Computer Science Bachelor Research Articles

Applying Q-methodology to investigate computer science teachers’ preferences about students’ skills and knowledge for obtaining a degree

Students’ dropout of Computer Science (CS) education is a crucial issue. This study aims to investigate one of the aspects which can help to retain our students. It is vital to examine CS education on the challenge of competence transition within the BSc curriculum from faculty perspectives. Teachers’ expectations about students’ skills and knowledge are important to understand because they influence learning outcomes and teaching methodologies. Acquiring hard skills and professional skills has outstanding significance in preparing students for their future careers. This study uses Q-methodology to identify the different viewpoints on the skills necessary to obtain a CS degree. Teachers from CS bachelor’s programmes at a large European university participated in the study and shared their opinions. The participants were asked to rank the statements along a spectrum of “the most important skill” to “unimportant skill” (containing hard skills as well as soft skills). Factor analysis revealed five factors that are key components to obtaining a degree in CS: 1. analytical and technical skills, 2. teamwork and self-study experience, 3. group programming experience, 4. communication and problem-solving skills, 5. mathematical foundations and process modelling ability. This exploratory study applied a new research instrument and approach to incorporate teachers’ perspectives into research and practice. These findings could help administrators develop new curricula in order to increase students’ retention. We confirmed the need for acquiring professional skills and highlighted the need for designing new programmes which can improve students’ soft skills to prepare them for work in the IT field.

On the development of the Digital Shadow of the Fischertechnik Training Factory Industry 4.0: an educational perspective

The fourth industrial revolution is characterized by the increasing availability of data, which can be collected from machines to create digital counterparts of them (e.g., Digital Shadow, Digital Twin), understand their status, and drive strategic and operational decisions. To effectively create and use such digital counterparts, it is necessary to hire skilled people or train them to achieve the necessary competencies, for instance using learning factories, which are nowadays becoming more and more common. From an educational standpoint, it is interesting to observe how such competencies could be developed starting from a personal background. The paper describes the development process of the Digital Shadow of the Fischertechnik Training Factory Industry 4.0 in the context of a university course. The aim was to understand if the competencies acquired during the Computer Science bachelor's degree were enough to allow for the development of a functioning Digital Shadow of the learning factory.

DEVELOPMENT OF SOFT SKILLS IN COMPUTER SCIENCE BACHELORS IN THE PROJECT LEARNING PROCESS

The article proposes and substantiates a method of development of soft skills in Computer Science bachelors using project-based learning technologies, as successful employment of graduates in the IT industry market depends on the level of such skills. Developed communication skills, teamwork, and the ability to plan work on a project are important requirements for university graduates’ successful employment in the IT industry. The formation and development of soft skills enables the students not only to meet the requirements of the labor market, but also to more successfully develop professional skills (hard skills). The authors propose indicators of soft skill formation by 5 categories: personal effectiveness, communicative, managerial, strategic and information management skills. The methodology of soft skill development for future specialists in information technologies is based on three stages, each of which involves the implementation of different types of projects: collective, term paper and interdisciplinary. The components of soft skills that are formed during each of the stages are determined. The research substantiates the integration of two learning technologies for the implementation of the proposed methodology – blended and project-based learning, which involve the use of digital technologies. During the experimental research, students independently assessed the level of their soft skill formation according to the defined indicators in line with the proposed categories on a 10-point scale. The results of the conducted experimental study proved the improvement of the level of soft skill formation in Computer Science Bachelors in the process of project training. The statistical analysis of the results of the experiment proved the significance of the proposed method and made it possible to confirm its effectiveness.

Smart rogaining for computer science orientation

In this paper, we address the problem of designing new formats of computer science orientation activities to be offered during high school students internships in Computer Science Bachelor degrees. In order to cover a wide range of computer science topics as well to deal with soft skills and gender gap issues, we propose a teamwork format, called smart rogaining, that offer engaging introductory activities to prospective students in a series of checkpoints dislocated along the different stages of a rogaine. The format is supported by a smart mobile and web application. Our proposal is aimed at stimulating the interest of participants in different areas of computer science and at improving digital and soft skills of participants and, as a side effect, of staff members (instructors and university students). In the paper, we introduce the proposed format and discuss our experience in the editions organized at the University of Genoa before the COVID-19 pandemic (2019 and 2020 waves).

The Use of Interactive Whiteboard in Teaching Mathematics and Statistics

Traditionally, the technique of delivery for calculation subjects requires extensive step-by-step training to answer a problem. This has caused students to feel bland, less interested, and soon bored. Therefore, a digital whiteboard has been integrated into the synchronized learning sessions to complete the educational experience. Interactive whiteboard is known as one of the most revolutionary instructional technologies for various educational levels. One of the popular applications among educators that can be used as an extremely versatile interactive whiteboard is 'Explain Everything' (EE) application. The purpose of this research is to investigate students' experience on the usage of the Explain Everything in teaching and learning process. The questionnaire was developed based on three main components; Learning, Interaction and Motivation which was determined by Explanatory Factor Analysis. In this study, students from Diploma in Computer Science, Bachelor in Computer Science, Bachelor in Business Computing and Bachelor in Mathematical Computing who were taught using 'Explain Everything' were asked to answer the questionnaire. The result suggests that the use of Explain Everything application in class does have a positive effect on students’ satisfaction towards the lecturer's teaching. The usage of a digital whiteboard may pique students' attention, engage them in their study, and increase their comprehension. As a result, educators should consider adopting Explain Everything as one of their online pedagogies.

GRADUATES’ EMPLOYABILITY AND SKILLS ACQUISITION: TRACER STUDY OF BSCS GRADUATES OF NOTRE DAME OF MARBEL UNIVERSITY FROM 1994 – 2019 FOR CURRICULUM ENHANCEMENT

This tracer study determined the employment status of Bachelor of Computer Science (BSCS) Graduates of Notre Dame of Marbel University (NDMU) from 1994 - 2019. It also assessed the relevance of BSCS curricula, knowledge, skills, and work values acquired by the graduates relevant to their employment; identify the personal and professional characteristics and job placement of Computer Science graduates and the school-related factors associated with their employment. The findings of the study served as the basis for the researcher to improve, update or enhance the curricula of the BSCS program to make this more responsive to the needs of fast-changing technology. 111 survey participants were gainfully employed; the majority held professional, technical, or supervisory positions; they obtained their first jobs in less than a year; they stayed in their first jobs for more than a year; the main reasons they changed jobs were career challenges, salaries, and benefits. The respondents found that the critical thinking, interpersonal communication, and problem-solving abilities acquired by BSCS graduates were extremely helpful in their current jobs. The respondents considered the work-related values they learned in the university's value formations to be extremely helpful to their current employment. It is strongly recommended that the graduating students before graduation must be given ample time to experience pre-employment examinations and interviews. Faculty development training must be given to the faculty members teaching core subjects.

Examining women’s differential pathways into computer science by BA and BS degree programs

ABSTRACT Background and Context Women are severely underrepresented in computer science (CS). Understanding varied entry points into CS may promote women’s participation in the field. Objective This study identifies experiences that influenced women’s matriculation into CS majors, and pathways into CS based on participants’ enrollment in bachelor of arts (BA) or bachelor of science (BS) degree programs. Method Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 women completing CS bachelor’s degrees at a public institution in the U.S. Findings Findings show different entry points into CS based on whether women matriculated into the site institution’s College of Engineering (pursued a BS degree) or College of Arts and Sciences (BA degree). For most, introductory CS courses were critical to choosing a CS major. BS students entered college with existing STEM interests and received early exposure to CS via curricular requirements. BA students entered CS courses and majors comparatively later, often based on social encouragement. Implications Degree program structures and curricula influence students’ exposure to CS and their major choices. Since most BA participants did not consider a CS major until their second year, flexible curricula can provide critical access for students with limited computing experience.

Detecting at-risk students on Computer Science bachelor programs based on pre-enrollment characteristics

AbstractThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the pre-enrollment attributes of first-year students at Computer Science BSc programs of the University of Miskolc, Hungary in order to find those that mostly contribute to failure on the Programming Basics first-semester course and, consequently to dropout. Our aim is to detect at-risk students early, so that we can offer appropriate mentorship program to them. The study is based on secondary school performance and first-semester Programming Basics course results from the last decade of over 500 students. Secondary school performance is characterized by the rank of the school, admission point score, and foreign language knowledge. The correlation of these data with the Programming Basics course result is measured. We have tested three hypotheses, and found that admission point score and school rank together have significant impact on the first-semester Programming Basics course results. The findings also support our assumption that students having weaknesses in all examined pre-enrollment attributes are subject to dropout. This paper presents our analysis on students' data and the method we used to determine the attributes that mostly affect dropout.

Measuring Students Acceptance and Usability of a Cloud Virtual Desktop Solution for a Programming Course

Virtual desktops in cloud scenarios play a significant role in higher education. Nowadays, the idea of moving laboratories to the cloud seems mandatory and it is necessary to maintain students’ commitment in this new scenario. This paper aims at two targets, customizing a Virtual Desktop platform for delivering the laboratories of a programming course in a Computer Science Bachelor Degree and empirically apply the technology acceptance model and the system usability scale to a set of students that use it. Results obtained in this paper provide insights about the direct effect between the perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, and attitude to technology following the technology acceptance model (TAM) as well as a comprehensive analysis of the system usability scale (SUS) of our platform.

Improving Student Engagement With Project-Based Learning: A Case Study in Software Engineering

In the area of Information and Communication Technologies, in addition to the problem of engagement, students often have difficulties in learning subjects related to modeling and programming. The reasons for these difficulties are well known and described in the literature, pointing to difficulties in abstraction and logic thinking. Knowing that the value of flexible and personalized learning, teachers are changing the way they teach, using different active learning methodologies, such as flipped classroom, project-based learning, and peer instruction. This paper describes an experiment conducted to improve the learning experiences of the students enrolled in the Computer Science bachelor’s degree course, attending three curricular units: Information Systems Development, Data Structures, and Web Languages and Technologies. The approach followed by the teachers used project-based learning as an active learning methodology. This methodology allows us to achieve four main objectives: (i) improve student engagement; (ii) improve learning outcomes achievement (iii) increase the course success rate and (iv) allow students to experience the need for the software development lifecycle, feeling that software engineering is not a block-based process but depending on previous activity, often leads to the need to go back in the process. The results obtained with the use of the active methodology were well accepted by the students and allowed both teachers and students to reach the objectives set.

An Experimental Evaluation of a Teaching Approach for Statistical Process Control in Computer Courses

In organizations that are seeking a high degree of maturity, it is necessary to achieve a statistical control of software processes and to know their behavior and operational performance. The approach adopted for the research involves reading articles and experience performance reports, practical cases, discussion, the use of games and simulators, practical projects, and reflection by students on the knowledge learned and activities carried out. The evaluation was conducted with undergraduates enrolled in a Computer Science Bachelor's degree programme, who were divided into a control group and an experimental group. At the end, the two groups carried out a practical project to evaluate the learning effectiveness reached by the students. The results of the study suggest that there was a difference in the effectiveness of the learning resulting from the teaching approach and traditional instruction. The authors observed a mean gain of 30.06% in the experimental group, which is evidence of this rise in the learning effectiveness.

Revising Computer Science Networking Hands-On Courses in the Context of the Future Internet

Contribution: In a context where hands-on courses are biased toward specific technologies, a novel creativity-provoking instructional approach for networking undergraduate courses is successfully applied following action research principles and active and creative learning techniques. Background: Extensive engineering-oriented networking courses have been proposed with a strong focus on specific protocol solutions. At the same time, the amount and complexity of techniques is notably increasing with the advent of the Future Internet. As a result, the curricula looses focus on the fundamentals of networking algorithms. Intended Outcomes: We address algorithmic learning in networking for computer sciences, where students are expected to 1) create; 2) develop; 3) analyze; and 4) compare algorithms and processes regardless of protocol-specific technologies. At least 70% of the students are expected to meet this goal while enhancing their engagement and motivation in a time-constrained course schedule. Application Design: To achieve 1) and 2), we instrument an active experimental strategy, while objectives 3) and 4) are tackled with creative learning techniques, both applied in an action research framework. The approach is supported by state-of-the-art networking application interfaces and simulators. Furthermore, a blended and game learning component favors the engagement via comparison and competition of students' project metrics. Findings: The experiment is carried out by professors of the Computer Science Bachelor's degree taught in FAMAF. Results show that the applied methodology met the intended outcomes, and improved by 7% in a two-year cycle. Furthermore, the approach was very well received based on student's feedback.

The approaches to Web-based education of computer science bachelors in higher education institutions

The problem of organizing of Web-based education of bachelors, and the bachelors of computer science in particular, is relevant for higher education institutions. The IT industry puts forward new requirements for future IT professionals training. This, in its turn, requires the educational process modernization: content specification, updating of forms, methods and means of training to meet the demands of socio-economic development of the society in general and bachelors of computer science in particular. The article analyzes and clarifies the notion of Web-based education of bachelors; as well as a line of approaches, such as approaches to the organization of Web-based learning for A La Carte, Station Rotation, Lab Rotation, Individual Rotation, Flipped Learning scenario; the necessity of cloud computing and virtual classroom use as a component of Web-based learning is substantiated. It is established that with the advent of a large number of cloud-based services, augmented and virtual realities, new conditions are created for the development of skills to work with innovative systems. It is noted that the implementation of the approaches to the organization of student Web-based education is carried out on international level, in such projects as Erasmus+ “Curriculum for Blended Learning” and “Blended learning courses for teacher educators between Asia and Europe”. The article features the results of programming students survey on the use of Web-based technologies while learning, namely the results of a new approach to learning organization according to the formula – traditional (30%), distance (50%) and project (20%) training.

Effective Assessment of Computer Science Capstone Projects and Student Outcomes

A capstone project is a culminating experience that entails creativity, critical thinking, and advanced problem-solving skills. To that end, capstone projects enable students to prove their abilities, demonstrate their attained skills, and carry out a significant project in their field. In Computer Science Bachelor programs, there is a strong mapping between learning outcomes of capstone projects and all student learning outcomes. This paper presents an assessment framework for capstone courses that allows for sound evaluations of the performance of students and project qualities; besides assessing the student outcomes of the program. The developed framework comprises criteria, indicators, extensive analytic rubrics, and a summative statistical formulation. The presented course and framework are supported by the results, analysis, and evaluation of a pilot study for a single institution to explore the effectiveness of the proposed tool.

The Data Mining Group at University of Vienna

How can we extract meaningful knowledge from massive amounts of data? The data mining group at University of Vienna contributes novel methods for exploratory data analysis. Our main research focus is on unsupervised learning, where we want to identify any kind of non-random structure or patterns in the data without restricting ourselves to a pre-defined target variable or analysis goal. Our major lines of current research are clustering, causality detection and highly efficient exploratory data analysis on massive data. Besides that, we develop application-specific methods addressing specific challenges in biomedicine, neuroscience and environmental sciences. In teaching, we offer fundamental and advanced courses in data mining, machine learning and scientific data management for Bachelor and Master students of computer science and related programs.

Enrollment and retention in U.S. computer science bachelor's programs in 2016-17

Enrollment and retention in U.S. computer science bachelor's programs in 2016-17

ФОРМУВАННЯ ІНФОРМАЦІЙНО-КОМУНІКАЦІЙНОЇ КОМПЕТЕНТНОСТІ БАКАЛАВРІВ ІНФОРМАТИКИ ЩОДО ВИКОРИСТАННЯ ХМАРО ОРІЄНТОВАНОГО НАВЧАЛЬНОГО СЕРЕДОВИЩА

У статті уточнено поняття "інформаційно-комунікаційна компетентність бакалаврів інформатики щодо використання ХОНС", виділено критерії (ціннісно-мотиваційний, когнітивний, операційно-діяльнісний, дослідницький, дидактичний), показники та рівні (низький, середній, достатній, високий) сформованості ІК-компетентності бакалаврів інформатики щодо використання хмаро орієнтованого навчального середовища (ХОНС). Встановлено, що для підвищення ІК-компетентності учасників освітнього процесу варто проводити додаткові факультативи та (або) спецкурси. З метою вдосконалення змісту навчання бакалаврів інформатики було: спроектовано ХОНС для використання в навчальному процесі бакалаврів інформатики; дібрано хмаро орієнтовані засоби навчання, що є доцільними для застосування в процесі навчання бакалаврів інформатики; удосконалено зміст дисциплін, що безпосередньо пов’язані з програмуванням ("Програмування", "Java-програмування", "Web-програмування", "Технології програмування", "Вибрані питання комп’ютерної інженерії"), для використання ХОНС під час вивчення різних тем таких дисциплін; розроблено та впроваджено форми, методи та засоби використання ХОНС у підготовці бакалаврів інформатики; розроблено та впроваджено факультатив "Хмарні технології в освіті", що передбачає ознайомлення з особливостями використання різних хмарних технологій у навчальному процесі бакалаврів інформатики для формування їх ІК-компетентності з використання ХОНС, а також розроблено навчально-методичний комплекс дисципліни "Хмарні технології в освіті" для магістрів інформатики. Проведено аналіз результатів педагогічного експерименту, що свідчить про підвищення рівня сформованості ІК-компетентності студентів щодо використання ХОНС, а отже, і про педагогічну доцільність впровадження методичної системи використання ХОНС у підготовці бакалаврів інформатики.

Factors influencing women entering the software development field through coding bootcamps vs. computer science bachelor's degrees

The gender disparity in technology related fields is well known and well documented. Only 18% of computer science undergraduates and 26% of computer science professionals are women. Despite numerou...

Chutes and Ladders

Community colleges play a large role in educating students who are historically underrepresented in computer science (CS), including women, Latino men, and Black men, as well as post-traditional (older or working) students. In spite of this, there is a dearth of research on the institutional factors that influence whether or not community college students who are enrolled in CS classes and who express an interest in transferring and completing a bachelor’s degree in the field persist. The overused “pipeline” metaphor, which indicates a supply-side lack, has been replaced by many with that of a “pathway.” However, the “pathway” image suggests a general forward-moving trend that can be misleading. In this work, we draw from qualitative interviews with 14 CS students from groups traditionally underrepresented in the field who have studied introductory computer programming at a community college to investigate the following question: “What are the institutional barriers along a CS bachelor’s degree track that includes community college?” Our findings indicate that there are three categories of institutional barriers along the transfer pathway: setbacks that hinder student progression forward, discontinuities in which students leave and re-enter the pathway, and departures in which students leave computer science and/or leave college altogether. We describe specific examples of each and introduce the idea of student movement as a game of “chutes and ladders,” a convoluted trail where students can slide backwards or off the path (chutes), necessitating the implementation of targeted institutional supports that can boost student progress forward (ladders). We suggest institutional interventions that can help students facing each type of barrier to continue on course through community college and transfer to a four-year university.

Separate components of the methodology of the use of cloud- and web-oriented learning tools in the preparation of bachelors of computer science

Separate components of the methodology of the use of cloud- and web-oriented learning tools in the preparation of bachelors of computer science