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Analyzing relationships between closed labs and course activities in CS1

Published: 27 June 2005 Publication History

Abstract

Closed laboratories are becoming an increasingly popular approach to teaching introductory computer science courses. However, as observed in [1], "Considering the prevalence of closed labs and the fact that they have been in place in CS curricula for more than a decade, there is little published evidence assessing their effectiveness." In this paper, we report on how students' performance in closed laboratories relates to their performances on a placement exam, homework assignments, course exams, and how it relates to their self-reported attitudes towards our CS1 course. This analysis provides insights to help us improve the design of our laboratories as well as other components of CS1.

References

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R. McCauley, W. Parrs, G. Pothering, and C. Starr (2003). A Proposal to Evaluate the Effectiveness of Closed Laboratories in the Computer Science Curriculum, J. Computing Sciences in Colleges, 19(3):191-198.
[2]
ACM/IEEE Joint Task Force on Computing Curricula Staff, Computing Curricula 2001: Computer Science, IEEE Press, 2002.
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P.J. Denning, D. E. Comer, D. Gries, M. C. Mulder, A. Tucker, A. J. Turner, and P. R. Young (1989). Computing as a Discipline, CACM, 32(1):9--23.
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A. Tucker, A., et al., (1991). Computing Curricula 1991: Report of the ACM/IEEE-CS Joint Curriculum Task Force", ACM Press.
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B.C. Parker, and J. D. McGregor (1995). A Goal-Oriented Approach to Laboratory Development and Implementation, SIGSCE'95, Nashville, TN, pp. 92--96.
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M.V. Doran and D. D. Langan (1995) A Cognitive-Based Approach to Introductory Computer Science Courses: Lessons Learned", SIGCSE'95, Nashville, TN, pp. 218--222.
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B.S. Bloom, B. B. Mesia, and D. R. Krathwohl (1964). Taxonomy of Educational Objectives (two vols: The Affective Domain & The Cognitive Domain), David McKay, New York.
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A.N. Kumar (2003). The Effects of Closed Labs in Computer Science I: An Assessment, J. Computing Sciences in Colleges, 18(5):40--48.
[9]
M. Thweatt (1994). CS1 Closed Lab vs. Open Lab Experiment, SIGCSE'94, Phoenix, AZ, pp. 80--82.
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J. K. Eaton (1991). Interactive Software for Self-Paced Instruction on Laboratory Instrumentation and Computerized Data Acquisition, http://www.siggraph.org/education/nsfcscr/projects/intro/eaton.html
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  1. Analyzing relationships between closed labs and course activities in CS1

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    Published In

    cover image ACM SIGCSE Bulletin
    ACM SIGCSE Bulletin  Volume 37, Issue 3
    September 2005
    418 pages
    ISSN:0097-8418
    DOI:10.1145/1151954
    Issue’s Table of Contents
    • cover image ACM Conferences
      ITiCSE '05: Proceedings of the 10th annual SIGCSE conference on Innovation and technology in computer science education
      June 2005
      440 pages
      ISBN:1595930248
      DOI:10.1145/1067445
    Permission to make digital or hard copies of all or part of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for components of this work owned by others than ACM must be honored. Abstracting with credit is permitted. To copy otherwise, or republish, to post on servers or to redistribute to lists, requires prior specific permission and/or a fee. Request permissions from [email protected]

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    Association for Computing Machinery

    New York, NY, United States

    Publication History

    Published: 27 June 2005
    Published in SIGCSE Volume 37, Issue 3

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    1. closed laboratories
    2. instructional design

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    View all
    • (2020)Active Learning: The Almost Silver Bullet2020 12th International Conference on Knowledge and Systems Engineering (KSE)10.1109/KSE50997.2020.9287513(131-135)Online publication date: 12-Nov-2020
    • (2019)Quantifying the Relationship Between Projects, Assignments and Grade in Computer Science I2019 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE)10.1109/FIE43999.2019.9028481(1-8)Online publication date: Oct-2019
    • (2017)A Hybrid Open/Closed Lab for CS 1Proceedings of the 2017 ACM Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education10.1145/3059009.3059014(46-51)Online publication date: 28-Jun-2017
    • (2010)Closed labs in computer science I revisited in the context of online testingProceedings of the 41st ACM technical symposium on Computer science education10.1145/1734263.1734443(539-543)Online publication date: 10-Mar-2010
    • (2007)An integrated framework for improved Computer Science Education: Strategies, implementations, and resultsComputer Science Education10.1080/0899340070120378217:1(59-83)Online publication date: Mar-2007

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