Session S2G

978-1-61284-469-5/11/$26.00 ©2011 IEEE October 12 - 15, 2011, Rapid City, SD

41st ASEE/IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference

S2G-1

Work in Progress – The Impact of Integrating First-

Year Students into the Broader Curriculum

Robert Elliott, Nancy Evans Indiana University Purdue University at Indianapolis (IUPUI), elliott@iupui.edu, nanevans@iupui.edu

Abstract - Faculty working directly with first-year

students in the Computer & Information Technology

department at IUPUI wished to improve first-year

student retention within the program. Initially the team

focused on adjusting the flow of content in the program’s

foundational courses to ensure their relevance. One

course in particular, an introduction to Problem Solving

and Qualitative Analysis, was frequently criticized by

students as they struggled with fairly abstract topics for

which they did not see an immediate need. In addition to

updating the course content, the faculty co-investigators

designed two projects that integrated these first-year

students into a sophomore-level course where problem-

solving skills and systems analysis techniques were

actively applied. These experimental projects were

integrated into one section of the first-year course, as

well as one section of the sophomore-level follow-up

course. From a qualitative perspective, the project was

well received by students. First-year students were

actively engaged sophomore-level coursework, and

higher-level students eagerly included them in projects.

Buoyed by the initial success of the experiment, the

investigators wish to apply similar techniques to all

sections of the first-year course and quantitatively

measure its impact on student outcomes in subsequent

courses.

Index Terms – cross-course collaboration, first-year

experience, first-year learning, peer collaboration, student

engagement

INTRODUCTION

A team of faculty at Indiana University Purdue University at

Indianapolis (IUPUI) was tasked with improving the first-

year experience for students in the Department of Computer

Information and Leadership Technology. The first-year

curriculum was adjusted so that the flow of the courses was

appropriate for students of various backgrounds. Course

coordinators for sophomore and junior level courses were

surveyed and consulted to ensure that the topics and rigor of

the first-year courses would meet the needs for upcoming

coursework.

One course in particular vexed the development team.

Student feedback for this course, an introduction to Problem

Solving and Quantitative Analysis (CIT 12000), was

consistently poor and reflected the student opinion that the

course was not relevant to them. The course introduces

abstract, fundamental organizational topics that are a critical

component of understanding systems development.

However, without the proper context students did not

understand the course‟s relevance. The course was not

engaging students and was not, in essence, giving students

“the big picture.”

Group projects for the purposes of peer learning had

been previously attempted within the confines of the CIT

12000 course without significant success. In order to more

actively engage the students in a project, and demonstrate to

them that the work in their course was indeed relevant to

upcoming courses, the decision was made to expose them to

an assignment with sophomore-level expectations.

Upon review of the course contents and expectations,

the faculty team decided that the teaching style of the CIT

12000 course would remain consistent with past semesters

for approximately the first 75% of the course. Then, rather

than the using a traditional “final” review of the semester,

students in one section of the course were instead provided

the opportunity to participate in one of two sophomore-level

projects. Due to scheduling constraints, students were

allowed to select one of two projects: an independent

programming project, or joining a final project team in a

sophomore-level systems analysis course.

Qualitative review in the form of course evaluations was

highly positive for students in both final projects. Based on

preliminary qualitative results the investigators intend to

introduce this style of assignment to students in all sections

of CIT 12000, and more tightly integrate the first- and

second-year students in a group final project. Additionally,

the team intends to seek other courses in the curriculum

where this type of project could immediately improve

student expectations.

BACKGROUND

The concept of peer interaction in problem-centered learning

has been increasingly used to facilitate student engagement

[1-3]. This methodology appears to have gained traction in

various means of course delivery, and for a variety of

student populations, all of which are of concern at IUPUI.

Deep learning [4] is an emerging model to

transition students from a K-12 memorization-and-repetition

style of learning to one where fundamental concepts are

taught by action as well as acquisition. The faculty team

considered the deep learning approach when developing the

final projects for the first-year course.

Session S2G

978-1-61284-469-5/11/$26.00 ©2011 IEEE October 12 - 15, 2011, Rapid City, SD

41st ASEE/IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference

S2G-2

METHODOLOGY

The CIT 12000 course is offered in multiple configurations –

online, non-traditional schedules, and in the classroom –

with a variety of sections and instructors. The course acts as

a prerequisite to many core curriculum courses, most notably

Introduction to Programming (CIT 14000) and Object-

Oriented Analysis and Design (CIT 21300.) It was

determined that one section of the 12000 course (22

students) would incorporate the final project into its learning

plan, while the remaining sections would follow a traditional

review and final exam approach. In order to present this

opportunity to an entire section of the CIT 12000 course,

two final projects – each corresponding to one of the above

courses – were designed.

Students who were able to adjust their schedule

were invited into a section of the CIT 21300 course. The

21300 students were grouped into teams and tasked with a

final project that required the analysis and design of a

software application and database, culminating in a design

specification that included UML model diagrams, a database

schema, and a project dossier to be given to a client. 12000

students were integrated into the 21300 student groups.

Observation of the team meetings showed that, after some

initial hesitation, the 12000 students actively engaged their

team members and participated in the discussions. They

asked questions of their teammates as 21300 students

explained concepts and terminology. 21300 students also

responded well to observations by 12000 students, whose

less-informed view occasionally required the team to update

or revise the documentation of their software architecture.

The remaining students in the 12000 section were

given a final project that required the use of the ALICE

programming environment [5]. Students had been exposed

to software development concepts – such as classes, objects,

and methods – but were not to actively apply them until a

later semester. By constructing software applications using

ALICE, students were able to more immediately grasp the

importance of the knowledge gained in the CIT 12000

course without the need to immerse themselves in a specific

programming language or syntax.

CONCLUSIONS

Qualitative feedback from students who participated in the

experimental project was significantly positive. While the

two projects were different in nature, the experience of

putting learning to the test within the same course appeared

to be a success for students.

Feedback from the peer collaboration project

included both positive and negative notes. The most

common complaint was that the 12000 students wanted

more access to the course material for 21300. However,

anecdotal evidence from both 12000 and 21300 students

showed that the group project was integral in allowing the

students to demonstrate the skills they had acquired. Several

12000 students even expressed that they looked forward to

the 21300 course after completing the project.

A sample of the feedback from a peer collaboration

project student follows: “I often found myself going back

over past homework assignments to help me with this

project which surprised me because at the time of doing the

assignments I had a hard time figuring out how they would

be beneficial.”

Likewise, students who participated in the ALICE

programming project appeared to gain more appreciation for

the concepts introduced in the 12000 course. Several

students professed a desire to do more programming. One

student provided this feedback: “It didn‟t take long to have

an „oooooohhhh, that‟s why they teach us to make

flowcharts‟ moment.”

Students participated in an anonymous, voluntary

course evaluation at the conclusion of the 12000 course.

The results of those course evaluations will be compared to

those of other sections that did not participate in the

experiment to determine if the new final projects increased

student satisfaction with the course.

FUTURE INVESTIGATIONS

The researchers eager to introduce these preview projects

into all sections of the 12000 course. Most notably they

would like to offer concurrent sections of the 12000 and

21300 courses to further aid the accessibility of the peer

collaboration project.

Further research involving comparisons of final

grades and evaluation scores between past and current

sections of the course are also being performed. The

researchers expect to find significantly improved student

satisfaction, but are as yet unable to determine if student

success has been increased.

REFERENCES

[1] Merrill, M. David, Clark G. Gilbert, “Effective peer interaction in a

problem-centered instructional strategy”, Distance Education, Vol. 29 No. 2, August 2008, 199-207

[2] Jacoby, Barbara, John Garland , “Strategies for Enhancing Commuter

Student Success”, Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory and Practice, Vol. 6 No. 1, 2004-2005

[3] Zhang, Ke, Shiang Wuu Peng, Jui-long Hung, “Online collaborative

learning in a project-based learning environment in Taiwan: a case study on undergraduate students‟perspectives”, Educational Media

International, Vol. 46, No. 2, June 2009, 123–135

[4] Millis, Barbara J., “Promoting Deep Learning”

http://www.theideacenter.org/sites/default/files/IDEA_Paper_47.pdf

Accessed: 05 April 2011

[5] “What is Alice?” http://www.alice.org/ Accessed: 05 April 2011.

AUTHOR INFORMATION

Robert Elliott Visiting Lecturer, Indiana University Purdue

University at Indianapolis, elliott@iupui.edu

Nancy Evans Lecturer and Coordinator of CIT First Year

Experience, Indiana University Purdue University at

Indianapolis, nanevans@iupui.edu