student internationally published

A paper has been accepted for publication at The 2012 China-Europe International Symposium on Software Engineering Education (CEISEE’2012), with an finalist student from 2011 as one of the co-authors.

To avoid potential bias for work on student experience during a problem-solving module; from tutors and to get honest feedback, the survey data collection and some of the analysis was carried out by an undergraduate computing student (one of the co-authors Kumuditha Achini Kariyawasam) under an URB@N funded project. URB@N stands for 'Undergraduate Research Bursaries at Northampton'. It is a bursary scheme that offers undergraduate students an opportunity to participate in a pedagogic research project taking place at the University of Northampton

Is it Visual? The importance of a Problem solving Module within a computing course

K A Kariyawasam

S J Turner

G J Hill

ABSTRACT
This paper looks at student’s view of the usefulness of a problem solving and programming module in the first year of a 3-year undergraduate program. The School of Science and Technology, University of Northampton, UK has been investigating, over the last seven years the teaching of problem solving. Including looking at whether a more visual approach has any benefits (the visual programming includes both 2-d and graphical user interfaces). Whilst the authors have discussed the subject problem solving and programming in the past this paper considers the students perspective from research collected/collated by a student researcher under a new initiative within the University.

All students interviewed either had completed the module within the two years of the survey or were completing the problem-solving module in their first year.