Abstract:

The purpose of the paper is to reflect on the induction programme practices used by a Computer Science and Information Systems School at a South African University to prepare an honours class of IT students for the year ahead of them. Some students find it difficult to make the leap from third-year Information Technology (IT) to honours studies due to the gap in their readiness for the more sophisticated coursework, self-paced studies and practical skills required in an honours (fourth) year of study. Students' isolation has been made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic; therefore, creative ways are needed to reinvigorate their interest in full-contact learning modalities and working in groups. The induction programme focuses on strengthening soft skills such as teamwork and communication, and technical skills and general preparation for honours studies.

The methodology used in this paper is a reflective approach that used a survey to get longitudinal feedback data from IT students who were part of the honours induction programme for the past three years. A questionnaire consisting of Likert scale and open-ended questions was used. The students’ feedback was analysed using a content analysis strategy. This induction programme was created for new entrants into an IT honours degree, to close the identified gap and address graduate attributes that need to be acquired according to the university’s Teaching and Learning plan. The programme promotes creativity, and problem-solving abilities through Lego robotics projects carried out in cooperative group settings. This critical reflection was conducted, based on structured feedback from IT honours alumni. The study's findings demonstrate how the induction programme enhances the desired graduate attributes such as creativity and teamwork as well as how the programme prepares them for their honours studies. Specific challenges that students experienced during COVID-19 that they shared in the survey were the communication barriers with their lecturers and the lack of communication between their peers and the social aspect that was missing during the pandemic was also mentioned. The students also stated how they overcame these challenges when contact classes resumed, e.g. they moved closer to campus to be able to attend contact classes and participated in a variety of activities to get to know people. Feedback from the students on the value of the induction programme includes the following: teamwork and communication are important; there is more than one solution to a problem; confidence was improved during the programme, and they learned from each other.

The contribution of the paper is highlighting the benefits of a focused induction programme for IT honours students in terms of improving their graduate attributes and preparing students for their studies lying ahead for the year. Through the creation of a supportive and stimulating environment for full-contact learning, the programme addressed the isolation that students had been experiencing following COVID-19, and soft skills was developed or enhanced.

The conclusion drawn from this study is that the activities and practices used during the induction programme are conducive to closing the gap between the students’ third year and honours studies where the aim is to produce IT graduates who are more self-assured, well-rounded, and prepared, not only for their studies but also for their future participation in the IT industry.

Keywords:

Lego Robotics, Graduate attributes, induction program, IT students, Honours programme, Soft skills.