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Author ORCID Identifier
N/A
AccessType
Open Access Dissertation
Document Type
dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Degree Program
Computer Science
Year Degree Awarded
2015
Month Degree Awarded
May
First Advisor
Robert Moll
Abstract
The subject of this thesis is an observational investigation of the effect on outcomes of three behavior patterns students follow during the course of a fourteen week semester in two large, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) college courses: an introductory Computer Science course and an introductory Chemistry course. Both courses employed a computer-based system that recorded student textbook and homework activity. The behavior patterns we investigated are: 1) “book-first”- reading and interacting with the textbook material before working homework problems, 2) “infrequent-session”- long stretches of time between short working sessions with book or chapter homework material, and 3) “working-late”- submitting homework close to the due date. In order to assess the effect of these patterns on outcomes, i.e. final exam scores, we created features to measure the amount of textbook interaction, the relative length of time between work sessions, and the amount of work submitted close to due dates. Our analysis showed a statistically significant, positive effect of following a book-first strategy for students in all courses, and a greater positive effect for novice students. For the second study, we found evidence that the pattern of short working sessions with long intervals was related to lower exam scores. In the third study, we found a negative effect of late work on final exam scores. We found novice students were more negatively affected than experienced students.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.7275/6962803.0
Recommended Citation
anderson, gordon c., "An Analysis of Student Learning Strategies in High Enrollment Computer-Based College Courses" (2015). Doctoral Dissertations. 343.
https://doi.org/10.7275/6962803.0
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_2/343