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- Co-regulated learning in computer programming: students co-reflection about learning strategies adopted during an assignmentPublication . Pedrosa, Daniela; Cravino, José; Morgado, Leonel; Barreira, Carlos Manuel FolgadoHigher education students exhibit difficulties in learning computer programming, particularly transitioning from initial programming to advanced programming, so it’s necessary to develop effective teaching strategies. We developed the SimProgramming approach to help students overcome learning difficulties transitioning from entry-level to advanced computer programming, by developing appropriate learning strategies. The students perform a specific set of tasks in a learning environment that simulates business operations, developing a problem-based learning assignment. One of those tasks is filling biweekly individual self-reflection and co-reflection forms. This approach was implemented at the University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro (Portugal), in a 4th semester course of two bachelor programmes: Informatics Engineering and ICT. The students provided 37 biweekly forms, on which we conducted thematic analysis to identify their strategies for co-regulation of learning during the assignment. Students are adopting different strategies in each phase of the approach. Early phases are devoted to organization, planning, and transformation of information, and later phases focus on applying theoretical knowledge and hands-on programming. We recommend including this type of pedagogical task (biwekly self-reflection and co-reflection forms) in educational practices, in view of their contribution to improving self- and co-regulation learning strategies.
- SimProgramming : the development of an integrated teaching approach for computer programming in higher educationPublication . Pedrosa, Daniela; Cravino, José; Morgado, Leonel; Barreira, Carlos Manuel Folgado; Nunes, Ricardo Rodrigues; Martins, Paulo; Paredes, HugoComputer programming courses in higher education tend to have high rates of academic failure and students struggle, particularly so in the transition from entry-level programming to advanced programming. Some of the reasons given in the literature relate to the type of teaching approach and the strategies used by students and their attitudes towards computer programming. The literature also mentions that educational approaches are not always appropriate to the needs of students and to the development of skills required in the job market. We developed a teaching approach to try to address some of these issues and support students learning computer programming in the transition from entry-level to advanced computer programming: the SimProgramming approach. This approach was introduced at the University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro (Portugal), within the scope of the course “Programming Methodologies III”, part of the second curricular year of the programmes of studies in Informatics Engineering and in Information & Communication Technologies. We present in detail the origins of the SimProgramming approach, starting from the first trials that introduced, in two iterations, learning activities based on problem-based learning, and up to the third iteration where the current SimProgramming approach was implemented. We describe the reasoning, design and implementation of these three iterations, to show how the approach evolved. The SimProgramming approach is based in four conceptual foundations: business-like learning environment, self-regulated learning, co-regulated learning and formative assessment. For each of these conceptual foundations, we explain the teaching strategies adopted. In SimProgramming, the learning activity process develops in four phases, and students have specific tasks in each phase. We analyse interview data regarding student perceptions about the SimProgramming approach, and registration grids data on team work dynamics and final assessment of the assignment, noting the impact of SimProgramming in student grades. The application of SimProgramming revealed promising evidences in the overall results of student learning in the activities proposed in this approach. The average grades improved, and did the number of students regularly submitting their tasks on schedule. The perceptions of students regarding the SimProgramming approach are very positive: they recommend using it in the following years, and provided some suggestions to improve the approach. We conclude with reflections and recommendations for subsequent development of the SimProgramming approach in its application to the teaching of computer programming and potential for using it in other educational contexts.
- Challenges implementing the SimProgramming approach in online software engineering education for promoting self and co-regulation of learningPublication . Pedrosa, Daniela; Morgado, Leonel; Cravino, José; Fontes, Mario Madureira; Castelhano, Maria; Machado, Claudia; Curado, ElianaHigh academic failure rates in computer programming are significant transitioning from initial to advanced stages. In online higher education, challenges are greater since students’ autonomy requires greater skills for self-regulation and co-regulation of learning. The SimProgramming approach develops these skills and is being adapted to e-learning for this transitioning phase. In this paper, we describe the dynamics and outcomes of student participation and task development in a first iteration of the adapted e-SimProgramming approach, which took place during a 2nd year-2nd semester course for the Informatics Engineering program at Universidade Aberta in the 2018/2019 academic year. We identified pedagogical and technical challenges, requiring changes for subsequent attempts of adopting SimProgramming for online education contexts: target audience and teaching context aspects; self and co-regulation of learning dimensions of e-learning courses; pedagogical design recommendations; and requirements for software tools for learning management.
- Self-regulated learning in computer programming : strategies students adopted during an assignmentPublication . Pedrosa, Daniela; Cravino, José; Morgado, Leonel; Barreira, Carlos Manuel FolgadoThe SimProgramming teaching approach has the goal to help students overcome their learning difficulties in the transition from entry-level to advanced computer programming and prepare them for real-world labour environments, adopting learning strategies. It immerses learners in a businesslike learning environment, where students develop a problem-based learning activity with a specific set of tasks, one of which is filling weekly individual forms. We conducted thematic analysis of 401 weekly forms, to identify the students’ strategies for self-regulation of learning during assignment. The students are adopting different strategies in each phase of the approach. The early phases are devoted to organization and planning, later phases focus on applying theoretical knowledge and hands-on programming. Based on the results, we recommend the development of educational practices to help students conduct self-reflection of their performance during tasks.
- Self-regulated learning in higher education : strategies adopted by computer programming studentsPublication . Pedrosa, Daniela; Cravino, José; Morgado, Leonel; Barreira, Carlos Manuel FolgadoTo help students overcome their learning difficulties in the transition from entry-level to advanced computer programming, developing an appropriate set of learning strategies, the SimProgramming teaching approach has been adopted at the University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro (Portugal). This approach is based on four conceptual foundations: businesslike learning environment, self-regulated learning, co-regulated learning, and formative assessment. In this approach the students develop an activity based on problem-based learning, with a specific set of tasks based on those four conceptual foundations. The approach was implemented in two courses from the second and third curricular years of the bachelor programmes in Informatics Engineering and Information & Communication Technologies. We conducted semi-structured interviews with students (n=32) at the end of the courses, to try to identify the students’ strategies for self-regulation of learning in the activity developed within the SimProgramming approach. The main strategies identified were: organization, planning, time management, identification of difficulties, resolution of the difficulties encountered, work review, identification of the factors that influenced their motivation, and structure of the environment. The factors influencing the motivation most often identified by students were the impact of the assessment in the final course grade, the completion of the course, learning, skills development, and teamwork. Generally, students applied strategies to solve the difficulties, in particular by searching for social help and information search. Procrastination was also often identified by students. Strategies of time management, transformation of information, in-depth review, self-reflection, and self-evaluation were referenced scantily. We found that students changed some of their strategies from one course edition to the next. We conclude by recommending the development of educational practices to help students review their work, treat and process the information they find, conduct self-reflection and self-evaluation of their performance during tasks, adopt concentration strategies, and become aware of their specific difficulties.
- Motivating students to learn computer programming in higher education: the SimProgramming approachPublication . Nunes, Ricardo Rodrigues; Cruz, Gonçalo; Pedrosa, Daniela; Maia, Ana Margarida; Morgado, Leonel; Paredes, Hugo; Cravino, José; Martins, PauloThis paper presents an action research study aiming to motivate undergraduate students to develop their computer programming learning skills, particularly within the transition from beginner to proficient level. The SimProgramming motivational approach is presented as a didactic proposal for this context. From the results of this iterative research process, we concluded that SimProgramming is a promising tool for teaching computer programming skills in intermediate classes, with potential to be used and/or applied in other educational contexts.