Teaching and Learning in an Introductory Undergraduate Programming Class
S. Zahra Atiq · 2016
In scholarship of teaching and learning studies (SoTL), computer science (CS) educators have investigated the effectiveness of their teaching methods on students, but they have rarely investigated their own professional development. Some educators do examine their own practices through a process of reflection, but these informal self-reflection efforts have lacked scholarly rigor. A more rigorous study could be provided through the use of autoethnography. This poster presents an autoethnographic study by the author on the teaching of introductory computer programming courses. Through this study, which used five years of data, the author arrived at three main conclusions. First, the author found that students were able to learn new programming languages because the author emphasized self-learning and life-long learning in the classroom. Second, the author found that peer learning, in which one student explains ideas to another, benefits both students. Third, the author found that when educators mentor, support, and guide students, the students' motivation, engagement, and retention increase. Although these findings about effective practices confirm the results of previous studies, the autoethnographic method provides a new, credible way for educators to reflect and inform their practices.