Experiences of a Software Engineering Course based on Interactive Learning

15. Workshop für Software Engineering im Unterricht der Hochschulen, 22-23. Februar 2017, Hannover

https://www1.in.tum.de/seuh17

Transcript

1. s.krusche@tum.de - www.skrusche.de - @skrusche
   SEUH 2017
   Stephan Krusche, Nadine von Frankenberg, Sami Afifi (February 22, 2017)
   Experiences of a Software Engineering Course 

   based on Interactive Learning
   

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2. Stephan Krusche, Nadine von Frankenberg, Sami Afifi: Experiences of a Software Engineering Course based on Interactive Learning
   Traditional courses with large classes
   2
   Educator
   Lecture Exercise
   Student
   Delay (week)
   

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3. Stephan Krusche, Nadine von Frankenberg, Sami Afifi: Experiences of a Software Engineering Course based on Interactive Learning 3
   Lecture
   Educator
   Exercise
   Student
   Computer based and experiential learning
   Delay (day)
   

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4. Stephan Krusche, Nadine von Frankenberg, Sami Afifi: Experiences of a Software Engineering Course based on Interactive Learning
   Interactive learning
   4
   delay
   (min)
   Delay
   (min)
   Educator
   Theory
   Student
   Exercise
   Interactive class
   ➡ Multiple iterations in one class
   

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5. Stephan Krusche, Nadine von Frankenberg, Sami Afifi: Experiences of a Software Engineering Course based on Interactive Learning
   Interactive learning
   5
   “Tell me and I will forget.
   Show me and I will remember.
   Involve me and I will understand.
   Step back and I will act.”
   — Chinese Proverb
   Immediate
   feedback
   Definition: Educators teach and exercise small chunks of content in short cycles. 

   They provide immediate feedback so that learners can reflect on the content and
   increase their knowledge incrementally.
   Important: Guidance
   Exercise
   Example
   Solution
   Reflection
   Theory
   Student
   

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6. Stephan Krusche, Nadine von Frankenberg, Sami Afifi: Experiences of a Software Engineering Course based on Interactive Learning
   Exercise Types
   Individual exercises
   • E1 Quizzes with multiple choice questions
   • E2 Tutorials with step by step instructions
   • E3 Coding challenges to solve programming assignments
   • E4 Modeling exercises
   Team exercises
   • E5 Project team work (including communication and collaboration aspects)
   ➡ (Semi-) automatic correction reduces the effort of the instructor
   6
   

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7. Stephan Krusche, Nadine von Frankenberg, Sami Afifi: Experiences of a Software Engineering Course based on Interactive Learning
   Example E1: quiz with drag and drop exercise
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8. Stephan Krusche, Nadine von Frankenberg, Sami Afifi: Experiences of a Software Engineering Course based on Interactive Learning
   Example E2: tutorials with step by step instructions
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9. Stephan Krusche, Nadine von Frankenberg, Sami Afifi: Experiences of a Software Engineering Course based on Interactive Learning
   Example E3: coding challenge
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10. Stephan Krusche, Nadine von Frankenberg, Sami Afifi: Experiences of a Software Engineering Course based on Interactive Learning
    Example E4: project team work
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11. Stephan Krusche, Nadine von Frankenberg, Sami Afifi: Experiences of a Software Engineering Course based on Interactive Learning
    Informal communication increases the interaction
    11
    

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12. Stephan Krusche, Nadine von Frankenberg, Sami Afifi: Experiences of a Software Engineering Course based on Interactive Learning
    • H1 Participation: interactive in-class exercises increase the participation.
    • H2 Improved Learning: the mix of theory and exercises in class leads to an
    improved learning experience.
    Hypotheses
    12
    

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13. Stephan Krusche, Nadine von Frankenberg, Sami Afifi: Experiences of a Software Engineering Course based on Interactive Learning
    Case study
    Software Engineering II: Project Organization and Management (POM)
    • April - July 2016
    • 9 teaching assistants
    • 272 students
    • Computer science master
    • Information system bachelor
    • Exercises
    • E1: Quizzes
    • E2: Tutorials
    • E5: Project work
    13
    

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14. Stephan Krusche, Nadine von Frankenberg, Sami Afifi: Experiences of a Software Engineering Course based on Interactive Learning
    Evaluation
    Qualitative
    • Anonymous online survey in July 2016 (directly after the course)
    • Goal: Find out if interactive learning improves the students’ learning experience
    • Response rate: 190 out of 272 (70%)
    Quantitative
    • Data analysis:
    • Measure participation
    • Compare exercise participation and final exam results
    • Goal: Find a correlation between exercise participation and final exam grade
    14
    

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15. Stephan Krusche, Nadine von Frankenberg, Sami Afifi: Experiences of a Software Engineering Course based on Interactive Learning
    Finding 1: perceived improved learning
    15
    0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
    9%
    11%
    24%
    10%
    13%
    7%
    26%
    24%
    23%
    14%
    16%
    13%
    65%
    65%
    53%
    76%
    71%
    80%
    Agree Neutral Disagree
    The mix of theory and exercises in 

    class contributed to my learning success
    The mix of theory and exercises 

    improved my understanding during class
    In-class exercises motivated me to attend the lecture
    Quizzes motivated me during class to actively listen
    Interactive tutorials were particularly helpful 

    to understand concepts that I did not know before
    Team exercises helped me to apply a concept in a different
    setting to deepen my knowledge and understanding
    

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16. Stephan Krusche, Nadine von Frankenberg, Sami Afifi: Experiences of a Software Engineering Course based on Interactive Learning 16
    0
    70
    140
    210
    280
    350
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
    63
    71
    62
    44
    87
    109
    123
    222
    104
    199
    103
    149
    192
    125
    199
    Participants per class (POM 2014)
    Total participants: 345
    58% 36% 56% 43% 30% 58% 30% 64% 36% 32% 25% 13% 18% 21% 18%
    Finding 2: higher participation
    2014
    0
    50
    100
    150
    200
    250
    300
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
    154
    142
    149
    153
    175
    168
    192
    185
    186
    217
    211
    221
    203
    Participants per class (POM 2016)
    Total Participants: 272
    75% 81% 78% 80% 68% 68% 71% 62% 64% 56% 55% 52% 57%
    (traditional teaching)
    2016
    (interactive learning)
    

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17. Stephan Krusche, Nadine von Frankenberg, Sami Afifi: Experiences of a Software Engineering Course based on Interactive Learning
    Finding 3: correlation between participation and grade
    17
    1.5
    2
    2.5
    3
    3.5
    4
    2.4
    2.5
    2.9
    3.6
    3.9
    GPA in POM (lower grade = better)
    Exercise participation
    20 % 40 % 60 % 80 % 100 %
    0 %
    χ2 = 82.53 (p < 0.0001)
    

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18. Stephan Krusche, Nadine von Frankenberg, Sami Afifi: Experiences of a Software Engineering Course based on Interactive Learning
    Conclusion about interactive learning
    ✓Tighter integration of lectures and exercises leads to interactive classes
    ✓Higher participation in classes than in traditional courses
    ✓Highly significant correlation between exercise participation and final exam grade
    ✓Scalable and applicable to large classes without increasing teaching effort
    significantly
    ➡ Want to adopt this approach? Talk to me or send me a mail: s.krusche@tum.de
    ➡ More information on www.interactive-learning.org
    18
    

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19. Stephan Krusche, Nadine von Frankenberg, Sami Afifi: Experiences of a Software Engineering Course based on Interactive Learning
    Future work: empirical evaluation in the field in POM 2017
    19
    Experimental
    group
    Control
    group
    Pretest
    Pretest
    Interactive
    learning
    Intervention
    Posttest
    Posttest
    Traditional
    approach
    No intervention
    ?
    Clustering Analysis
    

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20. s.krusche@tum.de - www.skrusche.de - @skrusche
    SEUH 2017
    Stephan Krusche, Nadine von Frankenberg, Sami Afifi (February 22, 2017)
    Experiences of a Software Engineering Course 

    based on Interactive Learning
    

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