A case study on the role of Inquiry Based Learning in Computer Science in teaching

Dr Mike Brayshaw and Dr Neil Gordon

Department of Computer ScienceUniversity of Hull,

Hull, HU6 7RX, Englandm.brayshaw@hull.ac.uk n.a.gordon@hull.ac.uk

http://www.dcs.hull.ac.uk/

Case study at theHEA ICS Workshop

“Exploring Inquiry Based Learning”CILASS, University of Sheffield

Friday 24 April 2009

Brief plan to the talk

A general characterisation of Inquiry Based Learning (IBL) and the focus on IBL given the skill set of students

Computer Programmes as Information Spaces Some approaches to using IBL in our teaching at Hull Some reflections on our experiences

Introduction

The Information Age changes the skills that students have and need

We will consider how within the context of teaching computing these skills naturally support and are implicit to Inquiry Based Learning (IBL)

We consider some of the dangers and pitfalls in the networked world

We will reflect on the impact of how technologies support other learning styles and the impact of Web 2.0 and newer technologies

Our experience is mainly in teaching computer science students at University level, but also covers students from other disciplines who have taken computer science modules and also school and college students

Approaches to learning

IBL links closely with other learning approaches which are common in computer science, especially

> Problem Based Learning> Project Based Learning> Discovery Learning> Guided Discovery Learning> Design Based Learning> Student Centred Learning

Characteristics of IBL

The task is based on an open problem – open in the sense that there are numerous approaches to solution;

The student(s) must discover for themselves the nature of the problem - in particular to identify what knowledge and skills they will need

students must demonstrate self analysis and critical thinking in order to choose between a number of possible solutions and approaches;

Where the teacher or lecturer acts as a facilitator in the process

IBL and the research and vocational environments

One driver for explicitly including IBL is the opportunity to expose students to research methods and approaches

However, this is not just academic research – R&D includes many similar features

The problem is defined by the researcher The researcher identifies appropriate

knowledge and skills and acquires/procures them

Skills in an information age

The rise of Information Technology (I.T., I.C.T., computing) in the general education environment in many countries, and especially the Internet, has ensured that students develop skills such as

> I.T. awareness, the ability to use standard applications (word processors)

> Information gathering skills – use of web based and other search facilities

> Data analysis skills – many students have some (often limited) understanding of the use of software to analyse data

Information skills

The skills to identify appropriate information E.g. Wikipedia is a common source for many students – but contrast that to Citizendium which offers a more “library like” resource

Skills to understand the distinction between merely using verbatim quotes (with accurate references) as opposed to paraphrasing and describing in their own words (but still with accurate references)

IBL in Computer Science

Many problems in computer science require some element of IBL to solve them

Whilst applying known techniques to a problem can be mechanical application, in practice students will frequently have to investigate a problem to identify what technique (algorithm, software tool etc.) would be appropriate

IBL in Computer Science

Recalling the characteristics of IBL, solving a typical computer science assignment falls into the class of IBL problems – the constraining factor being how much context and direction that the teacher provides;

Furthermore, computing provides the underpinning technologies which facilitate general IBL

Locus of Control for Inquiry

Intelligent Tutoring Systems Intelligent Debugging Systems Letting the User be the Inquirry

> People are smart> Give them the tools and they can find their own way> Cradle to the grave environment - what fits a novice can also

be cool for an expert

Software Visualization

The rendering of software in to visual models The can be both static models of the code itself Graphic accounts of the actual execution of the code Users are encouraged to explore both accounts and

develop their own models of what has happenend

Mental Hygiene

To what extent do you let people explore? What freedom do you give people to inquire? When you have such a “truth” about how a

language works when do you have to enforce that and if you do how do you do it

Execution stories: Prolog, PARLOG, Lisp, Java, Csharp

Roll Your Own

Being able not only to configure you won information space but being able to roll your own

How do think about problems How do people inquire An individual information space that can be

made to fit the information space in the problem solvers minds

Customizable Systems (Lipen Wen, Brayshaw, Gordon) Personalise learning is possible through

aggregation of learning materials This can be done by the learner – thus

providing an inquiry based approach to their personal learning experience

Or via a negotiated space of inquiry between the tutor and the student

Inquiry Based Learning and a C sharp based Tutor (Butterfield and Brayshaw) IBL can be considered as a process of guided

discovery learning with an open syllabus and no rigid order as to how things are learnt

Heuristic evaluation of the outcomes

dangers and pitfalls in a networked world

The rise of the skills above has led to an apparent demise in the use of traditional information sources such as books

Empirical evidence of this comes from the number of student reports and essays, where the majority of references are web based URLs

Further, the ability to read, assimilate and condense information seems to have declined – the use of verbatim quotes (ideally identified as such) can lead to a rise in the volume of submitted work, but a reduction in the actual authored work

A particular issue for computing is the use of other peoples’ algorithms and code (when allowed under license)

The Google generation

The problem of the so-called “Google generation” reflects these problems

A growing perception is that students enter University, and continue there, with a tendency to graze from a wide range of information sources but lacking the desire of skills to study in depth

This may reflect the recent concerns about the demise of second class degrees, as students stratify into those who graze and the (minority) who study in depth

the impact of technology on learning styles

As already considered, technology can be perceived to have encouraged many students to move from a deeper scrutiny of a small number of sources, to a more shallow study of a wide number of sources (the Google effect)

Further, the understanding of the reliability of a source is often not developed – references to Wikipedia or web sites without considering their status are common

Web 2.0 and collaborative technologies

IBL can be a lone activity, but it frequently offers an opportunity for group or team work

Such collaborations can be facilitated through groupware and other technologies

Web 2.0 technologies are particularly relevant – simplify providing support for collaborative activity on the Internet

Issues for collaborative learning

The typical concerns about group work > Equal contributions> Group communications and organisation problems> Evidence of group activity

Can be dealt with using groupware, which can provide a virtual environment in which to carry out the inquiry

Throughout our courses

On a brief sample, we can identify IBL in numerous modules throughout our years of study e.g.

> Level 0 (pre-certificate) Web Skills and Technologies> Level 1 (certificate) IT and Professional Skills / Software

Engineering> Level 2 (diploma) E-commerce and E-business> Level 3 (honours) Commercial Game Development / third

year projects> Level 4 (Masters) Development Projects / Masters

dissertations

e.g. web skills and technologies

Range of levels (0 to 2) and disciplines (CS and free elective)

Ebl – students are given a rough area, and define their own question

They carry out research – in groups to produce a report

Group work supported by GroupWare (SharePoint), personal logs (Wiki/Blogs)

Peer and self assessment – using WebPA Assess product AND process

A natural way of learning

We have briefly considered some of the aspects of IBL generally, and with regard to the impact of computing technologies

We have also considered some of the ways in which IBL is a natural way of learning in computing

Conclusions

IBL offers numerous benefits to practitioners and to our students

Ensuring that IBL provides these benefits requires developing the analytical and critical skills in students

Technology can provide a way to encourage and support IBL, and in particular to promote the use of group work in this context.

Ongoing issues and points of discussion?

How could we use electronic/virtual environments to emulate the facilities offered in facilities such at thus Information commons

Is IBL a new paradigm or a rebadging of established ideas