Abstract:

Active learning can be introduced to promote deep learning in which students are actively or experientially involved in the learning process. This paper presents a study conducted at two 3rd year Computer Science undergraduate courses such as Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and Enterprise Architecture (EA) with the aim of enhancing the undergraduate learning experience by introducing active learning which will in-turn develop deep learning in students. Both are large classrooms, 236 students in HCI and 85 in EA. Graduate skills expected are analytical, creativity, problem-solving, and critical thinking. The reasons for introducing active learning were to keep students active and attentive in the lecture, cope with large student numbers allowing them to actively engage in the lesson, promote students to ask questions, provide intrinsic motivation, increase students' motivation for self-studies, eliminate free-riders in group work, and create a learning environment of inclusion and respect for all members. With the above aim, different active learning activities such as incomplete handouts, finish with a test, tell-show-do-apply, interactive presentations and quizzes, syndicate group in-class and online assessment with immediate feedback, out-of-the-box in-class assessments, ground rules, and flipped learning were used. First, students were explained about the Intended Learning Outcomes (ILO). Activities aligned with the ILO to have a constructive alignment with teaching, learning, and assessment. After completion of each activity, to evaluate the impact on student learning, a mix-method approach of quantitative and qualitative analysis was used. Data were obtained using the 3-most important points covered, feedback in the form of 3-point scale, and students’ perceptions on the learning experience as open-ended questions. Observation technique was also used. Finally, final examination statistics were analyzed to evaluate the course pass rate. Based on the evaluation, as a result of introducing active learning, students have paid attention to the lectures because in all activities over 85% of students mentioned all 3-points covered in the lecture. Using interactive presentation and quizzes helped to judge students’ level of understanding and was able to immediately rectify the areas which were not properly understood by looking at the answers and questions in the forums. For statistics on finishing the lecture with a test, 88% of students’ obtained 100 marks where the lowest was 70 marks by only 2%. Online assessment with immediate feedback conducted as weekly challenges showed that students’ marks gradually improved as a result of peer and teacher feedback. Finally, by analyzing the marks of the final examination, the pass rate of both courses was significantly high with 86.67% in EA and 95.68% in HCI. Based on the feedback obtained as open-ended questions, students preferred interactive activities, flipped learning, finish with test, and out-of-the-box thinking activities which helped them to unleash their creativity. They also stated that the lectures were very interactive, enjoyable as they learnt the concepts and applied them without being stressed even when doing assessments. Some also mentioned that they do not have to spend extra efforts to study again as they could grab everything in the lecture. Overall, it can be stated that introducing active learning have helped significantly to enhance the undergraduate learning experience.

Keywords:

Active Learning, Deep Learning, Experiences in Education, Constructive alignment.