Asee peer logo

Effect of Automated Instantaneous Feedback, Unlimited Submission Attempts, and Optional Exercises on Student Engagement, Performance, and Academic Integrity in an Introductory Computer Programming Course for Engineers

Download Paper |

Conference

2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Baltimore , Maryland

Publication Date

June 25, 2023

Start Date

June 25, 2023

End Date

June 28, 2023

Conference Session

COED: Grading Systems

Tagged Division

Computers in Education Division (COED)

Tagged Topic

Diversity

Page Count

23

DOI

10.18260/1-2--43228

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/43228

Download Count

150

Request a correction

Paper Authors

biography

Marko V. Lubarda University of California, San Diego Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0002-3755-271X

visit author page

Marko V. Lubarda is an Assistant Teaching Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of California, San Diego. He teaches mechanics, materials science, design, computational analysis, and engineering mathematics courses, and has co-authored the undergraduate textbook Intermediate Solid Mechanics (Cambridge University Press, 2020). He is dedicated to engineering pedagogy and enriching students' learning experiences through teaching innovations, curriculum design, and support of undergraduate student research.

visit author page

biography

Alex M. Phan University of California, San Diego Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0003-2489-2886

visit author page

Dr. Phan received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California San Diego with a specialization in medical devices. He is currently an instructor for the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering focusing on hands-on education.

visit author page

author page

Aidan Daniel Carrigg

author page

Karthik Srinivasan

author page

Josephine Relaford-Doyle University of California, San Diego

Download Paper |

Abstract

We explore how automated just-in-time feedback, unlimited submission attempts, and optional no-credit programming assignments impact student engagement, course performance, and academic integrity in an undergraduate introductory computer programming course for engineers. An interactive browser-based coding platform called MATLAB Grader was used to provide customized actionable feedback to students as they develop their solutions to homework, practice, and exam problems. Statistical analysis of students’ engagement with the no-credit assignments and their academic performance reveals a positive correlation between students’ level of engagement with the optional exercises and their course scores and grade point average. Female students were found significantly more likely to engage with the optional exercises compared to their male peers, despite the GPA distributions of the two groups being very similar. URM students were found to be significantly less inclined than non-URM students to take advantage of the zero-credit instant-feedback practice opportunities. A significant difference in final exam scores was likewise observed between URM and non-URM students, with the latter group receiving the higher marks. The significance of the differences could not be adequately explained by differences in GPA alone. Analysis of students’ survey responses shows that real-time feedback and unlimited submission attempts helped students assess their learning progress and motivated them to continuously improve their solutions. Instant feedback and unlimited submission attempts were regarded by students as likely having positively impacted academic integrity in the course. The effect of automated feedback and optional assignments on students’ need to visit office hours is explored. Implications for future pedagogical practice and research are discussed.

Lubarda, M. V., & Phan, A. M., & Carrigg, A. D., & Srinivasan, K., & Relaford-Doyle, J. (2023, June), Effect of Automated Instantaneous Feedback, Unlimited Submission Attempts, and Optional Exercises on Student Engagement, Performance, and Academic Integrity in an Introductory Computer Programming Course for Engineers Paper presented at 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Baltimore , Maryland. 10.18260/1-2--43228

ASEE holds the copyright on this document. It may be read by the public free of charge. Authors may archive their work on personal websites or in institutional repositories with the following citation: © 2023 American Society for Engineering Education. Other scholars may excerpt or quote from these materials with the same citation. When excerpting or quoting from Conference Proceedings, authors should, in addition to noting the ASEE copyright, list all the original authors and their institutions and name the host city of the conference. - Last updated April 1, 2015