Effects of Real-World Experiences in Active Learning (R.E.A.L.) Applied in an Information Systems Data Communication and Networking Course

The purpose of this study was to determine if the use of Real-World Experiences in Active Learning (R.E.A.L.) impacted student learning outcomes in an undergraduate information systems (IS) data communication and networking course. A quasi-experimental, quantitative approach was used to investigate whether the R.E.A.L. treatments, used as active learning strategies, significantly impacted student performance, short-term retention, long-term retention, and student engagement. The data collection was completed in one semester. Participants were students enrolled in an IS data communication and networking course during the Fall 2019 semester. The students, enrolled in the two sections of the course, were taught using a crossover design where each student received eight treatments. The researcher of the study served as the instructor for both sections. The research question and four hypotheses were analyzed using repeated measures MANCOVA and multi-level modeling (MLM). After a statistical analysis of the direct effects of the R.E.A.L. treatments on student performance, short term retention, long term retention, and engagement, none of the four hypotheses were fully supported. The results indicated that the R.E.A.L. xiii treatments did not significantly impact the student learning outcomes from the course. Research findings partially supported hypothesis H1 indicating that age, ethnicity, and major have some influence on students’ performance and age may have some influence on short-term retention. Statistically significant results were obtained for the H1a Network treatment (F(1,28) = 6.033, p = 0.021, partial η2 = 0.177), meaning that the mean for the H1a Network treatment (M = 90.842) was significantly different than the lecture mean (M = 75.533). The H1b Handshake treatment (F(1,28) = 15.405, p = .001, partial η2 = 0.355) and the H1c Wireless treatment (F(1,28) = 11.385, p = .002, partial η2 = 0.289) produced results in the reverse direction of what was hypothesized, meaning that the mean for the H1b Handshake treatment (M = 49.800) and the H1c Wireless treatment (M = 86.842) were significantly lower than the lecture means for both hypothesis tests. Research findings partially supported hypothesis H2 indicating that age may have influence on short-term retention. Statistically significant results were obtained for the H2e Network speed treatment (F(1,28) = 5.709, p = 0.024, partial η2 = 0.164) and H2f Network management treatment (F(1,28) = 5.654, p = 0.024, partial η2 = 0.163). However, findings from the MLM post hoc tests of direct, interaction, and indirect effects did show some areas for future work in certain demographics, especially gender and ethnicity. Findings of the study were not shown to be significant however, the post hoc testing revealed areas where future work could be beneficial

The implementation and evaluation of a sequential, structured approach for teaching LogoWriter to classroom teachers

The goal of this exploratory study was to implement and evaluate a Logo inservice model which focused on effective principles of staff development and emphasized Logo problem solving using teacher-mediated intervention strategies. The model was designed to facilitate teacher use of Logo in their classrooms;Subjects for this study included 19 elementary teachers and media specialists from the Ames Community Schools. Subjects completed The Stages of Concern Questionnaire (SoCQ), the LogoWriter Basic Comprehension Test, END-OF-DAY inventories, and the Inservice Evaluation LogoWriter Workshop Instrument. Additional outcome measures included projects shared during a final inservice sharing session, and questions, worksheets, and tape recordings from a follow-up discussion session;Results measuring change in teacher stages of concern indicated all participants, except one, made significant shifts to higher stages focusing on using Logo with students. Seven participants were identified as showing potential nonuse tendencies in implementing Logo into their classrooms. Support for Logo implementation was found for structured instructional teaching balanced with opportunities for discovery-based learning;Results from teacher self report of mastery of LogoWriter knowledge and skills indicated that subjects reported mastery of 20 out of 27 objectives. In addition, results from the LogoWriter Basic Comprehension Test validated these self reports. A t-test pairs procedure on the LogoWriter test indicated that there was a significant difference between the pre- and posttest group means (p \u3c.001). Auxiliary findings included results in teacher perceptions of Logo and gender differences;Evaluation of the Logo inservice provided positive support for the Logo inservice approach providing organization and structure and opportunity for individual exploration. Subjects also responded favorably to the inservice sharing session of Logo projects and teaching strategies, and the follow-up sharing session discussing implementation, curriculum integration, classroom management, and Logo procedural concerns. The study found that a structured Logo inservice appears to be a positive step in promoting future use of Logo in the classroom

Introductory programming: a systematic literature review

As computing becomes a mainstream discipline embedded in the school curriculum and acts as an enabler for an increasing range of academic disciplines in higher education, the literature on introductory programming is growing. Although there have been several reviews that focus on specific aspects of introductory programming, there has been no broad overview of the literature exploring recent trends across the breadth of introductory programming. This paper is the report of an ITiCSE working group that conducted a systematic review in order to gain an overview of the introductory programming literature. Partitioning the literature into papers addressing the student, teaching, the curriculum, and assessment, we explore trends, highlight advances in knowledge over the past 15 years, and indicate possible directions for future research

The reduction of computer anxiety: its relation to relaxation training, previous computer training, achievement and need for cognition

This study examined computer anxiety and its relationship to four areas: computer literacy training, relaxation exercises, achievement and the personality variable need for cognition. Subjects were college students in a semester long computer literacy course that was part of a teacher preparation program. Computer anxiety was measured using the Computer Anxiety Index (CAIN). The CAIN was taken by students at three times in the semester, at the beginning of the course, after six weeks, and at the end of the course. Need for cognition was measured using the Need for Cognition Scale and it was taken by students during the second week of the class. Achievement was assessed using grades assigned in the class;From the data gathered in this study, there was evidence found that supported the position that computer literacy training was an effective means for reducing computer anxiety, however, computer anxiety was not reduced during the first six weeks of the semester long computer literacy course. A significant, but weak relationship between the personality variable need for cognition, and reduction of computer anxiety was also discovered. Last, this study found that the relationship between computer anxiety and achievement in a computer literacy course was more strongly related to postcourse computer anxiety than it was to precourse computer anxiety

K-12 Mathematics: What Should Students Learn and When Should They Learn it?

The conference was held at the National Rural Electric Cooperative Conference Center on February 5-6, 2007 and Organized by the Center for the Study of Mathematics Curriculum. The conference was also webcast and archived sessions are available at: http://cltnet.org/cltnet/misc/csmcmath07/In the fall of 2006 several influential national groups (Achieve, American Statistical Association, College Board, and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics) developed and released documents that recommended curriculum standards or focal points for K-12 mathematics. In response, the Center for the Study of Mathematics Curriculum (CSMC) organized several meetings of representatives of each group to discuss the nature of their work and possible collaboration. As a result of those meetings, the groups agreed to cosponsor a national conference to highlight the recommendations and to engage “users” of standards (state and district curriculum specialists, textbook and assessment publishers, K-12 district and teacher leaders, and representatives from higher education and business) in discussions about implications for their work.This report is based on the work of the Center for the Study of Mathematics Curriculum, supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. ESI-0333879. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation

The Effects Of Applying Authentic Learning Strategies To Develop Computational Thinking Skills In Computer Literacy Students

This study attempts to determine if authentic learning strategies can be used to acquire knowledge of and increase motivation for computational thinking. Over 600 students enrolled in a computer literacy course participated in this study which involved completing a pretest, posttest and motivation survey. The students were divided into an experimental and control group based on class meeting day. The experimental group was given access to an authentic learning tool called COTHAULE. COTHAULE, which is an acronym that stands for Computational Thinking Authentic Learning Environment, is a website that was developed using a variety of technologies. The intellection behind COTHAULE was to take every-day experiences that could pertain to life in a college campus environment and merge them with computational thinking concepts and the learning objectives of a common computer literacy course. Examples of experiences were formed into five case studies each containing seven scenarios that read like a conversation taking place between students. The basic functionality of the tool was to load a video clip into the website for the student to watch for each scenario then present the student with an authentic learning activity and problem to solve. The authentic learning activities involved such topics as searching, sorting and filtering tables using software such as Microsoft Word and Excel and translating the activities into computational thinking concepts. A control group received a set of traditional textbook style online learning materials. A pretest and posttest was used to measure learning for each group. The study concluded that although there was a significant increase in learning between the pretest and posttest for both groups, there was no significant difference in learning by one group over the other group. The study also concluded that the motivation of the control group was significantly greater than the experimental group. There were some gaps in the COTHAULE tool as it compares to the expectations of an authentic learning environment and should be revisited. Improvements to the overall design of COTHAULE should also be considered

Proceedings of the Second Program Visualization Workshop, 2002

The Program Visualization Workshops aim to bring together researchers who design and construct program visualizations and, above all, educators who use and evaluate visualizations in their teaching. The first workshop took place in July 2000 at Porvoo, Finland. The second workshop was held in cooperation with ACM SIGCSE and took place at HornstrupCentret, Denmark in June 2002, immediately following the ITiCSE 2002 Conference in Aarhus, Denmark

The effects of word processing and two common instructional methods on the essay revisions of twelfth grade students

Statement of the problem. The purpose of this study was to investigate the interaction between two common instructional methods--the use of editing questions and the use of models--and word processing in the revisions of twelfth-grade students. This study addressed the following questions: Will students\u27 revisions of analytical essays be significantly affected by the used of word processing? Will students\u27 revisions be significantly affected by the use of editing questions or writing models? And will there be a significant interaction between instructional method and computer use? Methods. A sample of 33 twelfth-grade students wrote four essays under four different conditions: word processing with model essays, word processing with editing questions, non-word processing with model essays, and non-word processing with editing questions. The resulting rough and final drafts were scored holistically, according to idea/example count, and according to error count. A statistical analysis of the differences between rough draft scores and final draft scores was then conducted using ANOVA and $t$-scores. Results. Holistic scores and idea/example counts for the final drafts were significantly greater than those for corresponding rough drafts, but there was no significant decrease in error/example counts. The study did not demonstrate a significant difference in changes in the three scores between rough and final drafts among the four conditions. The study did demonstrate a significantly higher idea/example count and error count for the final drafts of essays written with word processing. Conclusions. The study indicates that the use of word processing does affect the student\u27s composition process but will not necessarily improve the quality of the student\u27s writing or the quality of student revisions

Literariness Revisited: Deviation vs. Entrenched Ideas

‘Literariness’ basically means foregrounding. In this study it means: presenting a view that deviates from entrenched opinions. A poem by Emily Dickinson was manipulated: apart from the original version we constructed two versions which changed to entrenched ideas. Readers rated their reactions on 6 aesthetic dimensions, each comprising 5 Likert scales. Finally, they compared the three versions

The effects of feedback protocol and learning environment perceptions on self -regulated learning

The current research investigated the effects of differing feedback protocols in a multimedia learning environment to determine if changes would occur over time in goal orientation, self-regulation, self-efficacy or achievement. Subjects from an traditional undergraduate chemistry course were assigned to either a norm-referenced or self-referenced feedback group. Goal orientation and self-efficacy were measured via self-report surveys pre-post instruction, self-regulation was measured as the cumulative number of times each subject opened a worked example/self-explanation prompt while engaged in weekly web-based quizzes, and achievement was measured using final semester course grades. Perceptions of the learning environment were also probed as a potential mediating variable via self-report surveys by using a median split to assign subjects to either a class-task group, where learners believed that the instructor valued effort more than ability or a class-ability group, where learners believed that the instructor valued innate ability more than effort; Results revealed that subjects did not significantly change their goal orientation type or magnitude as a result of the differing feedback protocols, even with the addition of learning environment perception as a potential mediating variable. Overall, subjects made significant decreases along the mastery approach and performance approach goal orientation subscales. While this was not anticipated, the results are consistent with other recent research within this context (Senko & Harackiewicz, 2005). Subjects also did not demonstrate significant differences in self-regulation, although a trend did emerge with those from the norm-referenced feedback group with a class-task perception of the learning environment less likely to use worked examples. Subjects from this group also demonstrated the greatest gains in self-efficacy over the course of the semester; however these changes failed to meet the criterion for statistical significance and these differences did not lead to any notable differences in achievement. While it remains unclear as to why these subjects used worked examples less, the increase in self-efficacy is contrary to other studies along this line of research (Crippen & Earl, 2007). However, increases in self-efficacy from subjects with a class-task learning environment perception are supported in the literature (Midgley, Maehr, Hicks, Urdan, & Roeser, 1995); Recommendations for future research within this context such as authenticating subjects\u27 perceptions of their assigned treatment condition, introducing additional feedback protocols such as a combined, choice, or control condition and building in a better gauge to track the time and context of potential changes in goal orientation, self-regulation, and self-efficacy are also discussed