199,073 research outputs found

    SimProgramming : the development of an integrated teaching approach for computer programming in higher education

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    ConferĂȘncia realizada em ValĂȘncia de 7-9 de março de 2016Computer programming courses in higher education tend to have high rates of academic failure and students struggle, particularly so in the transition from entry-level programming to advanced programming. Some of the reasons given in the literature relate to the type of teaching approach and the strategies used by students and their attitudes towards computer programming. The literature also mentions that educational approaches are not always appropriate to the needs of students and to the development of skills required in the job market. We developed a teaching approach to try to address some of these issues and support students learning computer programming in the transition from entry-level to advanced computer programming: the SimProgramming approach. This approach was introduced at the University of TrĂĄs-os-Montes e Alto Douro (Portugal), within the scope of the course “Programming Methodologies III”, part of the second curricular year of the programmes of studies in Informatics Engineering and in Information & Communication Technologies. We present in detail the origins of the SimProgramming approach, starting from the first trials that introduced, in two iterations, learning activities based on problem-based learning, and up to the third iteration where the current SimProgramming approach was implemented. We describe the reasoning, design and implementation of these three iterations, to show how the approach evolved. The SimProgramming approach is based in four conceptual foundations: business-like learning environment, self-regulated learning, co-regulated learning and formative assessment. For each of these conceptual foundations, we explain the teaching strategies adopted. In SimProgramming, the learning activity process develops in four phases, and students have specific tasks in each phase. We analyse interview data regarding student perceptions about the SimProgramming approach, and registration grids data on team work dynamics and final assessment of the assignment, noting the impact of SimProgramming in student grades. The application of SimProgramming revealed promising evidences in the overall results of student learning in the activities proposed in this approach. The average grades improved, and did the number of students regularly submitting their tasks on schedule. The perceptions of students regarding the SimProgramming approach are very positive: they recommend using it in the following years, and provided some suggestions to improve the approach. We conclude with reflections and recommendations for subsequent development of the SimProgramming approach in its application to the teaching of computer programming and potential for using it in other educational contexts.FC

    Meeting the growing demand for engineers and their educators: the potential for open and distance learning

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    As with all teaching, open and distance approaches are successful only if based on good pedagogical design addressing the purpose, structure and pace of the material, hence engaging students and encouraging active learning. For distance learning such pedagogical design is often expensive, and can only be justified by comparatively large student numbers. Much open and distance teaching offers meagre student support. To be successful, course developers must integrate student support into the learning materials, including such elements as a modest number of face-to-face sessions or electronic communication at a distance. This presentation discusses these issues in the context of SET distance teaching and presents examples of good practice from the UKOU, including: ‱ an introductory course in ICT that adopts an issues-based approach, in order to de-mystify the subject and make it more attractive to students ‱ resource-based approaches in engineering education ‱ team projects at a distance ‱ an emphasis on ‘active learning’ An argument is also to be made for the importance of openness if we really wish to promote engineering. In this context ‘openness’ means making programmes available to all students (even those without formal school-leaving qualifications) that will ultimately enable them to qualify as a professional engineer or an educator of engineers. The traditional approach to engineering education has been hierarchical and linear: a good school leaving certificate in mathematics / science followed by an often very theoretical university education plus an application-oriented final project. If we are serious about attracting new engineers, this will no longer do. An open and distance approach to engineering formation, based on outcomes rather than input educational levels, and with an emphasis on lifelong learning and professional development, can make a major contribution to chang

    AM-OER: An Agile Method for the Development of Open Educational Resources

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    Open Educational Resources have emerged as important elements of education in the contemporary society, promoting life-long and personalized learning that transcends social, eco- nomic and geographical barriers. To achieve the potential of OERs and bring impact on education, it is necessary to increase their development and supply. However, one of the current challenges is how to produce quality and relevant OERs to be reused and adapted to different contexts and learning situations. In this paper we proposed an agile method for the development of OERs – AM-OER, grounded on agile practices from Software Engineering. Learning Design practices from the OULDI project (UK Open University) are also embedded into the AM-OER aiming at improving quality and facilitating reuse and adaptation of OERs. In order to validate AM-OER, an experiment was conducted by applying it in the development of an OER on software testing. The results showed preliminary evidences on the applicability, effectiveness and ef ciency of the method in the development of OERs

    Experimenting with Realism in Software Engineering Team Projects: An Experience Report

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    Over Several years, we observed that our students were sceptical of Software Engineering practices, because we did not convey the experience and demands of production quality software development. Assessment focused on features delivered, rather than imposing responsibility for longer term `technical debt'. Academics acting as 'uncertain' customers were rejected as malevolent and implausible. Student teams composed of novices lacked the benefits of leadership provided by more experienced engineers. To address these shortcomings, real customers were introduced, exposing students to real requirements uncertainty. Flipped classroom teaching was adopted, giving teams one day each week to work on their project in a redesigned laboratory. Software process and quality were emphasised in the course assessment, imposing technical debt. Finally, we introduced a leadership course for senior students, who acted as mentors to the project team students. This paper reports on the experience of these changes, from the perspective of different stakeholders

    Assessing collaborative and experiential learning

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    Collaborative and experiential learning has many proven merits. Team projects with real clients motivate students to put in the time for successfully completing demanding projects. However, assessing student performance where individual student contributions are separated from the collective contribution of the team as a whole is not a straightforward, simple task. Assessment data from multiple sources, including students as assessors of their own work and peers\u27 work, is critical to measuring certain student learning outcomes, such as responsible team work and timely communication. In this paper we present our experience with assessing collaborative and experiential learning in five Computer Information Systems courses. The courses were scheduled over three semesters and enrolled 57 students. Student performance and student feedback data were used to evaluate and refine our assessment methodology. We argue that assessment data analysis improved our understanding of (1) the assessment measures that support more closely targeted learning outcomes and (2) how those measures should be implemented

    A collaborative and experiential learning model powered by real-world projects

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    Information Technology (IT) curricula\u27s strong application component and its focus on user centeredness and team work require that students experience directly real-world projects for real users of IT solutions. Although the merit of this IT educational tenet is universally recognized, delivering collaborative and experiential learning has its challenges. Reaching out to identify projects formulated by actual organizations adds significantly to course preparation. There is a certain level of risk involved with delivering a useful solution while, at the same time, enough room should be allowed for students to experiment with, be wrong about, review, and learn. Challenges pertaining to the real-world aspect of problem-based learning are compounded by managing student teams and assessing their work such that both individual and collective contributions are taken into account. Finally, the quality of the project releases is not the only measure of student learning. Students should be given meaningful opportunities to practice, improve, and demonstrate their communication and interpersonal skills. In this paper we present our experience with two courses in which teams of students worked on real-world projects involving three external partners. We describe how each of the challenges listed above has impacted the course requirements, class instruction, team dynamics, assessment, and learning in these courses. Course assessment and survey data from students are linked to learning outcomes and point to areas where the collaborative and experiential learning model needs improvement

    A project based approach to learning for first year engineering students

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    Support for transition from Leaving Certificate and entry to college for 1st year engineering students can be difficult to achieve. This new course offers an innovative project based approach to learning for 1st years with an introduction to design to build confidence in student ability and give motivation in research and discovery skills. The project takes place in small groups and relies heavily on presentation, group and individual skills. The Mechanical and Manufacturing and the Electronic Engineering Schools at Dublin City University offered this new module for all first year Engineering Students in 2006. The course entitled, ‘Project and Laboratory Skills’ was an immediate success with increased participation and retention rates and a high level of academic success in assessment. This paper highlights the overall module concepts, teaching and learning outcomes and the resources required for such a module

    Teaching electronics-ICT : from focus and structure to practical realizations

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    We present a four-year electronics-ICT educational master program at Ghent University in Belgium. The students develop knowledge and skills from novice to experienced electronic circuit designers. In the corresponding topics, the immersion into engineering problems is deepened. The horizontal and vertical alignment of courses in the four-year master program at our university is discussed. The curriculum of the four-year master program is highly projectoriented and all topics are clustered around a well-considered set of standards. This clustering supports the logical structure of the program, with students gradually acquiring the necessary competences. All standards and their mutual interaction are extensively discussed in the paper. We also focus on four design-implement projects included in the electronics-ICT program, explicitly following CDIO-guidelines. Whereas the first-year project has a limited level of difficulty, the challenges increase significantly in the course of the next years. Students learn that product design is an iterative process on different levels, where the design strategy can be changed continuously based on important and crucial feedback. Different evaluations have demonstrated that our students are not only aware of CDIO-principles, but are also convinced of the quality of the results obtained by following the standards
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