Computational and Soft Skills Development through the Project Based Learning (original) (raw)
Promoting computational thinking through project-based learning
2021
This paper introduces project-based learning (PBL) features for developing technological, curricular, and pedagogical supports to engage students in computational thinking (CT) through modeling. CT is recognized as the collection of approaches that involve people in computational problem solving. CT supports students in deconstructing and reformulating a phenomenon such that it can be resolved using an information-processing agent (human or machine) to reach a scientifically appropriate explanation of a phenomenon. PBL allows students to learn by doing, to apply ideas, figure out how phenomena occur and solve challenging, compelling and complex problems. In doing so, students take part in authentic science practices similar to those of professionals in science or engineering, such as computational thinking. This paper includes 1) CT and its associated aspects, 2) The foundation of PBL, 3) PBL design features to support CT through modeling, and 4) a curriculum example and associated ...
Project-based learning practices in computer science education
1998
Abstract The EPCoS project (Effective Projectwork in Computer Science) is working to map the range of project-based learning practices in UK higher education and to generate insights into what characterizes the contexts in which particular techniques are effective. In assembling a body of authentic examples, EPCoS aims to provide a resource that enables extrapolation and synthesis of new techniques.
2020
Curriculum design of University Degrees in Spain is mainly based on scheduling atomic, self-contained semester subjects during a 4-year period. This scheduling is driven by one major constraint: to ensure that previous subject prerequisites are met for each course. Thus, basic subjects without college-level prerequisites are typically scheduled in the first year, first semester, while the rest are properly planned in a sequential manner, complying the aforementioned condition. This is, basically, the only proof of inter-subject coordination in such degrees, taking place at the design stage. During the academic period, however, there is no vertical nor horizontal inter-subject coordination, not even among closely-related subjects. In order to increase inter-subject coordination and to exploit its potential benefit for students, the projectbased learning (PBL) methodology shows on the scene. This approach organizes learning around student-driven projects aiming to solve real-life problems. This close applicability to the real world expedites intrinsic motivation of students, and consequently, their learning process tends to be deeper and more significant. Furthermore, PBL applied at the inter-subject level increases curriculum cohesion and makes students more engaged and compromised with its global objectives. In this paper we describe the design of PBL models involving two pairs of programming-related subjects from the Computer Engineering Degree at the Universitat Politècnica de València. The first one associates the "Programming" with the "Data Structures and Algorithms" subject, while the second one engages the "Introduction to Video-Games Programming" with the "Digital Image Synthesis" one. It is an ambitious pilot programme that will require a high coordination effort among participating professors and student teams.
Project Based Learning - An Innovative Approach to Enhance Higher Order Skills
Journal of Engineering Education Transformations, 2020
Most of the soft branch courses are imaginary, that takes a lot of time to understand the concepts and visualize them. In Computer Science, Design and Analysis of algorithm course is one of them where we design the algorithmic solution to a real-time problem and analyze the complexity of the algorithm. In this paper we have shown the different learning tools to understand nature, working and systematic implementation of the problem by visualizing it, also we have discussed suitable strategies to design and implement same and compared the complexity of algorithms. Further, we have compared the impact of an activity on students by comparing assessment strategies ISE-I and ISE-II, also by taking feedback from students before and after conduction of activity.
The Impact of Practicing the Computational Thinking in a Programming Course
2021
Engineering students have problems related to problem-solving skills, which reflects on a high failure rate in introductory programming curricular units they attend. To try to reduce this failure rate and to help students to acquire the necessary programming competences, new processes of teaching and learning are needed. Plans should be drawn to foster positive attitudes towards programming to reinforce students’ motivation to learn and to apply their knowledge to new situations. In higher education and from an early stage, constructing instruments that facilitate the learning and teaching process and the promotion of student involvement, contributes to build a sustainable structure that includes students’ projects carried out in areas of programming knowledge, which are considered essential to facilitate the assimilation of computational thinking. To achieve this, it was implemented a collaborative project, where students should develop a project using the Scratch software. This co...
Student Projects towards Project-Based Learning for Teaching Computer Science in Secondary Schools
2018
Student projects are core activities for a project-based learning approach. However, introducing projects in classes does not automatically imply the adoption of such a method. In this paper we propose a scheme as a tool to analyse if and how much student projects are introduced and realised according to a project-based learning method. As part of a larger research, the scheme has been applied to six student projects for teaching computer science in Italian secondary schools. Results of the study highlight some critical issues and suggest some best practices to support teachers to exploit student projects towards a project-based learning method.
Delivering Non-Technical Knowledge and Skills
Overcoming challenges in software engineering education : delivering non-technical knowledge and skills / Liguo Yu, editor. pages cm Summary: "This book combines recent advances and best practices to improve the curriculum of software engineering education, bridging the gap between industry expectations and what academia can provide in software engineering education"-Provided by publisher. Includes bibliographical references and index.
2021
The major concern of teaching computer programming in higher education is to provide students with the necessary skills to integrate theory and practice. One of the methods most suited for this task is projectbased collaborative learning (PBCL). This study provides an in-depth analysis of students' experiences, levels of collaboration and challenges in learning computer programming in a PBCL setting. A sample of 428 students was selected from a population of 840 undergraduate computer programming students at all levels using a stratified random sampling technique. It was found that focusing programming courses on authentic problems made the course more interesting for students. The students gained new interpersonal skills and understood the technical concepts of the courses better. PBCL was found to be suitable for teaching lower level (level 100 and 200) undergraduate programming courses compared with higher level (level 300 and 400) courses. Students' challenges in PBCL computer programming courses include time allocation for projects, choosing appropriate problems and piggy riding in project groups. We expect the findings of this study to influence policy on the teaching of computer programming courses at the undergraduate level.
The Project-Based Learning as a Tool for Development of Soft Skills in Engineering Curricula
2009
This paper addresses the challenge of developing new pedagogical tools, trying to contribute with other approaches to the continuous improvement of the graduate teaching, reporting the implementation of the project-based learning on the Mechanical Engineering course at the University of Brasilia. The project-based learning thread allows the students to have articulation with the professional reality, relationship between theory and practice, developing their soft skills, such as the accomplishment of collaborative activities, the explanation of ideas and problems in an accessible way, oral and written communication, the conduction of meetings, decision making, conflicts management and projects management. This study shows that the development of soft skills can happen by creating an environment for the development of multidisciplinary projects, allowing opportunities for the construction of technical and non- technical knowledge, and its application in engineering problems. It can b...
V Congreso Ibero-Americano de Emprendimiento, Energía, Ambiente y Tecnología (CIEEMAT), 2019
The present work describes the methodology of applying the theoretical principles of Project-Based Learning in the class room, for a single unit, Computer Architecture, in a undergraduate degree of Computer Sciences. The course structure is contextualized through the methodology and the various contents are exposed with regard to Project-Based Learning. The several assessments, tools and projects, are described and framed within the scientific contents intended. To evaluate the performance, global assessments results, and the students settlement, a questionnaire was applied, at the end of the semester, to all involved students, showing promising outcomes. The main achievement obtained with this work, is the demonstration that project-based learning can be applied in a more confined way, to a single unit, with the advantages of a global graduation approach.
Learning Computer Programming Using Project-Based Collaborative Learning
International Journal for Innovation Education and Research, 2021
The major concern of teaching computer programming in higher education is to provide students with the skills necessary to integrate theory and practice. One of the methods most suited for this task is project-based collaborative learning (PBCL). This study provides an in-depth analysis of students’ experiences, levels of collaboration and challenges in learning computer programming in a PBCL setting. A survey of 428 students was selected from a population of 840 undergraduate computer programming students at all levels using a stratified random sampling technique. It was found that focusing programming courses on real problems made the course more interesting for students. The students gained new interpersonal skills and understood the technical concepts of the courses better. PBCL was found to be suitable for teaching lower level (level 100 and 200) undergraduate programming courses compared with higher level (level 300 and 400) courses. Students' challenges in PBCL computer p...
Definition of Project-Based Learning Models in the Computer Engineering Degree
2020
The current characteristics, concerns, preferences, and interests of students differ greatly from the previous students' generations. Nowadays, students are increasingly demanding active methodologies that facilitate their learning process. To meet the actual students' requirements, academic research is focused on the definition of educational mechanisms that promote greater students' participation. Among these mechanisms, the project-based learning (PBL) is a model that organizes learning around projects. Projects are student-driven and provide more tangible results what has been considered as a positive aspect to deepen and retain knowledge. The main objective of this paper is to describe all the activities performed to plan, define, design and project an integrated PBL model for students in the last years (3rd and 4th year students) of the Computer Engineering Degree. The PBL model involves the following subjects: (i) Software Engineering; (ii) Project Management; (ii) Business Requirements Analysis and (iv) Business Models and Organisation Functional Areas. The PBL model has twofold perspectives, the first one is more project and software-directed while the second one is more businessoriented. This model seeks to give continuity to the teaching-learning process so that students can appreciate greater coherence, links, and succession of the contents of different subjects. Moreover, the definition of the PBL model will also support the enhancement of the horizontal and vertical transversal coordination among different subjects.
Evolving a Project-Based Software Engineering Course: A Case Study
2017 IEEE 30th Conference on Software Engineering Education and Training (CSEE&T), 2017
This paper presents the evolution of a project-based course in Software Engineering for undergraduate students at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia. We describe and explain the changes we have done over six semesters. In addition, we investigate the effects of the changes on the students' grades and their project activities, by analyzing the software project repositories and the student feedback. Most of the changes had positive and expected results, while some had unexpected consequences. We distill a set of lessons regarding the class evolution, which will guide the future improvement of the course and which could be useful for other educators developing a similar course.
IEEE Access
In higher education, it is usual to separate the theoretical contents from the practical ones and use teacher-centered methodologies. This fact makes students lose motivation due to the lack of connection with real professional tasks. Conversely, student-centered learning methods, like Project Based Learning (PBL) or Flipped Classroom, aim to integrate both theoretical and practical contents and to apply them on real-world problems, thus increasing the students' motivation and involvement. These methodologies are usually applied in the last years of a degree, but it is difficult to find them in basic first-year subjects. The aim of this research consists in assessing the application of a PBL methodology in first-year subjects of Computer Engineering. This methodological change aims to achieve a significant improvement in the students' learning achievement of the core subject Computer Fundamentals. The Project involved in the PBL proposal consists of developing a portable calculator. The performance of the PBL group is compared with that of other groups with a traditional, teacher-centered learning system. The evolution of the knowledge acquisition is determined by means of an initial evaluation and a final assessment after developing the Project. An exhaustive statistical analysis is performed so as to evaluate the PBL application. Quantitative results show a significant improvement in the experimental group marks, which increased by up to 20% compared to the control groups. As a conclusion, applying PBL and Flipped Classroom engaged students within the subject, thus achieving a deeper understanding of its theoretical concepts.
A STEM-based, Project-driven, Introductory Programming Class for Pre-service Teachers
2019
We detail an introductory programming course developed and delivered to pre-service teachers and motivated by the need for a larger STEM+C workforce. The course had two 50minute lectures per week that introduced Python structure, syntax and keywords, standard and custom modules, best programming practices, etc. PowerPoint lectures were interspersed with active learning assignments. There was also one three-hour laboratory every week that began with a brief presentation of the engineering topics that were relevant for that week. All labs were performed in groups and followed the project-driven learning (PDL) approach. The details of this novel course are described, and the results from the first offering of the course are presented. Survey results from forty-two students from the College of Education regarding the possible value and likelihood of taking a PDL programming course will also be summarized. Infusing computational thinking skills in K-12 education is essential for advancin...
How Project-based Courses face the Challenge of educating Software Engineers
1998
ABSTRACT One way of teaching software engineering is to organize a course around a project similar to a real industrial project. This paper surveys some educational projects that have been presented in the literature. Some projects rely on a customer from the industrial world, on industrial CASE tools, on industrial process models, or on a combination of these. The presented survey is limited because of the number of the reported projects and the quantity and accuracy of information surveyed by the literature.
Defining Project Based Learning steps and evaluation method for software engineering students
Abstract - Needing well educated and skillful workforce is one of the top items in industrial top priority list. But traditional education systems only focus on teaching theoretical knowledge to students which leads to lack of practical experience in them. Therefore modern pedagogy came to overcome this problem. Project based learning is one of these interactive learning pedagogies which is mostly used in engineering educations all over the world. In this research, we review a case study of executing a project based learning program in Isfahan University of Technology, Computer Engineering Department. During this overview, we explain all the steps needed for holding a PjBL curriculum with subject of software development. Finally we discuss about evaluation method for Project based learning programs. Keywords: Project based Learning, Education Pedagogy, Traditional Pedagogy, Software development, Team setup, Evaluation International Journal of Computer Science and Information Security (IJCSIS), Vol. 13, No. 10, October 2015 https://sites.google.com/site/ijcsis/ ISSN 1947-5500
Proceedings of the 19th IFAC World Congress, 2014
In this paper we report on the use of project-based learning in teaching a second-year course in Electrical Engineering that comprises learning to program in LabVIEW-a graphical programming language-and a basic introduction to data communication and telecommunication. The introduction of open project scope has led to higher student motivation and improved learning outcome. In addition, the inclusion of laboratory exercises that provide further tools for interfacing with external hardware, for example Arduino boards, sensors, and wireless networks, has led to further improvement in project quality as students incorporate resources from their own interests and from other courses in their projects.