scholarly journals Students as Designers of Augmented Reality: Impact on Learning and Motivation in Computer Science

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (8) ◽  
pp. 41
Author(s):  
Josef Buchner ◽  
Michael Kerres
Keyword(s):  
Augmented Reality ◽  
Computer Science ◽  
Learning Performance ◽  
First Year ◽  
Science Students ◽  
Older Learners ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Motivation And Learning

In this study, we report findings from the PCBuildAR project, in which students developed augmented reality (AR) artifacts following a guided design-based learning (DBL) approach. Sixty-two students participated in the study and were either in their first year to learn about computer science or were more experienced computer science students. In terms of learning performance, only the first-year students benefited from our guided DBL approach. In contrast, the experienced students were highly motivated to learn computer science not only immediately after the intervention, but also in the long term. For first-year students, this effect was only evident directly after the intervention. Overall, the guided DBL design proved to be effective for both motivation and learning, especially for younger students. For older learners, a better balance between guidance and autonomy is recommended.

scholarly journals Applying the Rasch model to analyze the effectiveness of education reform in order to decrease computer science students’ dropout

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rita Takács ◽  
Judit T. Kárász ◽  
Szabolcs Takács ◽  
Zoltán Horváth ◽  
Attila Oláh
Keyword(s):  
Education Reform ◽  
Computer Science ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Rasch Model ◽  
Public University ◽  
First Year ◽  
Science Students ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
The Rasch Model ◽  
Analyze Data

AbstractAttrition is an important issue in higher education, especially in the field of computer science (CS). Here, we investigate to what extent an education reform affects the attrition of students by analyzing the pattern of grades of CS students’ academic achievement from 2010 to 2018 by IRT, based on Rasch-model analysis. We analyze data from 3673 undergraduate students of a large public university. In 2016 an education reform—as an intervention—was added to our BSc program: all theoretical lectures became compulsory to attend and we introduced a learning methodology course for all first-year students. According to our results, after the education reform most subjects became accomplishable, and students with lower levels of ability also tried to take exams. We succeeded in retaining 28% of our students. Analyzing students’ results could help administrators develop new programs in order to increase retention.

scholarly journals Development of an interactive mathematics learning system based on a two-tier test diagnostic and guiding strategy

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tzu-Chi Yang ◽  
Hseng-Tz Fu ◽  
Gwo-Jen Hwang ◽  
Stephen J. H. Yang
Keyword(s):  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Mathematics Learning ◽  
Learning System ◽  
Learning Performance ◽  
First Year ◽  
Science Students ◽  
Mathematical Skills ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Effective Learning ◽  
Learning Mathematics

<p>Mathematical skills have been recognised as a core competence for engineering and science students. However, learning mathematics has been recognised as a difficult and challenging task for most students, in particular, calculus for first-year students in university. Consequently, the development of effective learning strategies and environments for mathematics courses has become an important issue. To this end, a mathematics learning system based on an instant diagnostic and guiding strategy is proposed to enhance students’ calculus learning outcomes. Moreover, an experiment has been conducted in a university calculus course to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed method. The experimental results show that the proposed approach not only improved the students’ learning performance, but also improved their confidence in learning calculus. Further findings are also discussed.</p>

scholarly journals Using Decision Trees and Random Forest Algorithms to Predict and Determine Factors Contributing to First-Year University Students’ Learning Performance

Algorithms ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (11) ◽  
pp. 318
Author(s):  
Thao-Trang Huynh-Cam ◽  
Long-Sheng Chen ◽  
Huynh Le
Keyword(s):  
Random Forest ◽  
Performance Prediction ◽  
Prediction Models ◽  
Family Background ◽  
Educational Practice ◽  
Poor Performance ◽  
Learning Performance ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Early Performance

First-year students’ learning performance has received much attention in educational practice and theory. Previous works used some variables, which should be obtained during the course or in the progress of the semester through questionnaire surveys and interviews, to build prediction models. These models cannot provide enough timely support for the poor performance students, caused by economic factors. Therefore, other variables are needed that allow us to reach prediction results earlier. This study attempts to use family background variables that can be obtained prior to the start of the semester to build learning performance prediction models of freshmen using random forest (RF), C5.0, CART, and multilayer perceptron (MLP) algorithms. The real sample of 2407 freshmen who enrolled in 12 departments of a Taiwan vocational university will be employed. The experimental results showed that CART outperforms C5.0, RF, and MLP algorithms. The most important features were mother’s occupations, department, father’s occupations, main source of living expenses, and admission status. The extracted knowledge rules are expected to be indicators for students’ early performance prediction so that strategic intervention can be planned before students begin the semester.

Wiki as a Tool of Choice for Students’ Team Assignments

2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Živana Komlenov ◽  
Zoran Budimac ◽  
Zoran Putnik ◽  
Mirjana Ivanović
Keyword(s):  
Software Engineering ◽  
Computer Science ◽  
Science Studies ◽  
Team Formation ◽  
Formation Mechanisms ◽  
First Year ◽  
Joint Work ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Team Projects ◽  
Collaborative Activities

This paper presents the results of the empirical research based on the experiences in using wiki as means of introducing collaborative activities in two different courses at the same time – an introductory eBusiness course for the first-year students, as well as the course in software engineering for students at the last year of Computer Science studies. Comparing and contrasting the results accomplished by these two groups of students offer interesting insights in how wiki as a tool can contribute both to the efficiency of the assignment solving process and the transparency and fairness of teamwork evaluation. Students’ opinions and feelings emerging during the work on wiki assignments and in respect to the evaluation of their joint work were also investigated. Finally, attention was paid also to the effect of the applied team formation mechanisms on the final results of team projects.

The Influence of Experience, Culture and Spatial Visualization Ability on Users' Attitudes and Anxiety Towards Computer Use

2011 ◽  
pp. 269-280
Author(s):  
Pieter Blignaut ◽  
Theo McDonald ◽  
Janse Tolmie
Keyword(s):  
Computer Science ◽  
Computer Use ◽  
Computer Anxiety ◽  
Spatial Visualization ◽  
First Year ◽  
Science Students ◽  
African Students ◽  
Independent Variables ◽  
Two Independent Variables ◽  
Visualization Ability

The attitude towards computer-related tasks, computer anxiety, and spatial visualization ability (SVA) of a group of first-year computer science students were measured just before their study commenced. The results were analyzed empirically based on two independent variables, i.e., culture and computer experience. It was found that African and European users generally have the same attitude towards computer use. Users’ attitudes improved after experience with computer-related tasks. African students experienced significantly higher levels of computer anxiety than their European counterparts with the same amount of experience. It was also found that African users generally have a lower SVA than European users. Users with higher SVA generally have a better attitude towards working with computers and experience a lower level of computer anxiety.

Impact of Nutrition Education On University Students’ Fat Consumption

2009 ◽  
Vol 70 (4) ◽  
pp. 187-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teri E. Emrich ◽  
M.J. Patricia Mazier
Keyword(s):  
Nutrition Education ◽  
Saturated Fat ◽  
First Year ◽  
Science Students ◽  
Chi Square ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Fat Consumption ◽  
Nutrition Course ◽  
University Science ◽  
Saturated Fat Intake

Purpose: University science students who have taken a nutrition course possess greater knowledge of fats than do those who have not; whether students apply this knowledge to their diet is unknown. We measured and compared science students' total and saturated fat intake in the first and fourth years, and evaluated whether taking a nutrition course influenced fat consumption. Methods: A sample of 269 first- and fourth-year science students at a small undergraduate university completed a survey with both demographic questions and a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire about fats in the diet. Data were analyzed using chi-square tests and independent-sample t-tests. Results: Fourth-year science students consumed fewer grams of total and saturated fat than did first-year science students (p<0.001). Science students who had taken a nutrition course consumed fewer grams of total and saturated fat than did those who had not (p<0.001). Conclusions: Taking a nutrition course may decrease first-year students’ fat consumption, which may improve diet quality and decrease the risk of chronic disease related to fat consumption.

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