Abstract:

It has been noted that there may be an insufficient representation of practical design, as opposed to theory, in the literature on student research participation during education. We describe the design and outcomes of the Human-Centred Computing Experiment Platform (HCC-EP) developed to support the participation of university students in research experiments. Within the School of Computer Science at the Australian National University, across four semesters 2020-2021, 774 Computer Science students selected and enrolled in one or more of 13 large scale experiments, amounting to a total of 1,102 instances of experiment participation. The HCC-EP has been effective in experiment choice and delivery, supporting students to understand how to apply theoretical knowledge to practical problems that interest them. In addition, during the COVID-19 campus lockdown, HCC-EP provided a new form of authentic online learning for students. Students gained practical knowledge that they could combine with theoretical knowledge to enhance teaching outcomes.

Keywords:

Computer science education, Authentic learning, Experiment platform, Teaching model.