Problems teaching database design with information complexity to information systems undergraduates

Reviewer: Katherine S. Larason

Wilson describes the difficulties students experience with a database modeling project, and argues that dealing with open-ended problems helps to prepare business-oriented undergraduates for the kinds of activities they will encounter in the “real world.” Student teams are presented with problem requirements from which they must successively produce conceptual, logical, and physical database designs using modeling techniques discussed in the class. In addition to introducing and reinforcing database design concepts, the project forces students to choose solutions to problems which may be incompletely defined, and for which no best answer exists. The project renders many of the students uncomfortable and indecisive. They do not know where to start, they have difficulty understanding what is required, and they make little connection between the project and the design methodologies learned in class. Wilson suggests that these reactions can be traced to three factors: (1) lack of familiarity with unstructured environments; (2) lack of analytical problem solving skills; and (3) insufficient background knowledge. Ironically, teaching a class like the one described here is very much like working on the modeling assignment itself (the starting point is problematical; the process is time-consuming; how the final product should be evaluated is unclear) and it is often viewed with unease by the faculty. Although this paper contains nothing new or startling it strengthens the case for the inclusion of project-oriented courses in the IS curriculum. However, I cannot agree with Wilson's observations that students in business and technical fields are somehow different from other undergraduates and, therefore, unable to benefit from the humanities and science courses in the general curriculum.