As computing education attracts increasingly diverse students, the need for adaptive and inclusive teaching approaches has become critical. Traditional pedagogical models often rely on standardized frameworks and evaluation methods that overlook the diversity of student experiences and learning styles, particularly in complex fields like UX design. This study employs a phenomenographic approach to evaluate and understand the range of student conceptions of UX design thinking in an undergraduate systems analysis and design course. Through the UX design thinking module, students engage with user-centered tools such as personas, customer journeys, and empathy maps. Analysis of student feedback reveals four experiential conceptions during the course—skepticism, adjustment, practical utility, and user-centeredness—showcasing the spectrum from surface-level understanding to deeper appreciation of UX principles. Findings demonstrate the effectiveness of phenomenography in capturing diverse learning experiences, underscoring its value as an evaluation tool for creating more inclusive and responsive UX design education. Future research should explore the effectiveness of the phenomenographic educational evaluation approach in fostering empathetic student development and enhancing inclusive teaching practices in computing education. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2026.
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