Fall 2026

Introduction to Human-computer Interaction

Introduction to human-computer interaction focusing on user-centered design, prototyping, and usability evaluation through group projects.

offering recorded3 credits
Recorded instructors · Fall 2026 Jacob Thebault-Spieker3.6/5

Summary

1 / 6

Workload perceptions vary significantly. Some reviewers describe the class as very easy with minimal coding, while others cite 8-10 hour weekly assignments and confusion over project requirements.

Grade history

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average GPA
letter grades
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All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Prerequisites

Course map

Junior standing or declared in the Capstone Certificate in Computer Sciences for Professionals

  • Junior standing or declared in the Capstone Certificate in Computer Sciences for Professionals
COMPSCI 570

This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.

Prerequisite text tree
  • Junior standing or declared in the Capstone Certificate in Computer Sciences for Professionals

Professors

Fall 2026
/5Adjusted rating
/5RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 3.48/5 from 31 quality ratings. The adjusted rating blends this with the UW review average (3.66/5), weighted as 20 additional ratings. Smaller samples stay closer to that average. Each captured review is counted once in the prior; this does not correct who chooses to leave a review.

For this course: 2.9/5 raw quality · 2.1/5 difficulty · 18 reviews

RMP profile ↗ · All captured review dates; profile matched by name.

Jacob Thebault-Spieker receives criticism for unclear assignment instructions and vague lectures that lack coding practice. Reviewers report confusion regarding project requirements and describe the instruction as unhelpful or disorganized.

Other students praise Thebault-Spieker for his passion and clear lectures that align with assignments. They describe the course as easy and recommend it for students seeking a manageable workload.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 3.91 GPA, 96.4% A/AB (n=247 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.95 GPA, 98.3% A/AB (n=238 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.90 GPA, 95.9% A/AB (n=217 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

Historical reviews for Irene Rae and Tracy Lewis-Williams describe a projects-based course with heavy group work and subjective grading. While some students found the HCI projects creative and the instructors knowledgeable, others reported chaotic organization, boring slide-reading lectures, and inaccessible professors. Disagreements exist regarding difficulty and grading fairness, with some finding it easy and others citing poor structure and unhelpful TAs.

IRENE RAE is recorded teaching in Spring 2014. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

JACOB THEBAULT-SPIEKER is recorded teaching in Fall 2021, Spring 2022, Fall 2022, Spring 2023, Spring 2024, Fall 2024, Spring 2025, Fall 2025, Spring 2026. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

TRACY LEWIS-WILLIAMS is recorded teaching in Spring 2016, Spring 2017, Spring 2018, Spring 2020. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Calendar & sections

Fall 2026

Schedule loads here as you scroll.

SectionModeEnrolled / capacityWaitlist
LEC 001Classroom Instruction250 / 25018

Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections. Enrollment reflects scan time.

Meeting source records
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Student experience

the class

Jacob Thebault-Spieker receives sharply divided reviews. Some students find the course easy and well-structured, while others report vague requirements, boring lectures, and excessive workload.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 3.91 GPA, 96.4% A/AB (n=247 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.95 GPA, 98.3% A/AB (n=238 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.90 GPA, 95.9% A/AB (n=217 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

Workload perceptions vary significantly. Some reviewers describe the class as very easy with minimal coding, while others cite 8-10 hour weekly assignments and confusion over project requirements.

Students report conflicting experiences with lecture quality and clarity. Some find lectures boring and unhelpful, while others appreciate the passion and direct correlation to assignments.

Topics

  • User needs analysis
  • Interface prototyping
  • Usability evaluation
  • Interface design applications

Skills

  • Understanding user needs
  • Interface design and prototyping
  • Usability evaluation

Grades

Historical instructor

Fall 2026 · Projected

Before grades are released

– average GPA

Approximate 80% prediction interval

About this estimate

The course’s semester-average GPA, not an individual student’s grade. The center uses 4 same-season terms, weighted toward recent results.

The range uses the finite-sample 80th-percentile rank of absolute errors from earlier same-season forecasts. Each forecast uses only records from earlier terms. At least four forecasts are required; bounds are rounded outward and limited to 0–4. This is an empirical estimate: changing instructors or grading policies can reduce its coverage.

4 earlier forecasts · 0.09 GPA average error.

Grades over time

Through Fall 2026

More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data

Where this course fits relative to

Latest available grades · Spring 2026 · all course levels

GPA

Higher than % of other courses in this group.

Course GPAs · red marks this course’s range

letter grades

More recorded grades than % of other courses in this group.

Typical course in this group: letter grades.

About this comparison

1283 courses over the same term, each with at least 30 recorded letter grades. Cross-listed courses count once. GPA is not a measure of difficulty or teaching quality. The typical course is the median by recorded grade count; tied values are not counted as lower. Grade counts describe course scale, not unique students or typical section size.

Descriptions compare GPA with this group’s average: at least 0.20 higher or lower; otherwise close to average. Section size uses median recorded enrollment: small up to 30, mid-sized 31–99, large 100+. Lectures and discussion/lab sections are described separately.

Sources & history

UW–Madison

Catalog & offerings

Descriptions, prerequisites, and recorded course offerings.

Catalog observation history

Observations at scan time; dates do not imply when a catalog change took effect.

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Selected offering source records
COMPSCI 570 · Fall 2026

Introduction to Human-Computer Interaction

Recorded 2026-09-07
Raw records
[
  {
    "run_id": "20260907T155543-ce3781c4",
    "semester": "1272",
    "observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00",
    "offering_id": "1272:266:023524",
    "course_id": "COMPSCI 570",
    "course_uid": "course_8e330bc7deed0164dc8f9e2b",
    "term_id": "1272",
    "source_course_id": "023524",
    "source_subject_id": "266",
    "title": "Introduction to Human-Computer Interaction",
    "credits_min": 3,
    "credits_max": 3,
    "typically_offered": "Spring"
  }
]
Rate My Professors

Student reviews

Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.

Read original reviews
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Madgrades

Grade history

Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.

Explore recorded grades
Dataset & model

Recorded 2026-09-07

Download the original dataset
Model outputs & technical records
nvidia/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-NVFP4
LLM outputs across runs
Download part 1
Full model traces

Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.

Download part 1
Model & dataset provenance
{
  "model": "nvidia/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-NVFP4",
  "model_revision": "1355db6a052410cfd62085d94b58866fd0f2c3c5",
  "task_version": "14",
  "output_id": "627622624f8aae04b13e5bbe953de87f2d233a1d2be29c1faf6f0e66138fa8ed",
  "requirements_status": "valid",
  "dataset_revision": "e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349",
  "observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00"
}