Understanding and Enhancing Self Regulated Learning in Introductory Computer Science Courses

University Of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia PA

Investigators

Abstract

With support from the NSF Improving Undergraduate STEM Education Program: Education and Human Resources (IUSE: EHR), this project aims to serve the national interest in high-quality computer science education. Given the dramatic growth in computing-related educational programs, it is important to improve student learning outcomes in introductory computer science courses. Self-regulated learning may be a key to achieving this goal. Self-regulated learning includes the abilities of learners to set their own goals, monitor the own learning, and adjust learning strategies as needed. Research studies show that many computer science students have poor self-regulated learning abilities. As a result, they engage in behaviors that interfere with learning, such as procrastination and skipping content. This project seeks to help computer science educators and researchers understand and enhance students' self-regulated learning abilities. The project will examine the relationship between students' increased use of self-regulated learning strategies and their performance in introductory computer science courses. It is expected that students who develop skills in self-regulated learning will be more successful in introductory computer science courses and persist into computer science majors and careers. The project thus has the potential to broader participation within computer science fields. This project will focus on the self-regulated learning that emerges at the intersection of two types of activities: reviewing conceptual materials during programming and trying out ideas through writing programs. The conceptual materials, online textbook, and programming Integrated Development Environment from an introductory computer science course will be instrumented to record all student interactions. For example, it will record when a student completes interactive exercises or how a student refers to the text when completing a programming problem. The collected data will be used to better understand self-regulated learning by modeling patterns of use of individual materials and patterns of use across the different materials. The project will also examine how these behaviors map to students' development of self-regulated learning, as well as self-efficacy and confidence, and how each of these constructs predicts the development of computer science knowledge and skills across the course. It will also study how the developments in self-regulated learning, confidence, metacognition, programming skills, and computer science conceptual knowledge are associated with students' longer-term interest in computer science. In doing so, the project will attempt both to understand the factors that lead to greater success in computer science and retention in the computer science pipeline, and to develop theoretical knowledge about the development of self-regulated learning. The NSF IUSE: EHR Program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. Through the Engaged Student Learning track, the program supports the creation, exploration, and implementation of promising practices and tools. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.