Abstract
Competitions are being widely used to motivate students in diverse learning processes, including those in computer programming. This paper presents a methodology for designing and assessing competitive learning scenarios that allow students to develop three different coding skills: the ability to compete against unknown competitors, the ability to compete against known competitors and the ability to compete against refined versions of known competitors. The proposal is based on peer code review, implemented as an improvement cycle after the dissemination of the code among participants. A case study evaluating the methodology was conducted with two cohorts of students in an undergraduate course. The analysis of the obtained grades suggests that while performance after our assistance was improved, students could still fail or succeed independently of the assistance. Complementary data from student questionnaires and supervisor observations are aligned with this finding. As a conclusion, the evidence supports the validity of the methodology. Additionally, several guidelines based on the experience are provided to transfer the proposal to other environments.
Highlights
Higher education has to develop both specific and generic skills in their students, in response to the stringent demands of the current job market [1,2]
Students can benefit from practicing these competitive scenarios in advance in well-defined learning environments [3]
This includes the aim of the competition, any support that will be provided, whether they can play in teams, what measures are to be taken to prevent plagiarism between rounds, and so on
Summary
Higher education has to develop both specific and generic skills in their students, in response to the stringent demands of the current job market [1,2]. These skills will make the difference between their own success and that of their competitors, which may be known or not. Students must know the rules of the competition they will face This includes the aim of the competition, any support that will be provided (e.g., a simulation environment or some examples), whether they can play in teams, what measures are to be taken to prevent plagiarism between rounds, and so on.
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