Abstract
Two significant problems faced by universities are to ensure sustainability and to produce quality graduates. Four aspects of these problems are to improve engagement, to foster interaction, develop required skills and to effectively gauge the level of attention and comprehension within lectures and large tutorials. Process-Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL) is a technique used to teach in large lectures and tutorials. It invokes interaction, team building, learning and interest through highly structured group work. This paper describes a new approach to teaching Information Technology (IT) using POGIL. Two IT subjects were chosen for the implementation of the POGIL technique to explore its potential to resolve the aforementioned issues. Preliminary evidence from perspectives of the institution, students and lecturer suggest that POGIL is better able to maximise engagement, foster interaction and effectively gauge the level of attention and comprehension in teaching process-oriented IT concepts than a traditional didactic approach.
Highlights
The development of effective learning methods is essential to the sustainability of universities and the production of quality graduates
This paper reports how Process-Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL) was implemented and trialled over two years in two separate Information Technology (IT) subjects at James Cook University
POGIL lends itself to the analytical problem solving nature of IT and Computer Science
Summary
The development of effective learning methods is essential to the sustainability of universities and the production of quality graduates. Four of the many teaching problems being faced due to challenging pedagogy outcomes and/or budget constraints are: lecture attendance, large tutorial class size, student comprehension and disciplinary skills development. Learning takes place in interactive environments, such as tutorials, where students can expand their understanding through collaborative work and lecturers can assess individual levels of comprehension to guide their teaching strategies. The POGIL and active learning methods appeared to be the answer to all of these four challenges These instructional methods offer techniques that can engage all students during a lecture and simultaneously enhance the interpersonal skills of the IT students. POGIL lends itself to the analytical problem solving nature of IT and Computer Science It is a student-centred strategy where students work in small groups with consistently structured individual roles to ensure that all students are fully engaged in the learning process (Bedgood Jr et al, 2010; POGIL, 2011). The integrated group work initiated discussion, interest and the development of the students' interpersonal skills and made possible the necessary feedback on comprehension
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