{"title":"Teaching Programming in Higher Education Using a Hybrid Project-Based Learning Approach","authors":"Mark Featherstone","doi":"10.1109/TE.2025.3577406","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Contribution: Results and conclusions on the use of a hybrid Project-Based Learning (PBL) approach to teaching programming in a higher education computing department. Background: PBL is a pedagogical approach that facilitates “learning by doing” and can create compelling educational experiences that enhance a student’s intrinsic motivation. Engagement can increase because students design their own unique projects, which have personal meaning and importance. PBL facilitates working with industrial clients to solve problems, which can create powerful extrinsic motivation. However, PBL can fail when students lack the experience and confidence to work as independent learners. Research Questions: 1) Can a hybrid PBL approach mitigate these problems by using a range of additional initiatives? These include, a wide range of on-demand learning resources, student mentoring, students collaborating with teachers to grade their own work, regular feedback milestones and scaffolding of learning via streaming. In this case streaming means offering students pathways through projects that require more or less independent research and project management. Methodology: A mixed methods study of a new hybrid approach to teaching programming. Findings: This article summarizes the author’s experience of implementing hybrid PBL within a university computing department, associated with improved student attainment and describes best practice, the advantages and the pitfalls.","PeriodicalId":55011,"journal":{"name":"IEEE Transactions on Education","volume":"68 4","pages":"377-386"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0000,"publicationDate":"2025-06-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"IEEE Transactions on Education","FirstCategoryId":"5","ListUrlMain":"https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/11050853/","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"EDUCATION, SCIENTIFIC DISCIPLINES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Contribution: Results and conclusions on the use of a hybrid Project-Based Learning (PBL) approach to teaching programming in a higher education computing department. Background: PBL is a pedagogical approach that facilitates “learning by doing” and can create compelling educational experiences that enhance a student’s intrinsic motivation. Engagement can increase because students design their own unique projects, which have personal meaning and importance. PBL facilitates working with industrial clients to solve problems, which can create powerful extrinsic motivation. However, PBL can fail when students lack the experience and confidence to work as independent learners. Research Questions: 1) Can a hybrid PBL approach mitigate these problems by using a range of additional initiatives? These include, a wide range of on-demand learning resources, student mentoring, students collaborating with teachers to grade their own work, regular feedback milestones and scaffolding of learning via streaming. In this case streaming means offering students pathways through projects that require more or less independent research and project management. Methodology: A mixed methods study of a new hybrid approach to teaching programming. Findings: This article summarizes the author’s experience of implementing hybrid PBL within a university computing department, associated with improved student attainment and describes best practice, the advantages and the pitfalls.
期刊介绍:
The IEEE Transactions on Education (ToE) publishes significant and original scholarly contributions to education in electrical and electronics engineering, computer engineering, computer science, and other fields within the scope of interest of IEEE. Contributions must address discovery, integration, and/or application of knowledge in education in these fields. Articles must support contributions and assertions with compelling evidence and provide explicit, transparent descriptions of the processes through which the evidence is collected, analyzed, and interpreted. While characteristics of compelling evidence cannot be described to address every conceivable situation, generally assessment of the work being reported must go beyond student self-report and attitudinal data.