Effective Learning and Teaching in Computing

Sylvia Alexander, Alastair Irons

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2004
• Print ISBN: 9780415335010
• eBook ISBN: 9781134311538
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

Written to meet the needs of teachers, lecturers and tutors, this is a comprehensive guide to understanding the key issues, best practices and new developments in learning and teaching in information and computer sciences in higher education.
It covers a range of issues relating to teaching within the broad discipline of computing at under- and post-graduate level, including:

* curriculum
* assessment
* links with industry
* international perspectives
* innovative techniques for teaching
* effective use of ICT in teaching.

Effective Learning and Teaching in Computing will be essential reading for less experienced teachers seeking authoritative guidance as well as experienced teachers seeking material for reflection and advice.

1
Current issues

Alastair Irons and Sylvia Alexander

Introduction

This book aims to address many of the challenges and opportunities in the effective learning and teaching of computing in higher education (HE) in the twenty-first century. In the context of this book, ‘computing’ is used as a generic term to include subjects such as computer science, artificial intelligence, software engineering, information systems and multimedia. Computing education is a mainstream activity in the majority of HE providers, certainly in the UK, and as such contributes to fulfilling the purpose of HE – i.e. providing a service for society, developing and enhancing culture, improving the contribution of the subject area, taking the boundaries of the subject forward and providing professionals for the workforce. All of these require effective and efficient teaching. The use of the term ‘effective’ in the title of this book begs the question, effective for whom? Should teaching be effective for the learner, the teacher, in terms of cost for the HE institution, for government or for society? It could be argued that effectiveness in teaching covers all of these stakeholders, but the tenet of this book is to focus on what type of effective teaching will enable students to learn to the best of their abilities.

Effective teaching in computing also raises questions about the subject area: does this mean the basic principles of computing, enhancing the body of knowledge, producing well-equipped employees for the future or producing educated computer professionals who will work for the benefit of society?

The vehicle for delivery is also worthy of consideration. Many students still attend university as a campus-based activity; however, there is an increasing proportion of students choosing to study in a more flexible, non-traditional, non-campus-based mode of study. The traditional activities of lectures, seminars, tutorials, practicals and projects are still prevalent in HE, but teaching has expanded to include independent study, computer-aided learning, computer-aided assessment, distance learning, e-learning, support through e-mail and use of virtual learning environments (VLEs).

Another aspect of effectiveness is the impact on students in terms of motivating, enthusing and inspiring them to challenge the boundaries and principles of the subject area, encouraging them to develop to their full potential through research and further study, promoting reflective practice and encouraging personal and professional development. There is also a need to consider what students expect from HE and what their perception of effective teaching in HE actually is.

Any examination of the effectiveness of teaching computing in HE needs to take into account the changing nature of HE, which at present is in a state of flux. HE is changing from an elite system, largely restricted within national boundaries, to a mass system operating on a global scale. This has resulted in a potentially continual but rapid expansion in both the number of institutions offering HE qualifications and the number of students availing themselves of these opportunities. Working within an environment of change has direct impact on the operation and management of all schools, including computing. While the overall number of students entering HE continues to grow, the competition for these students has also increased. Many computing schools and departments have been at the forefront of meeting increasing university targets through recruitment, and are starting to experience difficulties in meeting those targets.

Funding for students is also having a major impact on HE. The likelihood seems to be that universities will need to look for an increasing percentage of their budget from non-government sources – i.e. beyond the allocation of monies from student numbers and research. As a discipline, computing is well placed to secure non-government monies through consultancy, collaboration with industry and entrepreneurial activities. In addition to the pressures of maintaining the student population and funding teaching in HE, further challenges come in the form of continuous quality assurance inspections, league table performances, and presenting an image of value for money to society.

The chaotic nature of HE as a result of government policy (or lack of appropriate policies and funding) and the continuing environment of change is further exacerbated within the discipline of computing by continuous developments in technology, the evolution of new subject areas and the changing requirements of industry. Against this backdrop of technological change the process of teaching is also changing as a result of developments in information and communication technologies (ICTs). The computing discipline has been in the vanguard in developing courses and programmes to take advantage of advances in technology. Recent changes (over the last ten years) to the structure of computing in HE have seen inflexible (yet coherent) programmes replaced by modular systems of study. Interestingly, these structures now appear to be undergoing reversal and are being replaced by more heuristic programmes.

Computing in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, however, has suffered a reduction in HEFCE funding as students on computing courses now attract band ‘C’ as opposed to band ‘B’ funding. Computing schools will be forced to look beyond HEFCE funding in order to prosper.

Teaching and learning is clearly the focus of this book. However, it must be emphasized that teaching cannot exist in isolation and represents only one function of HE alongside research, development, knowledge transfer, consultancy and links with the community. There need to be positive synergies between all functions, thus enabling each to inform the others. The ‘teaching/research nexus’ (Neumann 1994) is central to HE, and teaching in research-led institutions is often rated as high quality. However, recent arguments for research selectivity place under question the traditional view of the interdependence between research and student learning.

The introduction of Foundation Degrees, the involvement of commercial organizations in the certification of modules and the development of government projects such as the New Technology Institutes (NTIs) potentially clouds the distinction between training and education. One of the main aims of this book is to emphasize the importance of education in the computing discipline and to promote the need to teach the fundamental principles and theoretical underpinnings of computing rather than provide training for commercial certification. It is not only the nature of teaching in any one institution or any one country that is changing. HE is moving towards a worldwide education system based on collaboration and franchising validated programmes. As a discipline, computing has been at the forefront of such activities. While creating new opportunities, such arrangements also present considerable challenges for those involved in the management and delivery of collaborative provision. The remainder of this chapter examines the issues faced by all disciplines in HE, while the implications for the computing discipline are examined throughout the book.

Pre-entry

There are few subject-specific entry requirements to study computing and as a result students who are undecided about which subject to study at university are often encouraged by parents, teachers and peers to study computing, a discipline which can open doors to a variety of career options. However well-intentioned the advice is, it is often the case that students choose computing as a ‘meal ticket’ to well-paid jobs rather than from personal interest or motivation, and without a sound understanding of what the course entails. This can lead to academic and motivational problems.

The problem of what constitutes the discipline of computing has already been alluded to. Student perception is often somewhat different. The experience students have of computers before they enter HE can influence their choice to study computing in the belief that they will develop advanced information technology (IT) and internet skills and quickly and easily be able to develop software similar in quality to that with which they are familiar from the world of entertainment. Potential students are often unaware that computing syllabi cover the under- pinning principles of computing and require problem-solving skills, the need to be able to develop algorithms, a knowledge of mathematics and the academic skills required for report writing, research, giving presentations and designing systems. Feedback from students who have withdrawn from programmes would suggest that the mismatch between expectations and experience of the course is a major factor for those who leave the course early in the academic year. Students often seem to be unaware of the rationale behind the broad range of subjects studied and are unable to make links between them. There is clearly a need to demystify what a degree in computing entails and provide guidance on how the various topics come together to provide a cohesive and holistic approach to computing. In order to retain students and ensure they are motivated, it is incumbent on computing schools to match prospective students with programmes of study that best suit their expectations.

Workload – reading for a degree

As with all students in HE, those studying computing have a serious work/life balancing act to manage. As well as a full curriculum, many students hold down part-time (or near permanent) jobs in order to finance their way through university. Many students also have family commitments which have a major impact on the amount of time they can devote to their studies. On top of this the number of personal problems students have to deal with in today’s HE environment mean that a smooth passage through their studies is increasingly unlikely. There has long been a tendency in HE for over-assessment. For many years the norm for assessment in HE has been the examination. Over a period of time, this has moved to a mix of course assessment and examination. As a result, the summative assessment load has continued to expand, with many modules now being assessed by both coursework and examination.

As the assessment load has increased, students are driven not by learning or education, but by assessment. As students become more strategic in their approach, there is a need to move away from summative assessment and examine how students are motivated and what techniques can be used to improve formative feedback while at the same time getting students to take responsibility for their academic work. By reducing the volume of summative assessment, more engaging innovative and valued means of learning for students can be explored.

There is a government expectation that personal development plans (PDPs) will come on stream in 2005. With the introduction of PDPs there is an opportunity to change the culture of HE and move from a restrictive culture of summative assessment to a more open, invigorating and motivating culture where formative and developmental feedback is provided to students, where students are responsible for their own learning and students use PDPs as evidence of that learning. Getting the work/life balance correct in HE will enable students to get the most from their learning experience and help academics provide effective teaching opportunities for those students.

Curriculum issues

Computing faces an exciting challenge in providing curricula that meet the demands of students, employers and society. Rapid changes and developments in technology demand that computing curricula and teaching methods undergo change frequently. As such, it is preferable that computing curricula be as independent as possible of specific technologies and instead focus on generic computing subject areas and skills required to enter the profession.

Bearing in mind the demands of the rapidly changing subject area, computing will by necessity evolve continuously in order to keep pace with new technologies and the demands of business and industry. Nevertheless, there are a number of common curriculum threads (e.g. the teaching of programming, the underpinning requirements for mathematics, design issues for systems development, database design, and communication and networking requirements for industry-based hardware systems). An underlying theme is the growth in demand for professionalism, both in subject-specific skills and in interpersonal skills. Issues such as ethics, legal and social issues, licence to practice and the demand for high-standard, high-quality graduates continue to be at the forefront of discussions about the professionalism of computing graduates. Even though the computing benchmark statement focuses on the common aspects of the curriculum, it is important that HE continues to have a variety of different courses (both within and between institutions) in order to embrace the breadth, depth and diversity of the discipline.

There are many challenges that arise from the complexity of the computing curriculum, most notably the demands of a balance between theory and practice. Students need to be able to ‘do things’ in a practical sense as well as understand the underpinning academic rigour of the subject.

Teaching programming requires a fine balance between teaching the principles of algorithmic thinking, linking programming language to design methodology, mastering the syntactic detail of a particular language and developing the skills required to design, compile and debug programs while at the same time keeping students motivated. Many students find it frustrating that there is such a steep learning curve in programming before they are able to produce the programs that they expected with relative ease. This has an adverse effect on student motivation. Students pick up the fundamentals of programming at different rates, based on prior experience and inherent mathematical and problem-solving abilities. Classes with a mix of ‘experts’ and ‘novices’ pose a considerable challenge, as students need to learn and develop at their own pace. Keeping the former motivated and enthused while ensuring the latter are not intimidated and have the opportunity to develop their ability requires imagination and skill.

Fundamental to the teaching of computing is the development of mathematical and problem-solving skills. Studying mathematics, in particular discrete mathematics, provides computing students with the opportunity to ‘develop the ability to reason and analyse formally defined abstract structures’ (Devlin 2003: 36). The mathematical techniques developed help greatly in the design, development and testing of information systems.

Employers expect students to be proficient in design, a topic which manifests itself in a number of computing subject areas – for example, hardware design, systems design, program design, database design and Human Computer Interface (HCI) design. In order to understand design techniques there is not only a need to appreciate a wide range of methods and techniques but also a need to be able to apply those techniques and, indeed, to be able to critically evaluate them. In industry the techniques are used to solve large and complex problems, however within HE smaller problems must be used to enable students to understand and manage design solutions within limited periods of time.

It is therefore important to ensure that students understand the cumulative nature of the tools and techniques they are studying. Undergraduate programmes in HE normally include a group project which allows for many of the design techniques developed over a period of time to be brought together and shared by the group who collectively tackle a more complex problem. Group projects also provide the opportunity to integrate a number of transferable skills.

Individual final-year projects also enable students to integrate and synthesize many of the design skills that have been introduced in earlier learning experiences. The individual project also includes an opportunity for students to undertake a significant piece of research, as well as product design and development, and provides a chance to introduce students to further research opportunities in HE.

There is a professional and moral responsibility on teachers in HE to sensitize students to the professional and ethical dilemmas they will face. As such it is important to broaden students’ consideration of computing beyond computing fundamentals and problem solving and to consider the impact of computing on society. Studying professional and ethical issues will help stu...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• About the editors and specialist contributors
• Series editor’s foreword
• Foreword
• Introduction
• 1: Current issues
• Part 1 Teaching and the support of learning
• Part 2 Learning activities for computing students
• Part 3 Developing effective learning environments
• Part 4 Reflective practice and personal development