An Empirical Study Comparing the Learning Environments of Open and Closed Computer Laboratories

In Computer Science and Information Systems courses, where the computer is an integral part of the course, there are two main ways in which the practical component of the course, the computer laboratory class, may be organized. They may be closed laboratories which are scheduled and staffed in the same way as other classes, or open laboratories where the students come and go as they please. In universities in the United States, the open laboratory is more common, whereas in Australia, it is the closed laboratory that provides the practical experience for students. This study investigates differences between students’ perceptions of some aspects of the learning environment of open and closed computer laboratories, and also investigates differences in student outcomes from courses that adopt these two approaches to organizing computer laboratory classes. The use of closed laboratories requires more resources in terms of physical space and equipment and greater commitment on the part of the faculty. This study investigates whether the extra resources and commitment lead to an improvement in student outcomes. In the study, two previously developed instruments, the Computer Laboratory Environment Inventory (CLEI) and the Attitude towards Computing and Computing Courses Questionnaire (ACCC) were used. The CLEI has five scales for measuring students’ perceptions of aspects of their laboratory environment. These are Student Cohesiveness, Open-Endedness, Integration, Technology Adequacy and Laboratory Availability. The ACCC has four scales, Anxiety, Enjoyment, Usefulness of Computers and Usefulness of the Course. Of the environment variables, significant differences in the means were found for Open- Endedness, Technology Adequacy and Laboratory Availability. There was also a difference for Anxiety. There was no significant difference in achievement by students on the courses

Collaborative problem solving and program development model

A model to enhance collaborative problem solving and program development is presented. The collaborative model is a detailed cognitive model that takes into consideration the cognitive and social activities that occur during collaborative problem solving and program development. The cognitive activities required for collaborative problem solving and program development are identified and integrated into a six-stage model. An extensive literature review in the associated fields is presented to show the need for the model described in this dissertation. In addition, a comprehensive study of tools to support collaboration during problem solving and program development was also performed as well as a critique of these tools. A detailed statistical experiment to study the effect of this model on subjects, collaboratively solving a software problem was designed and executed. The experiment included testing the collaborative problem solving and program development model with and without assistance from groupware tools. The subject teams each constructed a software design and this design was evaluated based on, research hypotheses. This experiment produced results indicating the positive effect the Collaborative Model has on problem understanding and the quality of solution planning during collaborative problem solving and program development efforts