A Comparison of Students Learning Programming with Online Modules, Instruction, and Team Activities

Jacqueline C. McNeil; Angela Thompson; Nicholas Hawkins

Download Paper | Permalink

Conference: 2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah
Publication Date: June 23, 2018
Start Date: June 23, 2018
End Date: July 27, 2018
Conference Session: First-year Programs Division: Online Learning
Tagged Division: First-Year Programs
Page Count: 15
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--29665
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/29665
Download Count: 461

Paper Authors

biography

Jacqueline C. McNeil University of Louisville orcid.org/0000-0001-6133-4467

visit author page

J.C. McNeil is an Assistant Professor for the Department of Engineering Fundamentals at University of Louisville. Research interests include First Year engineering, diversity in engineering, persistence, retention, co-op experiences, and longitudinal data. Contact email: j.mcneil@louisville.edu

visit author page

biography

Angela Thompson P.E. University of Louisville

visit author page

Dr. Angela Thompson is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Engineering Fundamentals at the University of Louisville. Dr. Thompson received her PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Louisville. Her research interests are in biomechanics and engineering education, particularly related to first-year programs and critical thinking instruction.

visit author page

biography

Nicholas Hawkins University of Louisville orcid.org/0000-0002-2553-9438

visit author page

Nicholas Hawkins is a Graduate Teaching Assistance in the Engineering Fundamentals Department at the University of Louisville. A PhD student in Electrical and Computer Engineering, he received both his B.S. and M. Eng. from the University of Louisville in the same field. His research interests include power electronics and controls, as well as engineering education for first-year students.

visit author page

Download Paper | Permalink

Abstract

This paper investigates how first-year students learn programming through lectures involving team-based activities. Although programming instruction has traditionally been performed through individual means, advocates of “pair-programming” provide support for collaborative learning in software engineering. While these studies have explored dyads of programming students, this study goes further and investigates the effects of learning introductory computer programming in teams of four or five students. The primary research questions being investigated in this paper include: 1) how do team-based activities affect student participation?, 2) do team-based activities improve learning outcomes on programming assignments?, and 3) did student-reported effort, time, and value of programming change between the two years? To answer these questions, data was collected from an introductory engineering course contributing five weeks to programming instruction. Two sets of data have been collected: the initial set from an entirely individual, module version of the curriculum (Fall 2016), and the second set from a curriculum with added lectures and team-based activities (Fall 2017). Homework performance data were collected from the set of problems common to both years, along with the results of a survey taken by students about their perceptions of the programming portion of the course. Statistical analysis revealed no significant difference in overall homework scores between the two years, but there was a significant increase in scores on programming projects, which were a set of more challenging problems at the end of Chapters 2-5 homework assignments. Average number of attempts per problem and number of problems completed did not change significantly between the two years. Results of the survey show that students generally perceived a lower workload and felt that the programming material was more valuable to them with in-class lectures and team activities. Future direction based on this study indicate the potential need for more in-class instruction, either in the form of more team activities or lectures. Pair programming, dyads, has been shown to be successful in the literature and will be considered in this course in the future.

Citation
Format

McNeil, J. C., & Thompson, A., & Hawkins, N. (2018, June), A Comparison of Students Learning Programming with Online Modules, Instruction, and Team Activities Paper presented at 2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition , Salt Lake City, Utah. 10.18260/1-2--29665

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - This paper investigates how first-year students learn programming through lectures involving team-based activities. Although programming instruction has traditionally been performed through individual means, advocates of “pair-programming” provide support for collaborative learning in software engineering. While these studies have explored dyads of programming students, this study goes further and investigates the effects of learning introductory computer programming in teams of four or five students. The primary research questions being investigated in this paper include: 1) how do team-based activities affect student participation?, 2) do team-based activities improve learning outcomes on programming assignments?, and 3) did student-reported effort, time, and value of programming change between the two years? To answer these questions, data was collected from an introductory engineering course contributing five weeks to programming instruction. Two sets of data have been collected: the initial set from an entirely individual, module version of the curriculum (Fall 2016), and the second set from a curriculum with added lectures and team-based activities (Fall 2017). Homework performance data were collected from the set of problems common to both years, along with the results of a survey taken by students about their perceptions of the programming portion of the course. 
Statistical analysis revealed no significant difference in overall homework scores between the two years, but there was a significant increase in scores on programming projects, which were a set of more challenging problems at the end of Chapters 2-5 homework assignments. Average number of attempts per problem and number of problems completed did not change significantly between the two years. Results of the survey show that students generally perceived a lower workload and felt that the programming material was more valuable to them with in-class lectures and team activities.
Future direction based on this study indicate the potential need for more in-class instruction, either in the form of more team activities or lectures. Pair programming, dyads, has been shown to be successful in the literature and will be considered in this course in the future. 


AU  - Jacqueline C. McNeil
AU  - Angela Thompson P.E.
AU  - Nicholas Hawkins
CY  - Salt Lake City, Utah
DA  - 2018/06/23
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - A Comparison of Students Learning Programming with Online Modules, Instruction, and Team Activities
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/29665
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--29665
ER  -