Obstacles in Learning Algorithm Run-time Complexity Analysis

Algorithm run-time complexity analysis is an important topic in data structures and algorithms courses, but it is also a topic that many students struggle with. Commonly cited difficulties include the necessary mathematical background knowledge, the abstract nature of the topic, and the presentation style of the material. Analyzing the subject of algorithm analysis using multiple learning theories shows that course materials often leave out key steps in the learning process and neglect certain learning styles. Students can be more successful at learning algorithm run-time complexity analysis if these missing stages and learning styles are addressed

VN-Sim: A Way to Keep Core Concepts in a Crowded Computing Curriculum

ABSTRACT Contemporary computer science curricula must accommodate a broad array of developments important to the field. Tough choices have to be made between introducing newer topics and retaining fundamentals that ground the discipline as a whole. All too frequently, understanding of low level coding and its relation to basic hardware is sacrificed to make room for newer material. VN-Sim, a von Neumann machine simulator, provides a mechanism for streamlined coverage of low level coding and hardware topics

Students\u27 Confidence in the Ability to Transfer Basic Math Skills in Introductory Physics and Chemistry Courses at a Community College

The purpose of this study was to examine the confidence levels that community college students have in transferring basic math skills to science classes, as well as any factors that influence their confidence levels. This study was conducted with 196 students at a community college in central Mississippi. The study was conducted during the month of November after all of the students had taken their midterm exams and received midterm grades. The instrument used in this survey was developed and validated by the researcher. The instrument asks the students to rate how confident they were in working out specific math problems and how confident they were in working problems using those specific math skills in physics and chemistry. The instrument also provided an example problem for every confidence item. Results revealed that students\u27 demographics were significant predictors in confidence scores. Students in the 18-22 year old range were less confident in solving math problems than others. Students who had retaken a math course were less confident than those who had not. Chemistry students were less confident in solving math problems than those in physics courses. Chemistry II students were less confident than those in Chemistry I and Principals of Chemistry. Students were least confident in solving problems involving logarithms and the most confident in solving algebra problems. In general, students felt that their math courses did not prepare them for the math problems encountered in science courses. There was no significant difference in confidence between students who had completed their math homework online and those who had completed their homework on paper. The researcher recommends that chemistry educators find ways of incorporating more mathematics in their courses especially logarithms and slope. Furthermore, math educators should incorporate more chemistry related applications to math class. Results of hypotheses testing, conclusions, discussions, and recommendations for future research are included

Epistemological access and authentic learning practice: a case study in hospitality financial management.

Doctoral Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.The recent widespread Fallist student movement taking hold of South African Higher Education has raised debates and tensions relating to the economic and social transformation of academic institutions. Despite National Higher Education funding relief (NSFAS), relentless patterns of economic and social inequalities in South Africa perpetuate unequal access for many first year undergraduates that are working class, first generation and English second language students. Providing students with epistemological access is essentially the counterpart to physical and financial access. How students access these academic ways of knowing, is indeed a cause for concern. At the Durban University of Technology (DUT), compounding this precarious situation, most Hospitality Financial Management (HSFM101) students struggle to access a financial disciplinary identity. Students find engaging with complex assessment tasks, particularly challenging especially as it requires them to align abstract theory to practical contexts. In addition, many students often report that they struggle to understand the relevance of hospitality accounting and its potential contribution to their hospitality careers. Importantly, accessing the tenets of the discipline, its discourse and practice appears to remain elusive to many students. While Morrow (2009) argued that fostering epistemological access (EA) calls for carefully constructed pedagogical and curricula processes, he did not go on to identify the particular pedagogy that could be employed in higher education teaching. In this study, I recognise the different levels of preparedness of prospective university students, and their potential lack of efficacy in gaining access to the epistemologies of their chosen discipline (HSFM101). This study explores student experiences in an HSFM101 programme, carefully designed to integrate the principles of Authentic Assessment with the view to creating enabling conditions for student learning. In addition, this study is a response to a lacuna in South African Higher education scholarship on how students learn and are assessed in Hospitality programmes. The study was guided by the principles of social constructivism and subscribed to an interpretive paradigm. A qualitative, case study design served as the framework to underpin the research. A purposive sample of 20 participants was selected from a cohort of Hospitality Financial Management students at DUT. Due consideration was given to a balanced representation in relation to race and gender. The rigor offered by Interactive Qualitative Analysis (IQA) (Northcutt & McCoy, 2004) was particularly appealing as it provides a systematic protocol that makes explicit both data generation and analysis processes. Data was generated through individual in-depth interviews, student reflective online journals and IQA focus group interviews. The interpretive and qualitative lens adopted for this study enabled a rich contextual understanding of how students experienced learning and acquired epistemic access through an Authentic Assessment (AA) strategy. Following the IQA protocol, focus groups generated ten affinities or themes of their experiences of being assessed in an Authentic learning environment. The primary theme that drove students learning experiences was Life’s Contradictions, whilst the main outcome or primary outcome of the study was getting it right. Despite the tensions, struggles and contradictions that students experienced in authentic learning situations, it was recognised that a pedagogy of authentic learning (the AA strategy in this case) does have the propensity to afford many students EA. According to this study, an AA strategy further revealed that, by affording students scaffolding opportunities, they were able to seek solutions autonomously, share their ideas, or even take the lead in improving collaborative learning. In addition, students wanted to feel included and so by creating and nurturing learning spaces that value diversity in HEIs; does in fact promote cohesive learning which enables EA. The fact that AA allows for students to engage in different ways and challenge their prior beliefs and assumptions; implies that there is transformation in learning. The results of this study further suggest that learning tolerance and accepting diversity was able to advance epistemic growth and emotional intelligence. This fortifies the nexus between social participation and prosperity; hence enabling EA (Sen, 2001). Whilst this study explored the learning experiences of HSFM101 it certainly does have wider implications for curriculum planning and reform towards transformative assessment pedagogies in various Higher Education curricula

Análisis multivariado del curso Elementos de Computación en el Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica

La investigación consiste en dos fases, en la primera se desarrolla un Test de diagnóstico en matemática y en la segunda se realiza un análisis multivariado de variables que inciden en el rendimiento de un estudiante a la hora de aprender a programar, en particular en el curso Elementos de Computación del Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica en Cartago, Costa Rica. Se diseña, analiza y aplica un Test de diagnóstico de conocimientos matemáticos a nivel de precálculo que se utiliza como herramienta predictora del rendimiento en el curso de programación. Se realiza un análisis multivariado de factores sociodemográficos, académicos, personales e institucionales que inciden en el éxito o fracaso de los estudiantes de un primer curso de programación a nivel universitario. Se intenta realizar un estudio multinivel sin embargo no se logra la participación de los docentes por lo que se realiza solo a un nivel. Uno de los factores que se incluyen en la investigación es los conocimientos matemáticos que poseen los estudiantes al ingresar a este curso, medidos a través del Test de Diagnóstico desarrollado durante la investigación. Como conclusiones se obtiene que el conocimiento académico es importante pero no es el único factor a tomar en cuenta, es necesario concebir al estudiante como una persona integral en donde intervienen en su rendimiento como alumno factores no solo académicos sino también personales, familiares e institucionales .The research has two phases, in the first one a diagnostic test in mathematics is developed, in the second phase a multivarible analisis is done with the variables that affect the students behavior learning a programing language in a university course, the diagnostic test results are incorporated to the multivariable analysis done during the research. As a result it is concluded that the student must be seen as an holystic whole in wich his personnal situation is as important as his academic behavior

Trayectoria académica y desempeño profesional: un estudio sobre mujeres peruanas de tecnologías de la información

En el Perú, menos del 1% de mujeres egresa de carreras de Tecnologías de la Información (TI). Las investigaciones muestran que la participación de las mujeres en este campo continúa decreciendo desde hace 25 años. No obstante, el campo laboral presenta una tendencia vertiginosa a generar puestos de trabajo relacionados a las TI que ofrecen perspectivas profesionales y económicas atractivas. El propósito de esta investigación fue determinar la relación entre la trayectoria académica y el desempeño profesional de las mujeres profesionales de TI mediante una investigación mixta secuencial de dos etapas. La primera etapa cualitativa incluyó cinco entrevistas a profundidad para caracterizar la trayectoria académica y el desempeño profesional. En la segunda etapa cuantitativa se diseñó un instrumento de 81 ítems, el cual se aplicó a 250 mujeres; y, mediante modelamiento de ecuaciones estructurales, se verificó la aplicabilidad del modelo de investigación planteado. El principal hallazgo de este estudio indicó que el modelo de investigación es adecuado para explicar la relación entre la trayectoria académica y el desempeño profesional de las mujeres profesionales de TI con índices de ajuste adecuados 2 (38) = 59.7, p = .014, CFI = .902, RMSEA = .048, SRMR = .051. Se evidencia que las mujeres profesionales de TI poseen un perfil particular caracterizado por un rendimiento académico superior y rasgos de personalidad basados en la escrupulosidad y estabilidad emocional, atributos importantes para transitar por entornos académicos donde representan una minoría. Asimismo, las prácticas preprofesionales les permiten desarrollar competencias generales que favorecen su desempeño profesional.In Peru, less than 1% of women graduate from Information Technology (IT) careers. Research shows that women's participation in this field has continued to decline for the last 25 years. However, the occupational field presents a vertiginous trend to generate IT-related jobs that offer attractive professional and economic prospects. The purpose of this research was to determine the relationship between the academic trajectory and the professional performance of women IT professionals through a two-stage sequential mixed investigation. The first qualitative stage included five in-depth interviews to characterize the academic trajectory and professional performance. In the second quantitative stage, an 81-item instrument was designed, which was applied to 250 women; and, through structural equation modeling, the applicability of the proposed research model was verified. The main finding of this study indicated that the proposed model is adequate to explain the relationship between the academic trajectory and professional performance of women IT professionals with adequate fit indices 2 (38) = 59.7, p = .014, CFI = .902, RMSEA = .048, SRMR = .051. The results show that women IT professionals have a particular profile characterized by superior academic performance and personality traits based on conscientiousness and emotional stability, important attributes to transit through academic environments where they represent a minority. Likewise, the internships allow them to develop general skills that favor their professional performance