Using HCI to Promote Mindfulness in Student Decision-Making in College

Abstract

In the widely studied field of student decision-making, a growing online presence creates an important sub-field - technological mindfulness - which can be studied through human computer interaction (HCI). Technological mindfulness is important to study because technology centers the online student decision-making experience, yet, technology can lead to a lack of mindfulness. As student decision-making relies on key tenets of mindfulness such as reflection, presence, and learning, it is therefore counter-productive for student decision-making technology to contribute to a loss in mindfulness. This highlights a need for intentional design in student decision-making technology to invoke mindfulness. This paper thus aims to contribute to technological mindfulness within student decision-making by first providing a literature review on mindfulness in HCI and then proposing future work using Gradual -an online college planning tool - to study the impact of designing for mindfulness in student decision-making technology. This work could add meaning to students' overall academic experiences and potentially create a greater likelihood of future success.