Abstract
The existing complexities of teaching and learning computer programming are increased where students are diverse in their disciplinary backgrounds, language skills, and cultures. Identifying opportunities for improvement and applying theoretical and empirical evidence found in literature, this study presents the Five C Framework ‒ Consistency, Collaboration, Cognition, Conception, and Creativity ‒ that integrates constructivist and collaborative learning theories in a student-centered teaching pedagogy. This framework was found to be effective in postgraduate courses in introductory programming over three consecutive terms. Analysis conducted using survey and interviews indicates that use of the Five C Framework reduced negative emotional issues, motivated students to become active learners, and improved the overall performance. The Five C Framework may thus be seen to provide a model for student-centered teaching pedagogy which helps to minimise complexities for diverse student cohorts.
Highlights
Australian universities have become learning organisations with very diverse student populations
The study described in this paper focusses on how a highly diverse cohort of students enrolled in the Master of Information Technology (MIT) course at Central Queensland University (CQU) has been supported through the introduction of the Five C Framework
Students scoring 85% or higher were awarded with a High Distinction (HD) and students scoring between 75% and 85% were awarded a grade of Distinction (D)
Summary
Australian universities have become learning organisations with very diverse student populations. Facilitating migration from other disciplines benefits the ICT industry as it produces graduates with essential domain expertise in different areas In this context, the varying levels of aptitude, interest, preparedness, and expectations of students add further complexity to student diversity and make the job of teaching programming more challenging. Considering the complexity and difficulties, teaching programming to students from different disciplinary backgrounds requires a careful approach and customised pedagogy These students need to go through an intensive learning process to achieve the expected postgraduate skill level in two years of study. The course objectives include developing transferable skills such as critical thinking and analysis, oral communication, and teamwork The delivery of this course, over a semester, was through two hours of lecture, and two hours of tutorial where students used an advanced level IDE (integrated/interactive development environment) to code and debug applications.
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