Towards Goal-Oriented Experiential Learning for Cybersecurity Programs
Eman M. Hammad, James K. Nelson, J. Mora Romero · 2024
Abstract The continuously increasing gap in the cybersecurity workforce, in numbers and skill levels, demands a fundamental shift in how we approach cybersecurity education and training. This is further complicated when considering the need to enable learners from a diverse set of backgrounds for a larger spectrum of career trajectories within the industry. In this article, we present our model for a goal-oriented experiential learning that was implemented in one cybersecurity course with interactive learning modules. In this model, a closed-loop learning environment is established, where students are actively involved and guided to include their goals in an interactive set of learning modules of the course. Students were provided with the needed infrastructure and technologies (such as IoT devices, cyberrange platform) to enable them to proceed with those modules. The article summarizes the results based on students' feedback and observations. The article concludes with a description of a methodology to generalize this to other similar courses.