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

5th Annual Symposium of the United Kingdom & Ireland Engineering Education Research Network: Time for change

The proceedings of the 5th symposium of the UK & IE Engineering Education Network set about challenging the status quo in all areas of engineering education. Over two days colleagues discussed and debated a number of issues ranging from engineering in schools and attracting young people into engineering, to innovative engineering pedagogies. The highly contentious question of whether ‘maths’ is, or is not, a vital prerequisite to studying engineering at university was debated whilst an expert panel asked the question “Are engineering educators fit for purpose?”.Needless to say the Symposium proved to be a lively event. In an attempt to provide the engineering education community with a taste of the debates the short Symposium Papers presented here represent ‘the tip of the iceberg’ with regards to the wide range of problems and solutions discussed and proposed. Divided into three main sections this publication shows that the Symposium did indeed achieve its objective of ‘challenging the status quo’. The papers presented in the first section argue the case for change in engineering education. Whilst the second section turns to look at engineering education practice and pedagogy, with an additional section included to assure non-expert researchers are given a voice. The final section brings the document to a close with a number of papers that look at how colleagues across the UK are beginning to innovate change in the engineering classroom and beyond

E-Learning and Digital Education in the Twenty-First Century

E-learning and digital education approaches are evolving and changing the landscape of teaching and learning at all levels of education throughout the world. Innovation of emerging learning technologies is assisting e-learning and digital education to meet the needs of the 21st century. Due to the digital transformation of everyday practice, the process of learning and education has become more self-paced and accessible at any time from anywhere. The new generations of digital natives are growing up with a set of skills through their engagement with the digital world. In this context, this book includes a collection of chapters to facilitate continuous improvements including flexibility and accessibility in e-learning and digital education by exploring the challenges and opportunities of innovative approaches through the lenses of current theories, policies, and practices

A Systematic Literature Review of Requirements Engineering Education

Requirements engineering (RE) has established itself as a core software engineering discipline. It is well acknowledged that good RE leads to higher quality software and considerably reduces the risk of failure or budget-overspending of software development projects. It is of vital importance to train future software engineers in RE and educate future requirements engineers to adequately manage requirements in various projects. To this date, there exists no central concept of what RE education shall comprise. To lay a foundation, we report on a systematic literature review of the feld and provide a systematic map describing the current state of RE education. Doing so allows us to describe how the educational landscape has changed over the last decade. Results show that only a few established author collaborations exist and that RE education research is predominantly published in venues other than the top RE research venues (i.e., in venues other than the RE conference and journal). Key trends in RE instruction of the past decade include involvement of real or realistic stakeholders, teaching predominantly elicitation as an RE activity, and increasing student factors such as motivation or communication skills. Finally, we discuss open opportunities in RE education, such as training for security requirements and supply chain risk management, as well as developing a pedagogical foundation grounded in evidence of effective instructional approaches

Entrepreneurial Education Strengthening Resilience, Societal Change and Sustainability

Working life is in a major transition. Furthermore, environmental, societal, and economic problems challenge human activities. The need to develop reliance and sustainability also through higher education is evident. It has been anticipated that emphasis on entrepreneurship competencies will be even stronger in the future. In this book, Entrepreneurial Education Strengthening Resilience, Societal Change and Sustainability, we provide insights on how to develop entrepreneurial competencies within higher education and its existing networks. First, the book guides the reader to understand how political documents steer the implementation of global goals and what could be improved. Second, we present how pedagogical solutions and models can meaningfully support the development of entrepreneurial competencies in the field of higher education. We also show the complexity of this phenomenon, thus developing a deeper understanding of this educational issue. Third, we highlight the essence of developing teacher education in this context. Fourth, we stress that entrepreneurial competencies are also needed in the working life. Lastly, we present some interesting key points for developing entrepreneurial higher education from the entrepreneurial ecosystem point of view. The book consists of 13 articles from international scientific experts in this field. Our book provides new knowledge, ideas and opportunities for creating practices to enhance the development entrepreneurial, sustainable and resilient societies. The book is targeted to researchers, policy-makers, higher education providers, stakeholders, educators and trainers

Entrepreneurial Education Strengthening Resilience, Societal Change and Sustainability

Working life is in a major transition and environmental, societal, and economic problems challenge human activities. The need to develop reliance and sustainability also through higher education is evident. It has been anticipated that emphasis on entrepreneurship competencies will be even stronger in the future. In this reprint, we provide insights on how to develop entrepreneurial competencies within higher education and its existing networks. It guides the reader to understand how political documents steer the implementation of global goals and what could be improved. Second, we present how pedagogical solutions and models can meaningfully support the development of entrepreneurial competencies in the field of higher education. We show the complexity of this phenomenon, thus developing a deeper understanding of this educational issue. Third, we highlight the essence of developing teacher education in this context. Fourth, we stress that entrepreneurial competencies are also needed in the working life. We present some interesting key points for developing entrepreneurial higher education from the entrepreneurial ecosystem point of view. It consists of 13 articles from international scientific experts in this field and provides new knowledge, ideas and opportunities for creating practices to enhance the development entrepreneurial, sustainable and resilient societies. It is targeted to researchers, policy-makers, higher education providers, stakeholders, educators and trainers

Insights Into Global Engineering Education After the Birth of Industry 5.0

Insights Into Global Engineering Education After the Birth of Industry 5.0 presents a comprehensive overview of recent developments in the fields of engineering and technology. The book comprises single chapters authored by various researchers and edited by an expert active in the engineering education research area. It provides a thorough overview of the latest research efforts by international authors on engineering education and opens potential new research paths for further novel developments

Challenges for engineering students working with authentic complex problems

Engineers are important participants in solving societal, environmental and technical problems. However, due to an increasing complexity in relation to these problems new interdisciplinary competences are needed in engineering. Instead of students working with monodisciplinary problems, a situation where students work with authentic complex problems in interdisciplinary teams together with a company may scaffold development of new competences. The question is: What are the challenges for students structuring the work on authentic interdisciplinary problems? This study explores a three-day event where 7 students from Aalborg University (AAU) from four different faculties and one student from University College North Denmark (UCN), (6th-10th semester), worked in two groups at a large Danish company, solving authentic complex problems. The event was structured as a Hackathon where the students for three days worked with problem identification, problem analysis and finalizing with a pitch competition presenting their findings. During the event the students had workshops to support the work and they had the opportunity to use employees from the company as facilitators. It was an extracurricular activity during the summer holiday season. The methodology used for data collection was qualitative both in terms of observations and participants’ reflection reports. The students were observed during the whole event. Findings from this part of a larger study indicated, that students experience inability to transfer and transform project competences from their previous disciplinary experiences to an interdisciplinary setting

Exploring the practical use of a collaborative robot for academic purposes

This article presents a set of experiences related to the setup and exploration of potential educational uses of a collaborative robot (cobot). The basic principles that have guided the work carried out have been three. First and foremost, study of all the functionalities offered by the robot and exploration of its potential academic uses both in subjects focused on industrial robotics and in subjects of related disciplines (automation, communications, computer vision). Second, achieve the total integration of the cobot at the laboratory, seeking not only independent uses of it but also seeking for applications (laboratory practices) in which the cobot interacts with some of the other devices already existing at the laboratory (other industrial robots and a flexible manufacturing system). Third, reuse of some available components and minimization of the number and associated cost of required new components. The experiences, carried out following a project-based learning methodology under the framework of bachelor and master subjects and thesis, have focused on the integration of mechanical, electronic and programming aspects in new design solutions (end effector, cooperative workspace, artificial vision system integration) and case studies (advanced task programming, cybersecure communication, remote access). These experiences have consolidated the students' acquisition of skills in the transition to professional life by having the close collaboration of the university faculty with the experts of the robotics company.Postprint (published version