Teaching highly mixed-ability CS1 classes: A proposed approach

• Published in: Education and information technologies Vol. 27; no. 1; pp. 961 - 978
• Main Author: Mohamed, Abdallah
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01-01-2022; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Ability; Active learning; College Instruction; College Students; Computer Appl. in Social and Behavioral Sciences; Computer programming; Computer Science; Computer Science Education; Computers and Education; Education; Educational Needs; Educational Technology; Equipment and supplies; Flipped Classroom; Foreign Countries; Heterogeneous Grouping; Information Systems Applications (incl.Internet); Instructional Effectiveness; Introductory Courses; Programming; Science Curriculum; Student Attitudes; Student Evaluation; Student Motivation; Student Satisfaction; Teaching; University students; User Interfaces and Human Computer Interaction; Canada; CS1; Flipped classroom; Active learning; Mixed-ability classes; Programming for all
• ISSN: 1360-2357; 1573-7608
• DOI: 10.1007/s10639-021-10546-8

With the increased reliance on technology, computer programming has emerged as an essential skill that is interesting to many audiences beyond merely computer scientists. As a result, many students from various disciplines take first-year computer science courses. This led to classrooms with a lot of diversity in student motivation, backgrounds, learning needs, and educational levels. Teaching the same material to such a diverse group is challenging. The aim of this paper is two-fold. Firstly, we present a flipped-based approach that benefits from the mixed-ability nature of first-year programming courses rather than considering it as a burden. Secondly, we present a study that evaluates the extent to which the proposed approach enhances student learning in such a mixed-ability environment. The study was conducted in a first-year course at the University of British Columbia – Okanagan, and it was based on three components:1) a survey of 25 Likert items(
n
 = 46), 2) class average grade and pass rate over 6 years (
n
 = 42 + 38 + 56 + 79 + 90 + 74), and 3) student ratings of the course over 5 years (
n
 = 42 + 38 + 56 + 79 + 90). Findings of the survey indicate an overall positive students’ impression with no significant difference in the opinions of various student populations. Analyzing the course grades, pass rates, and student ratings confirmed the survey findings and showed an overall improvement in grades, pass-rates, and student satisfaction.