Abstract:

The purpose of this paper is to present the results of research aimed at finding out the learning outcomes of computing students with a study module implementation based on the Learning by Developing (LbD) Action Model used in Laurea University of Applied Sciences (Laurea). The aim of the study is to find out how the students' competence develops during the study module and what are they general experience of learning according to the LbD. The LbD Action Model has been developed in Laurea by closely examining teaching and learning across a number of Universities of Applied Sciences. The LbD has been used in Laurea since 2004, and it has been shown to be a successful way of teaching within higher educational contexts. Studies on LbD based learning in Laurea have been conducted amongst students in social sciences and health care, but not among students within computing related disciplines. The LbD Action Model is intended to learn new ways of working and renew working life, and therefore a study module, which involved customers and their real-world projects, was chosen as the subject of research. Computing students have been chosen as the research topic also because studies that only examine the experiences of computing students in teaching according to the LbD Action Model have not been conducted before. An important area of the study, besides the student’s own learning experiences, is how their problem-solving skills and other competencies developing in the LbD projects that have been implemented in cooperation with the working life. The study also examines the lecturers' experiences of using the LbD and its suitability for computing studies, as well as the experiences of the clients involved in the study module on using the LbD in real customer projects.

The research strategy chosen for the study is action research, which is a discipline-based research conducted by a teacher, the purpose of which is to obtain information and, on the basis of the information received, to change his or her practice in the future. In this process, participants systematically and carefully review their own teaching practices using research methods. Action research is well-suited to educational research and can involve just a single teacher, a group of teachers with a common problem, or the entire school faculty. The first cycle of study will be carried out in Laurea in Finland but the next two cycles of the study will be carried out within similar study modules at the Robert Gordon University (RGU) in the UK. This will allow the researcher to determine whether LbD can be successful in other institutions, and to further analyse the implications and drawbacks of such an implementation.

The first cycle research data has been collected from students at Laurea through a survey and learning diaries across a full semester in the 2019-20 academic session. Thematic interviews were used as a method for collecting research data from experts, lecturers and clients. The next phase of the study will be carried out in the 2020-21 autumn when the LbD Action Model which will piloted at RGU in UK. The purpose of this research is to further develop the LbD and examine whether it can be implemented successfully in RGU. The aim of this study is also to identify further development for the LbD to ensure it maintains an international perspective for future needs.

Keywords:

Learning by developing, teaching, learning outcomes, computing.