Teaching Computer Science in Blended and Online Modalities

Written by Daniel Grigoletti, December 7, 2016

This paper will synthesize the topics from the EDU811 course with the methods and tools for teaching higher education Computer Science courses in blended and online modalities, how to motivate online programming, and what motivates them to learn, by examining various research and studies on motivation from learning science studies, but specifically focus on online modalities in higher education, and provide insights and important ideas regarding this type of educational experience.  Teaching a technology course online, hybrid or blended modalities requires a unique approach as compared to courses involving non-technological subject matter.  Techniques for motivation can translate from face-to-face to blended and Online learning.  However, within these modalities, there are many differences, expectations by students and methodologies that can be employed by instructors.  Just as with onsite courses, online learning in courses in Engineering and Computer Science must be project-based, which aligns with the expectations in their future workplace.  Student can best prepare for a job in computer programming, by extending their learning beyond the limits of a classroom, whether actual (onsite) or virtual (online).  They need to not only be present in activities that will give them advantages in the workplace, but actively participate in the ancillary characteristics of the field of computer science.

Successful Utilization of Blended Environments and Multimedia to Teach Adult Learners Programming and to Promote Persistence in University Level Coursework

Various activities and mechanisms such as multimedia, SDL, MOOC’s, Course Design, Active Learning and New Literacies can be employed by educators can to teach and develop undergraduate Computer Science students.  These can be effective in promoting persistence and resilience in online and blended environments.  Computer Science learning can be greatly enhanced through enabling and engaging students in multimedia environments, whether publicly available such as video and hypermedia websites on the Internet, as well as the proprietary online textbook-embedded and publisher based self-paced learning modules.  When teaching adult learners, Cross discussed the importance of recognizing characteristics of adult learners, especially their personal characteristics referring to aging, life phases, and developmental stages and their situational characteristics referring to part-time versus full-time and voluntary versus compulsory learning (Cross, 1981).  The online options for Computer Science learners also include MOOC’s which require a great deal of SDL (Self-Directed Learning), and characterized by the theories of andragogy and adult learners.  However, when engaging in MOOCs for any subject including programming, the initial weeks of courses are key for student engagement, and depending upon their engagement level, will affect the attrition rate and how much students access materials and complete assignments (Perna, 2014).   Many educational institutions have rich LMS shells which include lessons for learning programming, embedded videos, animations, and references to resources provided by the instructor or by publishers of Computer Science textbooks.  As stated in the theory of andragogy, when students develop more self-direction and personal control in an activity, they may view it as more enjoyable and interesting.  Individuals take responsibility for their own learning process by determining their needs, setting goals, identifying resources, implementing a plan to meet their goals, and evaluating the outcomes (Knowles, 1980).   Educators can provide and facilitate an environment to enable adult learners to have high level of control over their own education as possible, for example by letting them choose paper and project topics that interest them, enabling them to reflect on their work through customized projects and presentations, giving them the ability to direct their learning.  An online learning experience can be only as good as the structure, content and delivery mechanisms utilized in course design.  Inherently, an online course is loaded with technological components such as discussions, online testing, videos, blogs, email facilities, document repositories, gradebooks.  In addition, a good course has interesting yet challenging, well-integrated lab activities that are achievable without requiring on-ground resources.  Instructors in online environments can employ active teaching and learning to engage students in the material and give them opportunities to achieve a level of mastery.  In addition, educators need to be cognizant of new literacies of the millennial student of Computer Science.  The concept of “New Literacies” include consideration of how “Web 1.0” and “Web 2.0” involve different sets of design patterns and business models in software development, and in concrete examples of how the distinction plays out in real life cases and practices. (Knobel & Lankshear, 2014).  New literacies have emerged largely due to technology and the Internet. They involve shared skills and knowledge for the current generation, in which they leverage ubiquitous technologies to learn, make meaning, and create knowledge in a dynamic and diverse environment.

Instructional Strategies for Motivating Computer Science Students in Higher Education Online Environments

Instructors can employ various strategies in online environments such as promotion of critical thinking skills, modeling positive attributes, providing project-based learning, and enabling collaborative and peer work for learners of Computer Science and programming.  Developing critical Thinking Skills are a huge necessity to enable deep learning, engagement, retention, to analyze other works, then absorb and process criticism from the other students.  Providing various types of criticism are necessary, so instructors should praise in public and provide non judge-mental and constructive criticism in private, and only negate performance rather than the student.  Instructors can model positive approaches to computer problem-solving and demonstrate good behavior and positive energy in interactions with struggling students.  They can also show their passion for the subject, delivering content and with enthusiasm.  In addition, to engage students, the instructor can tie the delivery of content through using references to real-world situations, war stories from IT industry experience, and in a more personal way, getting to know a few personal facts about students such as their hobbies, part-time job, family, city came from, career interests, etc. in order to better connect with them.  In discussion threads, instructors should draw from real-world experience and provide real-world, interesting examples.  They should demonstrate techniques and concepts and be humble about learning when a better or different way to approach a problem is discovered.  They should also collaborate and solicit solutions to problems from students.  When doing group work, students can personalize their interactions, and co-construct knowledge through collaboration. This group orientation factor can be applied to many different areas of an online courses, including threaded discussions and other asynchronous group-oriented communicative instruments such as blogs and wikis.  In addition, by adding peer-collaborative opportunities to an online or blended course, can adds another valuable dimension to active learning, and may help with cognitive processing of the content.  Performing peer code reviews and feedback on programming techniques can enable sharing of ideas, opinions, building of relationships and synergies of thought.  However, this should be coupled to actual instructor feedback otherwise students may become anxious about giving and receiving feedback, concerned about the reliability of the feedback. In addition, students may not be prepared or be comfortable to take on the role of an evaluator (Ertmer, 2007).

Intrinsic/Extrinsic Motivations to Learn Programming in Computer Science

In order for online students to learn programming logic and constructs, coding techniques, they must perform hands-on, project-based lab work because of the complexity and nature of coding in order to internalize and build skills.  This lab work can be accomplished on a personal computer or in a virtual learning environment equipped with the tools for programming including an IDE (Integrated Development Environment) which includes an editor, compiler, debugger, file management, tools for GUI design and development, tools for deployment as well as tools for code management.

A Computer Science student has both intrinsic motivations to learn and create software, and extrinsic motivation to earn a living and become financially independent.  The intrinsic motivation Computer Science students exhibit are a passion and fascination with coding, an outlet for their creativity, and their desire to contribute to solving real-world problems.  which can lead to better success at completing programming projects.  The intrinsic motivations may lead to a student being talented and skilled in programming, and being able to secure well-paying jobs and develop a career with many rewards.  These could be a motivation to work (Herzberg, 1959), a monetary or result in fame when writing or contributing to a successful software application, or be in the form of satisfaction and accomplishment in solving problems.  However, if a student is solely motivated by extrinsic factors, they may not develop the deep learning and skills required to become successful, and become preoccupied with their earning potential or career path.  For example, an aspiring game programmer may love playing games and imagine themselves being the author of the next Halo computer game, but the skillsets required to develop game software is vastly different from that which is needed just to play a game.

Student motivation often depends upon their level of maturity, including age, experience with academic environments, success in school, study skills, as well as having positive experiences with academic professionals.  In addition, students who prepare well and have a positive attitude will do better, even on challenging assignments with more complexity.  According to Kolb’s theory, students with prior knowledge of the subject can engage in the content at a deeper level (Kolb, D 1984).  They apply, synthesize, and evaluate based on Bloom’s taxonomy, reaching higher levels than just memorizing and comprehending content (Bloom, 1956).  However, the continuum of learning styles and motivations show that if a learner lacks motivation and capability to learn Computer Science and programming, they are considered surface learners who simply participate to avoid failure and may be averse to deep learning due to their perceived risks, and performing at a minimum just to pass.  Instructors can help these learners gain confidence in their abilities to perform at higher levels by individualized attention, designing labs that leverages competency and outcome-based learning and enables mastery learning.   Another strategy that educators in online environments can utilize is gamified assignments involving competition.  Educators should encourage surface learners often and help them reflect in an ongoing way, on what they’ve learned and what they’ve accomplished.

Motivation of Computer Science Learners in Face-to-Face vs. Online Learning Environments

Face-to-Face (F2F) instruction enables Computer Science learners to interact and collaborate directly with instructors and fellow students in the on-ground classroom environment.  The immediacy of F2F instruction can be beneficial over online environments because if facilitates sharing of coding techniques and ideas, code walk-throughs, especially for early learners of Computer Science.  The on-ground classroom provides a tactile and nurturing environment, encouraging dynamic interactions among students and instructors.  However, in blended and online environments, the use of synchronous chats could approximate the in-class experience.  In addition, the asynchronous tool, discussion threads, can be used in all three modalities:  onsite, hybrid and online courses.  Asynchronous discussions are an essential part of online courses, and provide a substitute for the in-class face-to-face time spent in onsite courses.  The interaction within discussion forums forms the basis and has to be a substitute for online lectures and instructor interaction.  In addition, discussion forums provide social interaction and feedback to be exchanged from teacher to student, as well as student to student.  Using feedback can be a powerful motivational strategy in online courses, enabling students to self-regulate their performance, confirm prior knowledge and improve cognitive engagement.  People are proactive, aspiring organisms who have a hand in shaping their own lives and the social systems (Bandura 1997).  Feedback in all areas of a course, including discussions, assessments, and collaborative activities must be of high quality.  Motivation to interact and share knowledge in online and hybrid environments leverage from the social connections developed via virtual tools like the asynchronous discussion forum.  Therefore, feedback in all forms is essential to make the course compelling, keep students engaged, accelerating and amplifying learning. Students are used to getting feedback from instructors, but when getting it from peers, then it layers the learning by having a non-expert examine responses, allows sharing of ideas, diverse perspectives, and leads to a more collaborative learning environment rather than a patriarchal model.

Assessment of Computer Science Learners for Program and Workplace Preparation in Online Environments

In order to afford higher education learners in online settings the opportunities perform at a high level and produce high quality work, expectations need to be set clearly, and the courses should leverage the results of formative assessments to adjust and adapt content dynamically.  Educators should set realistic and reasonable performance goals at the assignment/lab level, course level, and program level and help students along the way to meet the goals.  Students should be assessed in a variety of ways including with lab assignments, individual and group projects, quizzes/tests/exams, and through writing assignments.  There should also be appropriate summative assessment to measure the overall performance of the students in the class, as they make their way through an academic undergraduate program, maturing in their knowledge and capabilities in preparation for the workforce.  Students are motivated to achieve high level of fulfillment through gaining and succeeding through their educational experiences.  Maslow’s hierarchy of needs tells us that once people achieve lower-level needs such as safety and physiological requirements have, they seek higher-level motivators such as self-fulfillment (Maslow, 1943).

A student has to have a realistic expectation that their skills will meet the demands of the workforce, and that rewards will only come with hard work and perseverance.  If a student is preoccupied with monetary gain, then they may not focus on developing their skills to a level which can command a large salary.

Improving Computer Science Instructor Skills in the New Teaching Paradigm of Blended and Online Instruction

Instructors of Computer Science need to be on top of a myriad of topics, languages, techniques, frameworks, technologies, software applications, advancements in hardware, and many other aspects in order to teach effectively and with currency.  One way that Computer Science instructors can keep up is by viewing videos on these emerging aspects of Computer Science, and to learn new techniques.   In addition to other professional development techniques such as conference attendance, reading books, and collaborating with colleagues, video training affords Computer Science instructors a voluminous and accessible way to attain training and education.  Video can be an innovative way to teach teachers new technologies especially since websites like YouTube have brought video costs drastically down.  Video and other multimedia modes of learning are extremely accessible and useful for teacher training as well as in onsite and virtual classrooms.  When digital video is integrated with hypermedia, the video can be delivered in a very intuitive manner.

 

 

References

Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York: Freeman.

Bloom, B. S.; Engelhart, M. D.; Furst, E. J.; Hill, W. H.; Krathwohl, D. R. (1956). Taxonomy of educational objectives: The classification of educational goals. Handbook I: Cognitive domain. New York: David McKay Company.

Brophy, J. E. & Gamoran Sherin, M. (2004). Using video in teacher education. Chapter 1:  NEW PERSPECTIVES ON THE ROLE OF VIDEO IN TEACHER EDUCATION, Amsterdam: JAI.

Cross, K. P. (1981). Adults as learners: Increasing participation and facilitating learning. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Ertmer, P. A., Richardson, J. C., Belland, B., Camin, D., Connolly, P., Coulthard, G., Mong, C. (2007). Using Peer Feedback to Enhance the Quality of Student Online Postings: An Exploratory Study. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 12(2), 412-433. doi:10.1111/j.1083-6101.2007.00331.x

Herzberg, F., Mausner, B., & Snyderman, B. B. (1959). The motivation to work. New York, NY:John Wiley & Sons.

Knobel, M., & Lankshear, C. (2014). Studying new literacies. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 57(9), 1-5.

Knowles, M. (1980). The modern practice of adult education: Andragogy versus pedagogy. Rev. and updated ed. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Cambridge Adult Education.

Kolb, D (1984). Experiential Learning as the Science of Learning and Development. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Lankshear, C. and Knobel, M. 2006. New Literacies: Everyday Practices and Classroom Learning.  2nd edn. New York: Open University Press.

Lehman, R. M., & Conceição, S. C. (2014). Motivating and retaining online students: Research-based strategies that work. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, a Wiley brand.

Maslow, A.H. (1943). A theory of human motivation. Psychological Review, 50(4)

Means, B., Bakia, M., & Murphy, R. (2014). Learning online: What research tells us about whether, when and how. New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.

Motivating Students. (n.d.). Retrieved November 29, 2016, from https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/motivating-students/

Perna, L. W., Ruby, A., Boruch, R. F., Wang, N., Scull, J., Ahmad, S., & Evans, C. (2014). Moving through MOOCs: Understanding the progression of users in massive open online courses. Educational Researcher, 43, 421–432. doi:10.3102/0013189X14562423