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Software Engineering / Computer Science

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Presentation on theme: "Software Engineering / Computer Science"— Presentation transcript:

1 Software Engineering / Computer Science
SPARC: Self-Paced Learning Increases Retention and Capacity Teaching fairly and teaching well Jeff Offutt Software Engineering / Computer Science

2 Would you believe me if I told you
that reading powerpoint aloud is not the same as teaching © Jeff Offutt

3 Teacher Who Am I? Country boy from Appalachia
Dad: Steffi (26), Joyce (22), Andrew (14) Husband: Jian Instructor: College at all levels Coach: Basketball, Odyssey of the Mind, Baseball Editor: Research journal Scientist: >175 published papers Author: Software testing book Teacher © Jeff Offutt

4 George Mason University
34,904 students (Fall 2016) 24,000 undergraduate 8,200 MS 2,200 PhD 500 Professional Most diverse university in the country 148 buildings – plus 4 under construction Campuses in Prince William County, Arlington, and Korea Opened as branch of UVA in 1957 Full university in 1972 About 12,000 students in 1992, 20,000 in 1999 Total operating budget : $1,001 million Research expenditures : $102 million © Jeff Offutt

5 Tools of the trade My evolution My Background Up until ~2013 chalk
whiteboards ppt internet Up until ~2013 My evolution Demander Collaborator Leader Judger Encourager © Jeff Offutt

6 Eric Mazur Taught Me Better
Students learn only slightly more from great lecturers than from poor lecturers Students learn a lot more from active learning exercises © Jeff Offutt

7 Talk less; teach more Giving lectures is not teaching
But they are addictive And slides become a crutch Talk less; teach more © Jeff Offutt Supported by Google’s 3X Capacity Program

8 5-Min. Small-Group Discussion
Do you believe this? Do you like to lecture? Can you say “cognitive dissonance”? © Jeff Offutt Supported by Google’s 3X Capacity Program

9 Benefits of Active Exercises
More student engagement Students stay awake—passively listening is hard ! Increased collaboration An important and useful skill post-college Many students enjoy learning together Increased peer-learning Students can learn a lot from each other They can help each other work through difficult concepts and can often understand their difficulties better than professors do Increased attendance The return-on-investment analysis becomes much easier Students feel they are respected © Jeff Offutt

10 Types of Active Exercises
Discussion Writing Examples Problem-solving Games or role playing © Jeff Offutt

11 But … Switching is Hard! “Ya can’t teach an old dog new tricks.”
Habits die hard We have huge investments in lectures Lots of powerpoint slides How do we manage this kind of change? © Jeff Offutt

12 I’m trying to be self-persuasive …
Thus, My Current Motto Talk less; teach more I’m trying to be self-persuasive … © Jeff Offutt

13 Challenges Timing the class is harder with active exercises
The classroom infrastructure is important Tables, movable desks, immovable desks, rising rows Encouraging collaboration can be challenging Many students are not used to collaboration Some do not play well with others Some students prefer competition Encouraging diversity of thinking A start of an argument or an opportunity for growth? Changing your habits Preparation and your experience in the classroom is very different Your interaction—deciding when to step in © Jeff Offutt

14 Classroom Layout Matters
© Jeff Offutt

15 Full-Room Discussion How can you do this in your classes?
Questions about in-class exercises? How much time do you spend on in-class exercises? How often did your college professors use in-class exercises? © Jeff Offutt Supported by Google’s 3X Capacity Program

16 My Next Step in Evolution
Why is learning to program hard? Poor tools? Logical thinking? It’s too complicated? NO! We punish students for the most natural way to learn: Collaboration © Jeff Offutt

17 I think most people are honest
Cheating I think most people are honest But many will cheat if they think the system is rigged against them © Jeff Offutt

18 Small-Group Discussion
How much cheating do you find in your classes? Are they truly dishonest people? © Jeff Offutt Supported by Google’s 3X Capacity Program

19 Self-PAced Learning increases Retention and Capacity
SPARC Self-PAced Learning increases Retention and Capacity George Mason University is replacing the “traditional” course model for CS-1 and CS-2 with an innovative “black-belt” teaching model that features: Self-paced learning Peer instruction Separate collaborative practice and individualized assessments Flipped classrooms Automated grading (JUnit) Multiple attempts at assessments © Jeff Offutt

20 SPARC Team Paul Ammann, Kinga Dobolyi, Chris Kauffman, Jaime Lester, Jeff Offutt, Upsorn Praphamontripong, Huzefa Rangwala, Sanjeev Setia, Pearl Wang, Liz White © Jeff Offutt

21 Challenges from the Surge
Retention of students Retaining educational quality Our definition of “traditional courses” Use the same assignments for practice and assessment Collaboration is always cheating Catching cheaters a major priority All students must complete assignments synchronously Class meetings are almost entirely lectures First year classes are diverse Gender, ancestry, pre-knowledge, learning styles & speed Fourth year classes are not diverse © Jeff Offutt

22 Impacts on Diversity Increasing enrollment often leads to competition
Classes, TA time, professor time, grades, … Educational research indicates average differences 17-22 year old white and asian males thrive under competition 17-22 year old females and minorities thrive with collaboration Studies from NCWIT, SACS, and NSF conclude that “just say no” introduces gender- and racial-bias Ways to encourage diversity : Collaboration, not competition Building resilience Obviating cheating Peer learning Self-pacing Encouraging success Multiple attempts © Jeff Offutt

23 The SPARC Model Self-paced demonstration of skills and knowledge
Online content delivery (flipped) Ten stages (belts) in a course Each stage has multiple practice and assessment problems Students practice programming during class Collaboratively (peer learning) Instructors and TAs offer help and “mini-lectures” Students demonstrate skills individually in labs (assessments) Self-paced learning Grading is automated (Junit) Up to five attempts are allowed Automated intervention alert system © Jeff Offutt

24 What do you want clarified? Have you used any of these techniques?
Full-Room Discussion What do you want clarified? Have you used any of these techniques? © Jeff Offutt Supported by Google’s 3X Capacity Program

25 SPARC Classroom © Jeff Offutt

26 SPARC Resources SPARC website
UTA training materials (classroom & labs) SPARC program problems (practice & assessment) PCE training materials The MaGE project (Mount Holyoke) © Jeff Offutt

27 What Is Working Really Well
Collaboration Peer learning (UTAs) Having multiple attempts to pass Separating assessment from practice No cheating Multiple attempts Self-pacing (with caveats …) No cheating © Jeff Offutt

28 What Has Been Hard Breaking the semester barrier
Incompletes, in-progress, course hours Procrastination versus a legitimate need for more time to master programming Software is hard to build! Especially at universities Recruiting good UTAs Comparing SPARC sections with non-SPARC sections Gathering data Getting the right learning spaces © Jeff Offutt

29 Data and Observations Numeric comparisons with “traditional” classes CS 1, 8 sections, 4 semesters > 550 students Cheating reduced from 10%-20% to one Pass rate slightly higher by the end of semesters (same instructor) Many students pass after end of semesters Similar scores on shared final exam questions © Jeff Offutt

30 Data and Observations Survey data Anecdotes
Final grades significantly correlated with : Perceived helpfulness of UTAs Perceived helpfulness of sample assessments Perceived helpfulness of practice problems Anecdotes SPARC students say the class is much less stressful SPARC students feel they are respected Teacher finds this method much more satisfying Student-teacher relationship is much better Instructor doubled the number of sections with only a minor increase in workload © Jeff Offutt

31 Final Discussion What pieces do you think might work for you?
What do you think won’t work? © Jeff Offutt Supported by Google’s 3X Capacity Program

32 Contact Jeff Offutt offutt@gmu.edu http://cs.gmu.edu/~offutt/
Talk less; teach more © Jeff Offutt


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