Abstract:

This paper presents a cooperative approach for instructing Industrial Automation Engineering students on computer programming principles. Although individual learning strategies are widely used in teaching computer programming to beginners, cooperative techniques may be particularly relevant given novice programmers' tendency to discuss topics and collaborate with their peers outside of class and lab activities. To take profit of this, our study investigates the effectiveness of a cooperative method as a means of teaching computer programming to novice programmers.

The proposed method involves organizing students into small groups and assigning each group a specific automation subsystem to program. After assessing the students' abilities, the teacher forms heterogeneous work groups, and each group is tasked with programming complete automation maneuvers for an industrial process that involves transporting, classifying, and storing parts. To achieve this, the teacher divides the complete task into five subtasks which can be designed and programmed independently, but require coordination via data and input/output signals. Each student group selects one or two "specialists" to program their assigned subtask. Later, the specialists from different groups with the same subtask convene in new groups to discuss any doubts or difficulties they may have encountered. Subsequently, students return to their original groups and coordinate communication between the subtasks for joint operation.

Our study focused on undergraduate engineering students enrolled in a 14-week course on industrial automation. The number of participants is 40 students. To measure their understanding of the course material, students completed pre- and post-tests. Additionally, we gathered data on students' attitudes towards the course and teaching methodology via a survey.

As the main conclusion of the study, we found that cooperative learning is an effective strategy for teaching computer programming principles to novice programmers in the field of industrial automation engineering. By organizing students into small groups and assigning them specific tasks to program, the study found that students were better able to comprehend and apply the course material compared to a control group that was taught through individual learning strategies. Moreover, the students in the experimental group showed a more positive attitude towards the course and teaching methodology, indicating that they enjoyed the learning experience and felt motivated to learn. Future research may focus on how this method can be applied to other fields and subjects, as well as exploring the benefits of cooperative learning for students with different levels of programming experience.

Keywords:

Cooperative learning, engineering education, computers programming, problem solving, industrial automation.