Hvordan fremme aktiv deltakelse i programmeringsforelesninger (digitale og fysiske) med opptil 500 studenter?

Abstract

Programming is a highly important skill in all fields of engineering (and in many other fields as well). At university, the students enrolled in study programs related to engineering, technology, and natural sciences usually take programming courses at the start of their Bachelors or integrated Masters degrees. These introductory programming courses are usually large, with up to 500 students per lecture, and are supposed to give the students relevant knowledge and training in programming, making them capable of solving different engineering problems by using programming later on in their studies and careers. Promoting active learning in the lectures can improve the students' learning outcome. Unfortunately, active student participation is often difficult when there are several hundred students present.

In the "extra"/supporting lectures in the course TDT4102 Procedural and Object-Oriented Programming at NTNU (Norwegian University of Science and Technology) we have ensured active student participation through small tasks given throughout the lectures. The students get 1-3 minutes to think about the task and discuss it with the people next to them before the task is answered and discussed in plenary. This makes all of the students active participants and make them active learners, which increases their learning. This technique has been used in both digital and in person lectures. For digital lectures it is often best to let the students answer in a pre-made poll (you can make your own polls in Zoom), especially if there are several hundred students present, in order to avoid chaos in the meeting-chat.