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On this PageEffective Teaching StrategiesThis is the html version of the file http://www.dcs.bbk.ac.uk/~niki/Assignment1.doc Dr Niki Trigoni
IntroductionComputer science is a relatively new field that has emerged and developed significantly in the last 30 years. Although it was founded by bringing together several disciplines, it has taken its unique identity in recent years, and has revolutionized the ways in which companies and individuals work. The vast interest of young and mature students in this field has intensified the need for effective learning and teaching strategies. It is often argued that being a good teacher is often an innate gift, almost like a charisma, that is difficult to develop. Similarly, it is argued that being an effective learner largely depends on the individual’s cognitive and intellectual capabilities. Although both statements are partly true, there are concrete factors that impact on the effectiveness of teaching and learning, which individuals identify gradually as they get more experienced in their work. New academics can reflect on their own practice, draw on the experiences of their peers, and exploit research results in education, in order to identify these factors early on in their career. The factors analyzed in this paper concern primarily teaching and learning strategies in Computer Science, although certain factors are also applicable to other subjects. The remainder of this paper is organized as follows: Section 2 discusses the features of strategies for learning and teaching considered in this paper. Section 3 identifies the main factors that contribute to the effectiveness of learning and teaching strategies, taking into account the particular characteristics of Computer Science. Section 4 overviews relevant personal experiences, allowing for a reflective evaluation of the factors discussed in Section 3. Finally, Section 5 presents concluding remarks. 2. Strategies for learning and teaching in Computer Science (CS)Learning is a process of change, from being indifferent and ignorant to certain elements of knowledge, to getting to understand them, and being able to put them into practical use. Teaching is the process of helping students learn. Learning and teaching are closely interrelated, and they can be regarded as two sides of the same coin. They can be viewed as a single process experienced differently by individuals depending on whether they assume the teacher’s or student’s role. High quality of teaching usually improves the quality of learning. Likewise, high learning potential often encourages better teaching. Conversely, bad teaching discourages learning, and weak learners often challenge the most sophisticated teaching strategies. This dualism between learning and teaching suggests that strategies that aim at improving teaching should look for effective learning mechanisms. A teaching strategy cannot be considered in isolation of its outcome, the main success criterion of which is the accomplishment of learning. In the following discussion, teaching and learning will be intermingled into a unique entity, the common effort of teachers and students to promote knowledge into a powerful tool for enhancing human life. A strategy is different from an agglomeration of tricks and techniques aimed at effective teaching and learning. It is rather a carefully designed action plan intended to achieve the learning aims and objectives. Strategies differ according to the learning environment to which they apply. Certain strategies are general-purpose, whereas others only apply to specific scenarios. Criteria that differentiate learning environments vary from the background and number of learners to the nature of the subject taught. In this paper, the focus will be on learning and teaching strategies applicable to large classes of mature students in CS. Unlike a simple technique, a strategy has an underlying philosophy that reflects a certain approach to teaching and learning. For instance, teacher-centered strategies perceive the teacher as a transmitter of knowledge, and the student as a passive receiver; student-centered strategies focus on the student needs and emphasize the need to enhance the learning experience by going beyond a stagnant transition of knowledge [1]. Communication in the education process depends on both the encoding of information by the teacher, and the decoding of information by the learner [2]. In the remainder of this paper, we will assume strategies, whose underlying philosophy is that both teachers and learners are active participants in the education process. In the assumed "engagement" model (as opposed to "transmission" model) of lecturing [3], both the lecturer and the students are engaged into a dialogue concerning particular material. The dual engagement of teachers and students is essential in CS, in order to transfer practical skills of building information systems. In this paper we only consider strategies that support the deep learning style, ignoring surface or strategic learning styles [4].
Narrowing our scope to strategies that support deep learning is particularly important in the area of CS, where most of the skills and techniques taught must be well-understood to be immediately applied to real information systems. To summarize this section, we consider strategies applicable to the discipline of CS, which recognize the importance of both the teacher and the learner in achieving deep learning of the material taught. We are now in a position to analyze specific factors that contribute to the effectiveness of such strategies. 3. Factors contributing to effective learning and teaching strategies in CS.
We group the factors that contribute to a successful teaching strategy
for CS into four groups:
Course organization and curriculum design:
This is particularly useful for the M.Sc. conversion program for mature students in CS. This program is designed for students that have little prior experience in the field; they have typically completed their undergraduate degrees in another discipline, and have worked for several years in the industry sector. It is thus vital that lecturers introduce concepts and ideas gradually and in the right order. Moreover, the course must not be limited to a theoretical treatment of the material; it should engage students in simple programming tasks (task-based teaching) — a highly recommended practice in CS. Another point that plays a significant role in course design is the rate of change of the field [6]. Unlike other disciplines, CS is a rapidly evolving subject, in which both academic research and industrial progress are very closely connected to teaching practice. Lecturers should update the material on a frequent basis to reflect academic and industry-initiated advances. Moreover, teachers should emphasize the role of change in CS. Learning a specific technique in CS is not useful unless students understand the principles behind it. Specific techniques change very rapidly in CS, whereas the underlying principles pertain and are used in other contexts.
Suitable learning environment:
First of all, one should carefully choose the physical location of the course. A CS course often requires the alternate application of lecture-style and laboratory-style teaching. The hours of laboratory classes should be regular, and they should be carefully chosen to accommodate the busy schedule of mature students. Attention should be paid to the light and temperature conditions in laboratories equipped with many computers, so that they provide a healthy atmosphere for students who are already tired from previous work activities. As already observed, many CS students are often intimidated by the bare use of computers, let alone by complex programming tasks. A suitable working environment should provide the means to overcome this fear and become adept at programming. This can be achieved in several ways: for example, lab sessions must always have a facilitator capable of answering questions and of helping students with their programming tasks. It is recommended that teachers assign practical coursework, and students seek help from their lecturers during office hours, if they cannot successfully complete it. A culture of senior students providing help to first-year students should also be encouraged. The learning environment can be further improved by encouraging students to think critically during and after class. A teaching strategy should allow students to reflect upon the material taught and should give them time to discuss it with their peers. Particular attention should be paid to bridging the five learning gaps between recall and understanding, understanding and ability, ability and wanting to, wanting to and actually doing, actually doing and ongoing change [4]. In other words, the lecturer should invent a series of tricks and techniques to take knowledge from a superficial level of understanding to the assimilation of basic principles, and the ability to implement them. Most courses of CS are systematic, i.e. they focus on building real systems; understanding ideas without being able to apply them in practice has little value in CS. Creating the conditions for bridging the learning gaps is particularly important, and it can be accomplished using the experiential life cycle discussed in [7]. A suitable learning environment, and its constituent elements, is the most important factor that contributes to a successful teaching and learning strategy in CS. In a recent international CS conference, one of the major concerns expressed about education in CS, was that although students are equipped with a large volume of knowledge, they are often unable to apply it. An effective strategy should create the right conditions for bridging the learning gaps and equipping students with the tools necessary to embark on industrial work or further research studies.
Effective communication patterns:
Programming is traditionally perceived as a lonely task, and for that reason, a misconception has prevailed that communication is not particularly important among computer scientists. Given that most large information systems can only be developed in teams, it is vital that students learn the formalities and informalities of fruitful communication with their peers. An important source of learning in CS is the set of experiences accumulated by students at their work environment. Effective communication mechanisms allow for this information to be shared in the class. Sharing valuable student experiences enhances the teacher’s understanding of the practical implications of the course. The lecturer will be able to transfer experiences of former students to the next ones, hence completing the circle of knowledge passing between teacher and students. Finally, in providing efficient communication channels, the teacher should take into account issues of diversity within the class. In small laboratory classes, the teacher should be sensitive to the age, gender, and race of students, as well as their prior experiences of different educational systems. These factors largely affect the behavior of individuals and their ability to participate actively in a learning session. For instance, most engineering disciplines – including CS – are dominated by male students, and in such an environment female students often feel intimidated. Mature students find the task of using computer technology much more difficult than younger students who were brought up using computers at home. These differences among learners should be seriously considered to enhance communication in the class.
Student and teacher assessment and adaptability:
In most disciplines feedback is received either from students or from colleagues both during and after the course. In CS, it is important that students are asked whether the course has been helpful to their careers a couple of years after the completion of the course. This is an already established policy in the Department of CS, since the effectiveness of a teaching strategy depends on the extent to which theoretical concepts are successfully put into practice at a work environment. In addition to long-term feedback, feedback from students or peers during the course provides timely information for an immediate improvement of the teacher’s policy. Regarding observation of students' performance, the discipline of CS offers the opportunity to assess the effectiveness of teaching by setting up practical programming tasks. Programming tasks provide important feedback because their outcome can be measured in quantitative terms in an objective manner. This allows standards of quality assurance to be set in advance, and to be tested both during and after the completion of the course. Programming tasks (but also essays, presentations and exams) are equally important to give students a notion of their own progress, and encourage them to deal early with their weaknesses. This is another case in which the dual relationship between teaching and learning, and the active role of students in the learning process are exhibited. The same tools can be used both to improve the teacher’s strategy, and to encourage change in the students’ learning strategy. The important thing is that weaknesses of the learning process are revealed and a synergistic two-sided effort is made to deal with them. 4. Personal experiences and reflectionIn this section, I will attempt to juxtapose the factors discussed in Section 4 with my personal experiences as a teacher and as a former student of CS. As a student of CS, I observed that in certain courses the material taught had no apparent continuity, and little evidence was given of its core points. In order to deal with this problem as a lecturer of Software Engineering at the M.Sc. level, I devoted the biggest part of the first lecture to introducing the aims and objectives of the course. This was necessary since I was dealing with mature students with different backgrounds, ranging from system analysts to publishers. I also spent the first ten minutes of each lecture summarizing the previous lecture, in order to give students a sense of continuity, and to demonstrate how different items of the syllabus fit together. This feature was greatly appreciated by students (as observed in their written feedback); it helped them refresh their memory and bring them to a level of attention necessary to absorb the new material. In the same course, almost half of my students observed that the material was overwhelming for the given time frame. As a new lecturer, I was ambitious to convey to my students as much knowledge as possible; my policy could have been successful with full-time students (who can devote their free time in assimilating the lecture content), but it was not optimal for mature students with full-time jobs. In CS, mature students should primarily be using their free time to engage in practical tasks, like programming, rather than to assimilate material hastily covered in the lectures. The importance of understanding the students' learning style became clear to me after the first two lectures of Software Engineering.
As a student I was often reluctant to ask questions fearing to expose my lack of understanding of technology. This memory motivated me to encourage students to participate actively in the Software Engineering class. I first asked them very simple questions that they would feel comfortable answering. This created a relaxed atmosphere in the class, which encouraged students to contribute with tentative answers to difficult questions, or to ask questions themselves. They were also eager to see me during office hours in order to discuss programming tasks given as coursework. 5. ConclusionsThe success or failure of a teaching and learning strategy depends on the attitude and abilities of both the teacher and the students, and on their successful interaction in conveying knowledge about a certain subject. The human factor (and its uncertainty) complicates the task of teaching, and makes it impossible to formulate an ideal and universally accepted strategy. This paper points out four important factors that contribute to an effective strategy, namely course organization and curriculum design, suitable learning environment, effective communication patterns and student/teacher assessment. The suitable learning environment — an environment that provides the means for bridging the learning gaps — is highlighted as the most important parameter in the discipline of CS. The factors discussed in this paper acknowledge and deal with the particular characteristics of CS, namely its strong ties with industry, the rapid changes of the courses, and the fear of mature students towards computer technology. The arguments in this paper have been substantiated by previous personal experience both as a learner and as a teacher. References
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