach when learning a given topic. This approach allowed us to explore how students process, retain, and apply DT-related knowledge. We analyzed the data using Grounded Theory procedures. Results: Analyzing through the lens of Bloom’s framework, we found individual differences in the depth of learning and consolidation of DT concepts. Three participants demonstrated analysis-level abilities, four reached the synthesis level, and two attained evaluation-level skills. Our findings also reveal that students associate DT with creativity, user understanding, freedom to explore options, and goal orientation. They also recognized the value of DT techniques for organizing data, guiding technical decisions, and supporting the software development process. Based on our findings, we propose an empirically-based conceptual model that structures students’ perspectives on the use of the DT in SE. Conclusions: We hope our contributions can assist educators in developing strategies to help students better retain DT content, with emphasis on SEET, as our results offer a structured understanding of how students internalize DT in SE.
Palavras-chave:
Software Engineering Education and Training, Requirements Engineering, Design Thinking, Cognitive Aspects
Referências
Dariane Abich, Rafael Parizi, and Sabrina Marczak. 2024. Fostering Collaboration through Design Thinking: A Study among Software Engineering Students. In Simpósio Brasileiro de Engenharia de Software (SBES). SBC, 532–542.
Walter Brenner, Falk Uebernickel, and Thomas Abrell. 2016. Design thinking as mindset, process, and toolbox: Experiences from research and teaching at the University of St. Gallen. Design thinking for innovation: Research and practice (2016), 3–21.
Ricardo Britto and Muhammad Usman. 2015. Bloom’s taxonomy in software engineering education: A systematic mapping study. In 2015 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE). IEEE, 1–8.
Edna Dias Canedo, Angélica Toffano Seidel Calazans, Geovana Ramos Sousa Silva, Pedro Henrique Teixeira Costa, Rodrigo Pereira de Mesquita, and Eloisa Toffano Seidel Masson. 2022. Creativity and design thinking as facilitators in requirements elicitation. International Journal of Software Engineering and Knowledge Engineering 32, 10 (2022), 1527–1558.
Edna Dias Canedo, Ana Carolina Dos Santos Pergentino, Angelica Toffano Seidel Calazans, Frederico Viana Almeida, Pedro Henrique Teixeira Costa, and Fernanda Lima. 2020. Design Thinking Use in Agile Software Projects: Software Developers’ Perception.. In ICEIS (2). 217–224.
Cecilia Challiol, Andrés Rodriguez, and Alejandra Garrido. 2025. Training from experiential learning’s vision to acquire Design Thinking as a thought process. Thinking Skills and Creativity (2025), 101829.
Maria Alcimar Costa Meireles, Ádria Afonso, Brunna Talita Vieira Rabaioli, Karen Soares, Lívia Lobão de Araújo, Luana Lobão, Jose Carlos Maldonado, and Tayana Conte. 2024. Value Generation in Software Projects: Lessons Learned from the Reimplementation of Design Thinking in a Technological Development Institute. In Proceedings of the XXIII Brazilian Symposium on Software Quality. 526–534.
Franziska Dobrigkeit, Christoph Matthies, Ralf Teusner, and Michael Perscheid. 2021. Joining forces: Applying design thinking techniques in scrum meetings. Design Thinking Research: Translation, Prototyping, and Measurement (2021), 315–345.
Jennifer Hehn and Daniel Mendez. 2022. Combining design thinking and software requirements engineering to create human-centered software-intensive systems. In Design Thinking for Software Engineering: Creating Human-oriented Softwareintensive Products and Services. Springer, 11–60.
Jennifer Hehn, Daniel Mendez, Falk Uebernickel, Walter Brenner, and Manfred Broy. 2019. On integrating design thinking for human-centered requirements engineering. IEEE Software 37, 2 (2019), 25–31.
Luana Lobão, Brunna Talita Vieira Rabaioli, Elizabeth Gauthier, Lívia Lobão De Araújo, and Maria Alcimar Costa Meireles. 2023. The use of Design Thinking in creating projects and improving customer value perception: an experience report on software projects at a Research and Development Institute in Amazonas. In Proceedings of the XXII Brazilian Symposium on Software Quality. 264–273.
Anna BS Marques, Bruna Ferreira, Adriana Lopes, and Williamson Silva. 2020. Stimulating the development of soft skills in Software Engineering Education through Design Thinking.. In SBES. 690–699.
Maria Meireles, Sabrina Souza, José Carlos Duarte, Tayana Uchoa Conte, and Jose Carlos Maldonado. 2022. Evaluating Approaches to Selecting Design Thinking Techniques: Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis. In Proceedings of the XXI Brazilian Symposium on Software Quality. 1–10.
Maria Alcimar Costa Meireles, Juliana Magalhães, Nasthya Barauna, Sabrina Rocha, Jose Carlos Maldonado, and Tayana Conte. 2024. Guiding the Way: Facilitating Requirements Elicitation with Selection Universe Approach. In Simpósio Brasileiro de Engenharia de Software (SBES). SBC, 158–168.
Manoel Mendonça, Daniela Cruzes, Josemeire Dias, and Maria Cristina Ferreira de Oliveira. 2006. Using observational pilot studies to test and improve lab packages. In Proceedings of the 2006 ACM/IEEE international symposium on Empirical software engineering. 48–57.
Carla Pacheco, Ivan García, and Miryam Reyes. 2018. Requirements elicitation techniques: a systematic literature review based on the maturity of the techniques. IET Software 12, 4 (2018), 365–378.
Maria Palacin-Silva, Jayden Khakurel, Ari Happonen, Timo Hynninen, and Jari Porras. 2017. Infusing design thinking into a software engineering capstone course. In 2017 IEEE 30th Conference on Software Engineering Education and Training (CSEE&T). IEEE, 212–221.
Rafael Parizi, Lucas Hanauer, Sabrina Marczak, and Tayana Conte. 2024. Helius: A Design Thinking Techniques Recommendation System in Software Development. In Simpósio Brasileiro de Engenharia de Software (SBES). SBC, 762–768.
Rafael Parizi, Matheus Prestes, Sabrina Marczak, and Tayana Conte. 2022. How has design thinking being used and integrated into software development activities? A systematic mapping. Journal of Systems and Software (2022), 111217.
Lauriane Pereira, Rafael Parizi, Matheus Prestes, Sabrina Marczak, and Tayana Conte. 2021. Towards an understanding of benefits and challenges in the use of design thinking in requirements engineering. In Proceedings of the 36th Annual ACM Symposium on Applied Computing. 1338–1345.
Paul Ralph, Rashina Hoda, and Christoph Treude. 2020. ACM SIGSOFT empirical standards. (2020).
Anderson Souza, Bruna Ferreira, Natasha Valentim, Lauriane Correa, Sabrina Marczak, and Tayana Conte. 2020. Supporting the teaching of design thinking techniques for requirements elicitation through a recommendation tool. IET Software 14, 6 (2020), 693–701.
Sabrina Souza, Maria Meireles, José Carlos Duarte, Jose Carlos Maldonado, and Tayana Conte. 2022. Design for IoT: An Experimental Study to Understand How Design Thinking Can Help in the Elicitation of Requirements for IoT Systems. In Proceedings of the XXI Brazilian Symposium on Software Quality. 1–10.
Klaas-Jan Stol, Paul Ralph, and Brian Fitzgerald. 2016. Grounded theory in software engineering research: a critical review and guidelines. In Proceedings of the 38th International conference on software engineering. 120–131.
Anselm Strauss and Juliet Corbin. 1998. Basics of qualitative research techniques. (1998).
Natasha M Costa Valentim, Williamson Silva, and Tayana Conte. 2017. The students’ perspectives on applying design thinking for the design of mobile applications. In 2017 IEEE/ACM 39th International Conference on Software Engineering: Software Engineering Education and Training Track (ICSE-SEET). IEEE, 77–86.
Jéssyka Vilela and Alessio Ferrari. 2021. Sapeer approach for training requirements analysts: An application tailored to a low-resource context. In International Working Conference on Requirements Engineering: Foundation for Software Quality. Springer, 191–207.
Jéssyka Vilela and Carla Silva. 2023. An Experience Report on the use of Problembased learning and Design Thinking in a Requirements Engineering Postgraduate Course. In Proceedings of the XXXVII Brazilian Symposium on Software Engineering. 432–441.
Qing Yu, Kun Yu, and Rongri Lin. 2024. A meta-analysis of the effects of design thinking on student learning. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications 11, 1 (2024), 1–12.
Walter Brenner, Falk Uebernickel, and Thomas Abrell. 2016. Design thinking as mindset, process, and toolbox: Experiences from research and teaching at the University of St. Gallen. Design thinking for innovation: Research and practice (2016), 3–21.
Ricardo Britto and Muhammad Usman. 2015. Bloom’s taxonomy in software engineering education: A systematic mapping study. In 2015 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE). IEEE, 1–8.
Edna Dias Canedo, Angélica Toffano Seidel Calazans, Geovana Ramos Sousa Silva, Pedro Henrique Teixeira Costa, Rodrigo Pereira de Mesquita, and Eloisa Toffano Seidel Masson. 2022. Creativity and design thinking as facilitators in requirements elicitation. International Journal of Software Engineering and Knowledge Engineering 32, 10 (2022), 1527–1558.
Edna Dias Canedo, Ana Carolina Dos Santos Pergentino, Angelica Toffano Seidel Calazans, Frederico Viana Almeida, Pedro Henrique Teixeira Costa, and Fernanda Lima. 2020. Design Thinking Use in Agile Software Projects: Software Developers’ Perception.. In ICEIS (2). 217–224.
Cecilia Challiol, Andrés Rodriguez, and Alejandra Garrido. 2025. Training from experiential learning’s vision to acquire Design Thinking as a thought process. Thinking Skills and Creativity (2025), 101829.
Maria Alcimar Costa Meireles, Ádria Afonso, Brunna Talita Vieira Rabaioli, Karen Soares, Lívia Lobão de Araújo, Luana Lobão, Jose Carlos Maldonado, and Tayana Conte. 2024. Value Generation in Software Projects: Lessons Learned from the Reimplementation of Design Thinking in a Technological Development Institute. In Proceedings of the XXIII Brazilian Symposium on Software Quality. 526–534.
Franziska Dobrigkeit, Christoph Matthies, Ralf Teusner, and Michael Perscheid. 2021. Joining forces: Applying design thinking techniques in scrum meetings. Design Thinking Research: Translation, Prototyping, and Measurement (2021), 315–345.
Jennifer Hehn and Daniel Mendez. 2022. Combining design thinking and software requirements engineering to create human-centered software-intensive systems. In Design Thinking for Software Engineering: Creating Human-oriented Softwareintensive Products and Services. Springer, 11–60.
Jennifer Hehn, Daniel Mendez, Falk Uebernickel, Walter Brenner, and Manfred Broy. 2019. On integrating design thinking for human-centered requirements engineering. IEEE Software 37, 2 (2019), 25–31.
Luana Lobão, Brunna Talita Vieira Rabaioli, Elizabeth Gauthier, Lívia Lobão De Araújo, and Maria Alcimar Costa Meireles. 2023. The use of Design Thinking in creating projects and improving customer value perception: an experience report on software projects at a Research and Development Institute in Amazonas. In Proceedings of the XXII Brazilian Symposium on Software Quality. 264–273.
Anna BS Marques, Bruna Ferreira, Adriana Lopes, and Williamson Silva. 2020. Stimulating the development of soft skills in Software Engineering Education through Design Thinking.. In SBES. 690–699.
Maria Meireles, Sabrina Souza, José Carlos Duarte, Tayana Uchoa Conte, and Jose Carlos Maldonado. 2022. Evaluating Approaches to Selecting Design Thinking Techniques: Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis. In Proceedings of the XXI Brazilian Symposium on Software Quality. 1–10.
Maria Alcimar Costa Meireles, Juliana Magalhães, Nasthya Barauna, Sabrina Rocha, Jose Carlos Maldonado, and Tayana Conte. 2024. Guiding the Way: Facilitating Requirements Elicitation with Selection Universe Approach. In Simpósio Brasileiro de Engenharia de Software (SBES). SBC, 158–168.
Manoel Mendonça, Daniela Cruzes, Josemeire Dias, and Maria Cristina Ferreira de Oliveira. 2006. Using observational pilot studies to test and improve lab packages. In Proceedings of the 2006 ACM/IEEE international symposium on Empirical software engineering. 48–57.
Carla Pacheco, Ivan García, and Miryam Reyes. 2018. Requirements elicitation techniques: a systematic literature review based on the maturity of the techniques. IET Software 12, 4 (2018), 365–378.
Maria Palacin-Silva, Jayden Khakurel, Ari Happonen, Timo Hynninen, and Jari Porras. 2017. Infusing design thinking into a software engineering capstone course. In 2017 IEEE 30th Conference on Software Engineering Education and Training (CSEE&T). IEEE, 212–221.
Rafael Parizi, Lucas Hanauer, Sabrina Marczak, and Tayana Conte. 2024. Helius: A Design Thinking Techniques Recommendation System in Software Development. In Simpósio Brasileiro de Engenharia de Software (SBES). SBC, 762–768.
Rafael Parizi, Matheus Prestes, Sabrina Marczak, and Tayana Conte. 2022. How has design thinking being used and integrated into software development activities? A systematic mapping. Journal of Systems and Software (2022), 111217.
Lauriane Pereira, Rafael Parizi, Matheus Prestes, Sabrina Marczak, and Tayana Conte. 2021. Towards an understanding of benefits and challenges in the use of design thinking in requirements engineering. In Proceedings of the 36th Annual ACM Symposium on Applied Computing. 1338–1345.
Paul Ralph, Rashina Hoda, and Christoph Treude. 2020. ACM SIGSOFT empirical standards. (2020).
Anderson Souza, Bruna Ferreira, Natasha Valentim, Lauriane Correa, Sabrina Marczak, and Tayana Conte. 2020. Supporting the teaching of design thinking techniques for requirements elicitation through a recommendation tool. IET Software 14, 6 (2020), 693–701.
Sabrina Souza, Maria Meireles, José Carlos Duarte, Jose Carlos Maldonado, and Tayana Conte. 2022. Design for IoT: An Experimental Study to Understand How Design Thinking Can Help in the Elicitation of Requirements for IoT Systems. In Proceedings of the XXI Brazilian Symposium on Software Quality. 1–10.
Klaas-Jan Stol, Paul Ralph, and Brian Fitzgerald. 2016. Grounded theory in software engineering research: a critical review and guidelines. In Proceedings of the 38th International conference on software engineering. 120–131.
Anselm Strauss and Juliet Corbin. 1998. Basics of qualitative research techniques. (1998).
Natasha M Costa Valentim, Williamson Silva, and Tayana Conte. 2017. The students’ perspectives on applying design thinking for the design of mobile applications. In 2017 IEEE/ACM 39th International Conference on Software Engineering: Software Engineering Education and Training Track (ICSE-SEET). IEEE, 77–86.
Jéssyka Vilela and Alessio Ferrari. 2021. Sapeer approach for training requirements analysts: An application tailored to a low-resource context. In International Working Conference on Requirements Engineering: Foundation for Software Quality. Springer, 191–207.
Jéssyka Vilela and Carla Silva. 2023. An Experience Report on the use of Problembased learning and Design Thinking in a Requirements Engineering Postgraduate Course. In Proceedings of the XXXVII Brazilian Symposium on Software Engineering. 432–441.
Qing Yu, Kun Yu, and Rongri Lin. 2024. A meta-analysis of the effects of design thinking on student learning. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications 11, 1 (2024), 1–12.
Publicado
22/09/2025
Como Citar
RODRIGUES, Eriky; SILVA, Nabson; MEIRELES, Maria; MALDONADO, José Carlos; LIMA, Márcia; CONTE, Tayana.
Bloom’s Taxonomy as a Lens to Explore Student Learning of Design Thinking in Software Engineering Education and Training. In: SIMPÓSIO BRASILEIRO DE ENGENHARIA DE SOFTWARE (SBES), 39. , 2025, Recife/PE.
Anais [...].
Porto Alegre: Sociedade Brasileira de Computação,
2025
.
p. 610-620.
ISSN 2833-0633.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5753/sbes.2025.11302.
