Enhancing postgraduate students’ technical skills: perceptions of modified team-based learning in a six-week multi-subject Bootcamp-style CS course

Bikanga Ada, M. and Foster, M. E. (2023) Enhancing postgraduate students’ technical skills: perceptions of modified team-based learning in a six-week multi-subject Bootcamp-style CS course. Computer Science Education, 33(2), pp. 186-210. (doi: 10.1080/08993408.2021.1959174)

Abstract

Background and Context: Objective: This study explores postgraduate students’ perceptions of the modified team-based learning instructional approach used to teach it and the extent to which the Bootcamp course improves their practical skills. Method: In the beginning, participants (n = 185) were asked to rate their practical experience on the taught topics. At the end of ProgSD in S1 and Semester 2 (S2) during the Covid19 lockdown, respondents (n = 150 and n = 43, respectively) were surveyed on their perceptions of ProgSD. Wilcoxon test, Mann-Whitney U Test and Kruskal-Wallis test were used to analyse data. Thematic Analysis was used to analyse students’ comments. Findings: Results showed that students’ practical experience significantly increased at the end of ProgSD with a p-value < 0.05. Median ratings of the modified TBL activities and perception of teamwork were positive overall, and many (66.5%) felt more confident about taking the courses in S2. Qualitative results supported these findings. Implications: Findings have implications for practitioners facing the challenges identified here. Given the current pandemic, the authors suggest approaches to redesign face-to-face activities (tAPP) for online teaching and learning.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Bikanga Ada, Dr Mireilla and Foster, Dr Mary Ellen
• Authors: Bikanga Ada, M., and Foster, M. E.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Computing Science
• Journal Name: Computer Science Education
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• ISSN: 0899-3408
• ISSN (Online): 1744-5175
• Published Online: 30 July 2021
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2021 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Computer Science Education 33(2):186-210
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons license