Masters Students' Experiences of Learning to Program: An Empirical Model

The investigation reported here examined how Masters students experience learning to program. The phenomenographic research approach adopted permitted the analysis of 1) how students go about learning to program, that is the ‘Act’ of learning to program, and 2) what students understand by ‘programming’, that is the ‘Object’ of learning to program. Analysis of data from twenty-three participants identified five different experiences of the Act of learning to program and five different experiences of the Object of learning to program. Together the findings comprise an empirical model of the learning to program experience amongst the participating students. We suggest how our findings are significant for programming teachers and offer tools to explore students’ views

Using a maturity model to move student engagement practices beyond the generational approach

This paper proposes that the generational approach to conceptualising first year student learning behaviour, while it has made a very useful contribution to understanding that behaviour, can be expanded upon. The generational approach has an explicit focus on student behaviour and it is suggested that a capability maturity model interpretation may provide a complementary extension of that as it allows an assessment of institutional capability to initiate, plan, manage and evaluate institutional student engagement practices. The development of a Student Engagement, Success and Retention Maturity Model (SESR-MM) is discussed along with Australasian FYE generational data and Australian SESR-MM data

The Collective Consciousness of Information Technology Research: Ways of seeing Information Technology Research: Its Objects and Territories

The collective consciousness of effective groups of researchers is characterised by shared understandings of their research object or territory. In the relatively new field of information technology research, rapid expansion and fragmentation of the territory has led to different perceptions about what constitutes information technology research. This project explores a facet of the collective consciousness of disparate groups of researchers and lays a foundation for constructing shared research objects. Making IT researchers’ ways of seeing explicit may help us understand some of the complexities associated with inter and intra disciplinary collaboration amongst research groups, and the complexities associated with technology transfer to industry. This report analyses IT research, its objects and territories, as they are constituted by IT researchers associated with the sub-disciplines of information systems, computer science and information security. A phenomenographic approach is used to elicit data from a diverse range of IT researchers in semistructured interviews. This data is analysed to show (1) the variation in meaning associated with the idea of IT research and (2) the awareness structures through which participants experience variation in ways of seeing the object and territories of IT research. An Outcome Space represents the interrelation between different ways of seeing the territory. Eight ways of seeing IT research, its objects and territories, were found: The Technology Conception, The Information Conception, The Information and Technology Conception, The Communication Conception, The Ubiquitous Conception, The Sanctioned Conception, The Dialectic Conception and The Constructed Conception. These are described in detail and illustrated with participants’ quotes. Finally, some recommendations for further research are made

The collective consciousness of Information Technology research: The significance and value of research projects. A. The views of IT researchers

This research seeks to reveal the different perceptual worlds in a research community, with the longterm intent of fostering increased understanding and hence collaboration. In the relatively new field of information technology (IT) research, available evidence suggests that a shared understanding of the research object or territory does not yet exist. This has led to the development of different perceptions amongst IT researchers of what constitutes significant and valuable research. A phenomenological approach is used to elicit data from a diverse range of IT researchers in semistructured interviews. This data is presented to show (1) the variation in meaning associated with the idea of significance and value and (2) the awareness structures through which participants experience significance and value. An Outcome Space represents the interrelation between those different ways of seeing, revealing a widening awareness. Five categories of ways of seeing the significance and value of research projects were found: The Personal Goals Conception, The Research Currency Conception, The Design of the Research Project Conception, The Outcomes for the Technology End User Conception and The Solving Real-World Problems Conception. These are situated within three wider perceptual boundaries: The Individual, The Research Community and Humankind. The categories are described in detail, demonstrated with participants’ quotes and illustrated with diagrams. A tentative comparison is made between this project and a similar investigation of IT professionals’ ways of seeing the significance and value of IT research projects. Finally, some recommendations for further research are made

The collective consciousness of Information Technology research: The significance and value of research projects. B. The views of IT industry professionals

This research seeks to reveal the different perceptual worlds in a research community, with the longterm intent of fostering increased understanding and hence collaboration. In the relatively new field of information technology (IT) research, available evidence suggests that a shared understanding of the research object or territory does not yet exist. This has led to the development of different perceptions amongst IT researchers of what constitutes significant and valuable research. Phenomenological methodology is used to elicit data from a diverse range of IT industry professionals in semi-structured interviews. This data is presented to show (1) the variation in meaning associated with the idea of significance and value and (2) the awareness structures through which participants experience significance and value. An Outcome Space represents the interrelation between those different ways of seeing, revealing a widening awareness. Five categories of ways of seeing the significance and value of research projects were found: The Personal Goals Conception, The Commercial Goals Conception, The Outcomes for the Technology End User Conception, The Solving Real-World Problems Conception and The Design of the Research Project Conception. These are situated within three wider perceptual boundaries: The Individual, The Enterprise and Society. The categories are described in detail, demonstrated with participants’ quotes and illustrated with diagrams. A tentative comparison is made between this project and a similar investigation of IT researchers’ ways of seeing the significance and value of IT research projects. Finally, some recommendations for further research are made

Experiencing higher degree research supervision as teaching

This article describes research higher degree supervisors' experiences of supervision as a teaching and learning practice. While research education is considered central to the HDR experience, comparatively little is known to date of the pedagogical lenses adopted by supervisors as they go about their supervision. We worked with 35 supervisors engaged in discipline-specific and interdisciplinary research across architectural design, science, engineering, computer science, information systems and librarianship. Several of these supervisors conducted projects which interfaced with the social sciences and humanities. The pedagogies, constructed through the discussions and phenomenographic analysis, offer a picture of supervisors' collective awareness of supervision as a teaching and learning practice. Supervision as a teaching and learning practice was experienced as: Promoting the supervisor's development, Imparting academic expertise, Upholding academic standards, Promoting learning to research, Drawing upon student expertise, Enabling student development, Venturing into unexplored territory, Forming productive communities, and Contributing to society

The experience of learning in "The Cube" : Queensland University of Technology's giant interactive multimedia environment

In this paper we report findings of the first phase of an investigation, which explored the experience of learning amongst high-level managers, project leaders and visitors in QUT's "Cube". "The Cube" is a giant, interactive, multi-media display; an award-winning configuration that hosts several interactive projects. The research team worked with three groups of participants to understand the relationship between a) the learning experiences that were intended in the establishment phase; b) the learning experiences that were enacted through the design and implementation of specific projects; and c) the lived experiences of learning of visitors interacting with the system. We adopted phenomenography as a research approach, to understand variation in people’s understandings and lived experiences of learning in this environment. The project was conducted within the first twelve months of The Cube being open to visitors

From global theories to local practice and original knowledge: learning the way through systems co-design

Information focused, learning centered, and systems enabled, Informed Systems (Somerville, United States) guides collaborative design (co-design) of the University for Business and Technology Knowledge Center in Pristina, Kosovo. Conceptual modeling activities since April 2017 engage students in integrating Informed Learning theory (Bruce, Australia) and Soft Systems Methodology (Checkland, England) to progress a shared vision to make local knowledge visible through co-created systems, services, and resources. Foundational Informed Learning categories, information and communication technologies, information sources, and information and knowledge generation - to progress information curation and knowledge management – illustrate the transformative potential of this theory-to-practice initiative, customized to local priorities and values

Ways of experiencing the act of learning to program: a phenomenographic study of introductory programming students at university

The research reported here investigates variation in first year university students’ early experiences of learning to program, with a particular focus on revealing differences in how they go about learning to program. A phenomenographic research approach was used to reveal variation in how the act of learning to program may be constituted amongst first year university students. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with students who had either recently completed, or were enrolled in, a university-level introductory programming subject. Analysis revealed that students might go about learning to program in any of five different ways; by: (1) Following – where learning to program is experienced as ‘getting through’ the unit; (2) Coding – where learning to program is experienced as learning to code; (3) Understanding and integrating – where learning to program is experienced as learning to write a program through understanding and integrating concepts; (4) Problem solving – where learning to program is experienced as learning to do what it takes to solve a problem, and; (5) Participating or enculturation – where learning to program is experienced as discovering what it means to become a programmer. The relationships between these different approaches to learning are represented diagrammatically. The mapping of the variation constitutes a framework within which one aspect of the teaching and learning of introductory programming, how students go about it, may be understood. Implications for teaching and learning in introductory university curricula are discussed

The place of higher education institutions in assessing student engagement, success and retention: A maturity model to guide practice

The perennial issues of student engagement, success and retention in higher education continue to attract attention as the salience of teaching and learning funding and performance measures has increased. This paper addresses the question of the responsibility or place of higher education institutions (HEIs) for initiating, planning, managing and evaluating their student engagement, success and retention programs and strategies. An evaluation of the current situation indicates the need for a sophisticated approach to assessing the ability of HEIs to proactively design programs and practices that enhance student engagement. An approach-the Student Engagement Success and Retention Maturity Model (SESR-MM)-is proposed and its development, current status, and relationship with and possible use in benchmarking are discussed