Conceptual patterns for student-centered computer science education at secondary school level

Author(s):  
Bernhard Standl
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dominik Dolezal ◽  
Alexandra Posekany ◽  
Christoph Roschger ◽  
Gottfried Koppensteiner ◽  
Renate Motschnig ◽  
...  

Using peer assessment in the classroom to increase student engagement by actively involving the pupils in the assessment process has been practiced and researched for decades. In general, the literature suggests using peer review for project-based exercises. This paper analyzes the applicability of peer assessment to smaller exercises at secondary school level and makes recommendations for its use in computer science courses. Furthermore, a school pilot project introducing student-centered classrooms, called “learning office”, is described. Additionally, a concept for the implementation of peer assessment in such student-centered classrooms is outlined. We introduced two traditional secondary school classes consisting of a total of 57 students to the peer assessment method within the scope of the same software engineering course. The peer students assessed two of 13 exercises using the Moodle workshop activity. The students evaluated these two exercises using an anonymous online questionnaire. At the end of the course, they rated each of the 13 exercises regarding their learning motivation. Overall, the anonymous feedback on the peer review exercises was very positive. The students not only obtained more feedback, but also received it in a timelier manner compared to regular teacher assessment. The results of the overall rating of all 13 exercises revealed that the two peer reviewed exercises have been rated significantly better than the other eleven exercises assessed by the teacher. Evidence therefore suggests that peer review is a viable option for small- and medium-sized exercises in the context of computer science education at secondary school level under certain conditions, which we discuss in this paper.


Author(s):  
Roksana Tarannum

In the present context of the fourth Industrial Revolution, science education is considered as theappropriate tool for the development of a nation. Accordingly, the government of Bangladesh has laidsignificant emphasis on science and technology education as a gateway to development with anaspiration to build a „Digital Bangladesh‟ and to attain the status of a middle-income country by2021. However, contrasting to a large number of government initiatives, a declining scenario ofenrollment in science groups at the secondary level has been reported for nearly a decade. Thissituation is likely to be worse in rural areas as it was evident from a visit to Chakaria Upazila ofCox‟s Bazar. Drawing attention to the underlying problems of science education, this study attemptsto provide an account of the present scenario of science enrollment at secondary school level in therural Bangladesh, and identifies the factors responsible for the enrollment pattern. The ten years‟trend analysis on science group enrollment provided a clear picture of declining scenario since 2010.Compared to the other two groups of Business and Humanities, preferences to be enrolled in theScience group at secondary level steadily showed a marked decrease from 2009 to 2018. Complexityand volume of the science syllabus creating “Science Fear”, weak teaching capacity, shortage ofscience and mathematics teachers, scarcity of teaching materials and paucity of laboratory equipmentwere found to be the key factors responsible for declining science enrollments in the secondary levelof rural Bangladesh.


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