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Exploration and Application of the Blended Learning Model in the “Software Engineering” Course
Abstract
Software Engineering is a brand-new engineering course in the application-oriented skills training program, and an essential professional skill for high-demand employment. Because of the fast growth of science and technology, many students have high expectations for this topic. Students’ excitement and expectations for this topic, however, are dwindling as a result of uninspiring texts and an antiquated teaching method. To improve the problem, this study innovates in the areas of teaching idea, teaching substance, teaching style, and assessment mode. Based on the education concept of “student-centered” and “project-driven,” three basic teaching modalities of “role-playing,” “project case teaching,” and “workshop” were chosen to optimize the teaching content and assessment procedures. The blended teaching method shifts the function of learning from passive to active, and students are liberated from the monotonous theoretical learning environment. Students have made significant progress in course scores, competitions, projects, and other areas as a result of practical instruction, and the effect is palpable.
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Background. Global Software Engineering (GSE) education is an established practice in academia. Several methods and tools support communication and programming activities, but earlier development stages, such as software design and modeling practices, are less explored.
Aim. The goal of this work is to analyze the learners' perspective during an online Software Engineering course. In particular, we focus on planning/organization activities and socio-technical challenges during the software design and modeling process.
Method. We used a mixed-method approach to collect data from 30 undergraduate students enrolled in an on-line Software Engineering course. We combined questionnaires and interviews to analyze four GSE elements (i.e., communication practices, team collaboration, task allocation and distribution, and usage of collaboration tools). Moreover, we analyzed the socio-technical challenges faced by the teams.
Results. Brainstorming is the most common practice used for planning software design and modeling activities. According to students, the usage of variant design notation is among the technical challenges. Despite the challenges, students would prefer to continue working in distributed teams.
Conclusions. The result shares the lessons learned that can be helpful to build best practices for managing software design and modeling activities in GSE project-based courses. It includes the need to define standard architectural terminologies, standard list of collaboration tools, early identification of architectural artifact dependencies, frequent design reviews, and face-to-face kick-off meetings.
Contribution: This article identifies the participation of external stakeholders as a key contributing factor for positive outcomes in project-based software engineering courses. A model for overlapping virtuous circles of lasting positive impact on both stakeholders and students from such courses is proposed. Background: Project-based courses are widespread in software engineering education, and there are numerous designs for such courses presented in literature. It is found that the needs and motivations of external stakeholders, from industry and government sectors, in these courses has received limited attention in related work. Intended Outcomes: A course design that prepares students for graduate level studies and professional life, through close proximity to external stakeholders in a highly realistic setting, working on "live" projects. Application Design: Building on a long tradition of university-industry collaboration dating back to 1977, as well as findings in related work, students are assigned to live projects proposed by external stakeholders from industry and government, working in close proximity with their respective stakeholders throughout the project. The course places great emphasis on coaching over instruction, treating the many unforeseen challenges of such projects as a valuable part of the learning experience. Findings: Based on interviews with stakeholders and students, it is found that stakeholder and student outcomes are interdependent and build upon one another, and that positive outcomes for both groups are necessary for the sustainability of the course over multiple iterations.
Background
In this study, we applied the small private online course (SPOC) and team-based learning (TBL) blended teaching model to dermatology and venereology to ensure a higher quality learning experience for clinical medical students.
Methods
A total of 52 fifth-grade clinical undergraduates from Xiangya School of Medicine of Central South University were randomly divided into an experimental ( n = 26) and a control group ( n = 26). In March 2018, we used the SPOC and TBL blended teaching model in the experimental group and explored the effects of innovative teaching in the dermatology and venereology course, compared with the control group receiving the conventional teaching method. We analyzed the two groups’ theoretical assessment scores and questionnaire results to evaluate the efficiency of the new pedagogy.
Results
Students in the experimental group had a better understanding than the control group of the dermatology and venereology content and higher scores on the case analysis questions in the final theoretical examination. The results revealed that the majority of the experimental group students agreed that the novel teaching model blended with SPOC&TBL helped them significantly stimulate motivation and develop their ability in self-directed learning, independent thinking, literature retrieval, presentation board, teamwork, communication, and systematic clinical thinking. The teaching satisfaction survey of the two groups showed that the students’ satisfaction in the experimental group was significantly higher than in the control group ( p < 0.05).
Conclusions
The SPOC&TBL teaching model is better than the traditional one in enriching students’ professional knowledge and cultivating their comprehensive ability. It can effectively promote educational quality, improve students’ learning effects, and enhance their satisfaction. This method has broad application prospects.
Developing students’ self-study capacity is an urgent task of high schools in the current educational renovation period in Vietnam. This article presents research findings on developing self-study capacity for students through building and organizing teaching activities of 11th-grade organic chemistry project topics according to the blended learning model. The pedagogical experiment was conducted at three high schools in the north, central, and south regions of Vietnam with 125 students. The data obtained from the teacher’s assessment and the students’ self-assessment showed obvious development of students’ self-study capacity in experimental classes.
Aiming at the questions existing in the teaching of “Principles of Chemical Engineering”, in order to cultivate students’ engineering application abilities, new technologies are integrated into the “three-transfer” theory (momentum transfer, heat transfer, and mass transfer), experimental projects are renovated, and virtual simulation experiments are added. Then, a new teaching system for chemical principles and experimental teaching on the basis of “one platform and three clients” (one cloud platform, mobile client, teacher client, and administration client) is constructed. It is a student-oriented blended teaching system driven by problems; develop abundant teaching resources, further consummate multimedia courseware, computer-aided teaching, and develop a three-dimensional teaching system with textbooks, multimedia courseware, chemical simulation software, and online classroom. To realize a student-oriented interactive process for learning and teaching with the guidance of teachers, and give full play to students’ initiative, activity, and creativity during their learning process; focus on strengthening the assessment for the experimental courses of chemical principles, strengthen classroom discussion and creative practical work, and improve students’ engineering application ability, as well as abilities of analyzing problems, solving problems, and raising problems by applying comprehensive knowledge.
The research aimed to develop Android-based teaching material to improve the understanding of Software Engineering of Informatics Engineering students whose validity and effectiveness are measured. The method used in this paper is Research and Development (R&D) with the Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation (ADDIE) model which is used to develop An-droid-based teaching material. The validity of teaching material product has con-firmed by media experts and material experts in their fields. The effectiveness of the product was measured through the post-test only control group design with two groups of Informatics Engineering students in Higher Education involving 57 people. Data collection was carried out through questionnaires and tests, with descriptive analysis for the results of the validation of teaching material and pilot tests and t-tests for testing the effectiveness of teaching material. The results showed that Android-based teaching material is easy to use and has video tutorial features and quiz menus that provide direct feedback to users, so teaching materi-al can be applied as a valid and effective learning media in increasing student un-derstanding of Software Engineering material which has never been applied in the research location so far. Based on the results obtained, further research can be carried out on a broader subject and pay attention to other aspects such as increasing motivation and metacognitive students of Informatics Engineering.
The purpose of this research is to investigate the correlation within three key variables in relation to students’ learning outcomes: face-to-face class attendance, virtual learning engagement, and academic performance. A sample course with 3783 students’ data were analysed by applying a quantitative research methodology. The research data included one semester’s attendance records, students’ virtual learning engagement on the university centralized virtual learning environment and the average academic performance Both Spearman’s correlation coefficient and Pearson’s correlation coefficient were used for the hypothesis’s tests according to the variables’ data characteristics. This research has verified the positive correlations between face-to-face class attendance and academic performance, virtual learning engagement and academic performance in a blended learning environment at a Chinese transnational university, which are consistent with existing research. The finding about the positive correlation between the face-to-face class attendance and virtual learning engagement suggests that students can benefit from both traditional and contemporary teaching formats by integrating the virtual learning elements into the face-to-face class delivery.
Blended learning is the fastest growing teaching modality in North America and much of the world. However, research and training in blended learning are far outpaced by its usage. To remedy this gap, we developed a competency framework and Blended Teaching Readiness Instrument (BTRI) to help teachers and researchers evaluate teacher readiness for blended environments. The purpose of this research is to show that the blended teaching readiness model and accompanying BTRI are reliable for use with teacher candidates both before and after going through a blended teaching course. This knowledge would allow researchers and practitioners to have greater confidence in using the BTRI for future growth curve modeling for the identified blended teaching competencies. To accomplish this, we collected pre‐ and post‐data from teacher candidates across multiple semesters who were studying in a blended teaching course. Using confirmatory factor analysis, we determined the pre‐class survey results fell within the range of the four fit statistics cutoffs (RMSEA = 0.045, CFI = 0.933, TLI = 0.929 and SRMR = 0.043). And, the post‐class survey results had good fit as well (RMSEA = 0.044, CFI = 0.911, TLI = 0.905 and SRMR = 0.051). We also showed that the factor loadings and communalities were statistically significant. By testing the factors in this way, we make a case for the survey to be a valid and reliable instrument in assessing blended teacher competency. Additionally, we tested the model for measurement invariance and found that we could reliably use the BTRI for pre‐post growth modeling.
Practitioner Notes
What is already known about this topic? Blended learning is the fastest growing teaching modality in Canada and the United States, and is expanding rapidly throughout the rest of the world.
Teaching in blended learning settings requires distinct skills and dispositions specific to the modality.
A blended‐teaching‐focused competency framework is a necessary element in any blended teacher preparation program. Though there have been attempts to make a blended teaching framework before, none of these exclusively focus on the distinct skills of blended teaching nor have they been validated.
What this paper adds? Describes our free, publicly accessible competency framework that focuses exclusively on blended teaching
Validates a concise Blended Teaching Readiness Instrument (BTRI) to go along with the framework.
Confirms pre‐post measurement invariance for the BTRI which allows for use with pre‐post growth modeling.
Implications for practice and policy The competency framework and validation are a theoretical contribution to the rapidly expanding field of blended learning research.
With the valid BTRI instrument and framework, teachers can get feedback on their strengths and weaknesses in blended teaching and learn how to improve and help others.
The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a blended teaching-learning approach on academic achievement and twenty-first century skills of preservice teachers who took the teaching principles and methods course. The implementation was carried out over a period of ten weeks with preservice teachers who were enrolled in pedagogical training at the Faculty of Education at Karamanoğlu Mehmetbey University in the 2019-2020 academic year. In the study, a semi-experimental research design with experimental and control groups was employed. Data collection tools were an academic achievement test and "multidimensional twenty-first century skills scale". Analysis revealed that there was a significant difference across the two groups' academic achievement and twenty-first century skills in favor of the experimental group. In addition, analysis of the retention test administered four weeks later showed a significant difference in favor of the experimental group. In the light of the results, the implications and future directions were discussed.
Graduate unemployment rate in Malaysia is an increasing problem and often linked to a lack of problem-solving, critical thinking and communication skills. This paper presents the development of blended learning environment through the integration of authentic learning strategies designed to enhance problem-solving skills amongst Malaysian undergraduate students. The learning environment was blended in its approach and centered on an authentic task. Student feedback was gathered and indicated a positive response towards authentic blended learning environments. Problem-solving, critical thinking, creative thinking, and communication skills were enhanced in this learning environment, providing encouraging support for the use of authentic learning strategies in technology-backed classrooms within higher education institutions.
Abstract—E-learning is prevalent and it is changing the learning paradigm in the higher education. This results in less face-to-face contact with educators, lecturers, facilitators and tutors. Therefore capturing and utilizing experiences of learners to make it available or sharable to peers can help to create better environment for learning to improve learning outcomes and quality. Accordingly, learning especially at higher education, involves the interaction of human, technology and knowledge. In this paper, we use the scenario of a typical blended learning at a university setting to highlight the different types of learning experiences that can be harnessed and used for better learning. We also use the scenario to scaffold and formulate a novel framework of blended learning technological architecture to show how to harness learning experiences to be analyzed and possibly be used in a feedback system. We used analytics to produce our output from the analysis of LEs and the visual feedback system received favorable comments from learners.
Abstract—In the field of increasing communicative competence in ESL (English as a Second Language) studies, practice with native speakers of English is ideal, but it is typically impractical for a variety of reasons in a University setting in Japan. However, for some time commercial English online conversation services have been used successfully by Japanese businesses in preparing staff for working in English speaking environments. This paper outlines the initial results of a university in Nagasaki making use of a similar online service as part of an ESL course in a blended e-learning format. The online course required students to make appointments with the online service staff at times mutually convenient. The service consisted of one 25-minute lesson per one or two days. Initial observations by teaching staff noted increasingly high average levels of communicative competence in the pilot course students, and formal interviews confirmed this. Furthermore, resulting overall English grades were found to correlate closer to "time spent conversing in English online" than to "student initial pre-course scores." A survey of the pilot course students was taken and the results are outlined in the paper. Student feedback uncovered a wide variety of problems ranging from lesson booking logistics, personal teacher preferences, and connection (Skype) problems; however, most comments were very positive regarding how they enjoyed speaking online in this blended e-learning environment. Increased motivation and a sense of making progress in being able to communicate better and with increased confidence in English were also commonly cited.
The Arab Open University (AOU) implemented the blended learning system since 2002 in its seven branches: Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Bahrain and Oman. Within a decade of its operation, it is a conventional practice to examine this new approach and evaluate the convergence between Internet-based and traditional education. A questionnaire has been adopted along with interviews and empirical observations targeting faculty members in three different programmes. Raw data has been generated to evaluate the status quo of the blended learning at AOU using radar charts. Six-area radar chart was used in order to measure quality in the system's development. Variations in the related variables lead us to where decisions should be taken to improve a shortcoming or to sustain a good practice.
This empirical study is conducted in a blended learning setting of a technology-focused private university in Bangladesh to offer a model that could help attain a comprehensive goal of blended learning. The main objectives of this study are to examine course design in a blended learning setting, strategies adopted by the course teachers to maximize students’ online interactions in a collaborative manner and how well these strategies had an impact on quality of blended teaching and learning in tertiary education. Drawing upon a quasi-experimental approach, qualitative data were collected by observing the teaching and learning activities of a course named ‘Bangladesh Studies’ over a four-month semester. Findings of this study suggest a model that would allow better student–teacher interaction in both synchronous and asynchronous modes of teaching and learning based on three sequential stages such as referring to and discussing online peer-group comments in the regular face-to-face classes in asynchronous mode (stage 1), off-campus synchronous mode of interactions to utilize students’ personal study hours (stage 2) and off-campus asynchronous mode of interactions to offer flexibility for collaborative learning (stage 3). It is argued that the model that has been offered could be useful in promoting innovative and contextual pedagogy which will essentially involve students in sharing, interacting and collaborating discussions for knowledge construction and hereby enable overall cognitive development of students in a blended learning environment.
As COVID-19 reached Turkey in March 2020, all universities switched to e-learning in a very short period. Computer and software engineering (CE/SE) undergraduate students studying at university campuses have switched to e-learning. This paper seeks to understand the e-learning experience of CE/SE undergraduate students. A questionnaire was created and applied to CE/SE undergraduate students in Turkish universities. The data were analyzed using quantitative and qualitative techniques. The questionnaire received 290 usable responses. The highlights from the findings include: the participants (1) used video recordings intensively for e-learning and found them useful; (2) found face-to-face lectures more beneficial compared to digital live lectures; (3) used external online resources to improve their learning performance in courses; (4) thought that the materials and methods utilized for assessment should be adapted to e-learning for a better and fair evaluation; (5) perceived significantly less instructor support and classmate interaction and collaboration in e-learning compared to on-campus education settings; (6) rated their perceived satisfaction from e-learning as 2.85, slightly under the mid-level of the 5-point Likert scale; (7) perceived instructor support, student interaction and collaboration, and student autonomy as noteworthy factors in high-quality e-learning.
It is increasingly vital, in the current era of ever-expanding remote work and learning, to develop blended methods for engineering education. This research aims to develop a blended, project-based information and communication technology (ICT) education model, conceptualizing a digital ecosystem based on stakeholders’ experiences and expectations. The article describes the first phase of the first cycle of the design-based research, analysis and exploration. Semi-structured interviews and online surveys were used to gather stakeholders’ – i.e. students’ (N = 27), instructors’ (N = 15) and industry representatives’ (N = 3) – thoughts and expectations about the current holistic integrated and project-based curriculum, on which little academic literature exists. The article gathers design principles for a broader intervention through which ICT education is transferred into blended learning. Study participants included third-year ICT engineering education students and instructors at the Lapland University of Applied Sciences, along with local industry representatives. The vast majority of the students described the integrated curriculum and project-based learning approach as a motivating pedagogical model. The participation of industry representatives was perceived as motivational to students. Working-life cooperation with companies should thus be encouraged and further developed in higher education curricula. The students’ positive attitudes towards integrated project-based learning may inspire higher education institutions to apply this framework.
Industrial Revolution 4.0 (IR4.0) is the current
key term today that affects various facets of humans’ life. As
society struggles to grasp its impact, academics are responsible
to prepare the future workers, who must be able to cope with
IR4.0 and beyond. This paper attempts to gauge students’
perceptions of blended learning. At the same time, the author
wants to investigate whether they perceive blended learning as
a platform to help them face IR4.0 after graduation. A class
taught by the author was observed for two semesters, and at the
end of the second semester, all students in the class were asked
five main questions on blended learning and their readiness to
face IR4.0. Preliminary findings suggest that, firstly, students
were not exactly comfortable learning in a blended learning
environment and with flipped classroom as one of its strategies.
Secondly, the majority of the respondents were unsure of what
IR4.0 is, and yet they were confident that they would be able to
face IR4.0. The author argues that much is still needed to be
done in order to embrace IR4.0, despite the abundance of
preparation to face it at various levels.
This paper describes the use of the concept of an Open Learner Model as a means by which students can be supported in their reflection on their learning at University level. The work is situated within a ―blended‖ learning environment consisting of both classroom teaching and an online learning management system (Moodle). The topic studied by the students is a second year module on ―Computer System and Architecture‖. This work focuses on how blended learning has an impact on learning achievement comparing to the normal classroom learning with the same learning contents. The results show that students from blended learning environment have a bigger difference in mean scores comparing between pre-test and post-test. Furthermore, the significant correlations between AllTest, NetScore and Post-test can be inferred that this way of learning, through responsibility and self-regulation - the way of knowing themselves - for lesson activities of learners is a key factor for successful learning.
Developing blended learning model in vocational education based on 21st century integrated learning and industrial revolution 4.0
- N Jalinus