Peer learning in an introductory computer science course

Abstract

A problem in teaching large introductory computer science courses is to overcome the impersonality of the large lecture class and to provide more personal attention to individual students. Our approach is to use peer learning experiences to instill in students the need to take responsibility for their learning and for the learning of those around them. Recent work has shown that educational quality for students and productivity for faculty can be enhanced through use of peer-learning environments where students do not just learn and faculty do not just teach. The novel aspects of our work are to apply group learning in a large introductory computer science class setting and to expect more responsibility on the part of students for their learning. In support of these goals we have introduced the use of upper-level undergraduate students to help facilitate student group interaction. In addition, we have developed software to minimize the administrative overhead of handling many groups and for students to electronically record group learning activities.