Számítógépes gondolkodás a felsőoktatásban

Abstract

1. Summary In our increasingly digital society we increasingly need computational thinking in our daily lives, including our work, even if we do not work in the field of information technology. In a rapidly changing world, it is vital that education be able to keep pace with development, as it has a key role to play in shaping the new way of thinking. In my dissertation, in addition to analysing the situation and presenting computational thinking, I discuss how it could be introduced into higher education. I mention topics that provide scope for the emergence of computational thinking. However, the essential part of the dissertation, to which my theses belong, explores some activities of computational thinking and their application in higher education, specifically in the courses of Algorithms and Data Structures I and II. My first thesis is about the application of gamification, which states, ”The application of gamification also has a raison d’étre in higher education. As a result of the “gamification” of my ELTE IK Algorithms and Data Structures I. and II. courses, my students become more motivated, and are happy to learn through with the edutainment applications I created, thus devoting more time to learning, which leads to a deeper mastery of the curriculum.” Based on my research in several groups, it can be said that the edutainment applications I created activated the students about twice as much as traditional optional tasks, enabling almost half of the students to improve their grades. The evaluation questionnaires showed that students clearly liked my innovations. My second thesis on the application of digital storytelling is: “The application of digital storytelling in higher education also greatly supports education. Students in my ELTE IK Algorithms and Data Structures I. and II. courses prefer watching tutorial videos as they learn. Some students in higher education do not only enjoy watching videos but they also love producing them. Using videos made by their fellow students makes it easier for them to master the curriculum, even in higher education.” In addition to the videos I had created for several semesters, I encouraged students to make tutorial videos for their peers which I post on my website. The questionnaires show that almost three-quarters (69%) of students prefer to watch tutorial videos, more than half of the students surveyed watched at least one video I had posted, and the students who had made a video all found it helpful to make it. My third thesis is related to the principle of the flipped classroom; it reads, " The application of certain elements of the flipped classroom helps students to learn. Full-time BSc students participating in ELTE IK CS training would support the introduction of the flipped classroom method in university lectures, the way I suggest.” In my online teaching practice, I often recorded my lessons and prepared quizzes. I researched students' opinions about the changes and my innovation proposal through anonymous online questionnaires. Based on the amount and content of student assessments, it can be said that the recordings and quizzes were useful and achieved their goal, i.e. they helped students to better understand and acquire the curriculum. My innovation proposal was rated with an average of 4.1, and received a lot of positive feedback. Finally, my fourth thesis, which is the most important claims, " The application of teaching activities and methodologies that support the development of computational thinking in the ELTE IK Algorithms and Data Structures I and II courses has a positive impact not only on students' motivation and activity but also on their performance." I compared the results of my experimental groups with the results of groups whose course did not include the innovative elements I had introduced. In my research, I compared not only the marks students obtained in the practical classes (i.e. the results of the tests and practical marks), but also their performance in the exam. My research shows that students in my “innovative” groups performed better than their peers. In conclusion, the high participation of the students in the surveys, the content of their answers, and their results clearly shows that the use of computational thinking teaching activities increases the efficiency and quality of the knowledge transfer process, helps students to understand and better acquire the curriculum, and enriches the lesson. In all surveys, students clearly expressed their liking, adding that they had become more interested and motivated. Based on all this, I propose to apply the innovative methods presented in the dissertation in higher education, with which the computational thinking ability can be further developed.