Christy Chatmon and Hongmei Chi

Based on paper published in:InfoSecCD 2010 Information Security Curriculum Development Conference

ACTIVE LEARNING APPROACHES

TO TEACHINGINFORMATION ASSURANCE

Information Assurance (IA) at FAMU

Our Active Learning (AL) approaches to teach IA

Student responses

Conclusions/Future Works

Questions

OVERVIEW

FAMU became a Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education (CAE-IAE) [2012-2017]

Led by the CIS department Designated by National Security Agency & Department of

Homeland Security officially on June 11, 2012

Positive track record in IA Education for CIS Three-course undergraduate IA curriculum track certified

by NSA and CNSS training standards NSTISSI 4011 (INFOSEC Professional) [2008-13]

NSTISSI 4012 (Senior Systems Manager) [2010-15]

IA AT FAMU & CIS

IA AT FAMU & CIS

Other Highlights: Numerous CIS graduates who have completed the IA

Certificate Program are employed in the intelligence community

IA professional interaction with IA courses

IA workshops for local community

Graduate IA courses and thesis

Question: What are some problems with the traditional classroom lecture as the instructional method?

What is Active Learning?

What are some advantages to incorporating Active Learning activities as an instructional method?

Consider your answer to the questions above (~2 min)

Discuss your answers with your neighbor (~3 min)

Let’s Discuss! (~2 min)

ACTIVITY #1:

What is Active Learning? Planned activities to engage the participant as a “partner” in

the activity

Student learns by doing [Felder & Brent (2003)]

“Anything that involves students in doing things and thinking about the things they are doing” “Any instructional method that involves the students in the learning process” [Morgan et al (2005)]

“The direct involvement of students in their own learning process” [Sampson & Jackson (2007)]

“Active learning project could generate additional student engagement by involving the students in learning to use a new technology that they might expect to encounter in the workplace after graduation” [Platt & Peach (2008)]

ACTIVE/COLLABORATIVE LEARNING

Advantages of using AL approaches: Information Retention

Student-Faculty Interaction

Student-Student Interaction

Academic Achievements (i.e., grades)

Higher-level Thinking Skills

Teamwork

Attitude towards the subject and motivation to learn

ACTIVE/COLLABORATIVE LEARNING

Active Learning Techniques:Collaborative Learning

Think/write-pair-share

Cooperative Learning Cooperative groups, concept mapping, and debates

Problem-Based Learning

Learning by Doing “Tell me and I will forget, show me and I may remember, involve

me and I’ll understand” – Confucius (Chinese famous educator)

ACTIVE/COLLABORATIVE LEARNING

The Learning Process (Bloom’s Taxonomy)

ACTIVE/COLLABORATIVE LEARNING

ACTIVITY #2: Results

Advantages of Use standard web technology to obtain live audience

response in any venue (conferences, presentations, classrooms, radio, TV - anywhere)

Works internationally with texting, web, or Twitter Its FREE!

How it works? Ask a question Audience answers using above technologies Responses are displayed live in Keynote, PowerPoint, or the

web

ACTIVITY #2:

Virtual laboratory exercises

Online cooperative group discussions

Think-pair-share activities

Student generated labs

Student-led current event reviews

OUR APPROACH - AL IN IA

Virtual IA laboratory exercisesAdvantages:

Supports distance education Resource sharing & cost savings Potential to improve educational outcomes Easier setup and implementation

Video tutorials (explanation & reinforce concepts)

OUR APPROACH - AL IN IA

Examples of Virtual Laboratory Exercises

Topic: Description:Special Software

Needed:

Virus RemovalExplore the process of virus removal

& vulnerability identification

Avira AntiVir Personal; Trojan Horse application

Password Policy Modification of local security policies

EnumerationIdentification of resources available

on the networkLANguard Network

Scanner

Host-based Firewall/IDS

Detection of system-level attacks Sygate Personal Firewall

Packet AnalyzerProtocol observation using a packet

sniffing toolEthereal

System Vulnerabilities

Determination of security state of a system

Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer

Web Browser Security

Investigate the flaws and vulnerabilities of Web browser

software

OUR APPROACH - AL IN IA

Online cooperative group discussionsAdvantages:

Students utilize critical thinking skills Students participate more regularly and more

thoughtfully than face-to-face Students develop stronger class community Students are more likely to cite research and class

readings Students achieve greater cognitive and exploratory

learning Faculty members spend less time answer questions

(students often answer each others questions) Students have greater sense of race and gender-based

equality

OUR APPROACH - AL IN IA

Think-Pair-Share ActivitiesThink

Students think independentlyPair

Students grouped in pairs to discuss their thoughtsShare

Student pairs share their ideas with class

Learning is enhanced when given opportunity to elaborate on ideas through talk

OUR APPROACH - AL IN IA

Think-Pair-Share ActivitiesExample Discussion Question:

What would you recommend as a punishment for a policy violation involving removal of confidential records for a “harmless” reason like catching up on reading them at home? Would your recommended punishment be different if the violator used them for a different purpose, perhaps using them to perform identity theft?

[Whitman, M. and Mattord, H.]

OUR APPROACH - AL IN IA

Student generated labsAdaptation of “Quiz/Test Questions” approach with Cooperative Groups strategy Think more deeply about course material Explore major themes Higher-order thinking skills

Student groups create hands-on laboratory assignment to be administered to their peers Mastery of foundational IA skills Self-directed

OUR APPROACH - AL IN IA

Student generated labs exampleTopic: Explore tools for network monitoring and traffic

analysis. Group selected Netflow analyzer from SolarWinds

OUR APPROACH - AL IN IA

Feedback from a few students:“I like all those hands-on labs and the most interesting lab is that I can design my [own] labs and learn free source tools.”

“The hands on labs and the in-class discussions made me want to learn more about security.”

STUDENT RESPONSES

Introduce the following AL activities in IA Curriculum: Capture the Flag (Cybersecurity challenge) CyberCIEGE Video Game

Video game and tool to teach IA concepts Ubiquitous Presenter

Annotate pre-prepared slides & students create submissions for in-class activities (Just in Time Teaching)

Develop IA active learning modules to be included in CIS core courses & non-CS majors courses to increase IA awareness

Expand IA education at FAMU by offering e-learning opportunities incorporating various active learning approaches

FUTURE IA-AL ACTIVITIES

FUTURE IA-AL ACTIVITIES“CYBERCIEGE”

FUTURE IA-AL ACTIVITIES“UBIQUITOUS PRESENTER”

Active learning instruction requires transition in teaching style from instructor-centered to student-centered

Numerous benefits for student in student-centered instruction (problem-solving, creativity, teamwork, etc.)

AL Considerations Selecting appropriate AL Strategies to ensure coverage of Course

Learning Objectives Classroom size Physical environment Technologies needed Requires time to prepare AL activities Etc.

CONCLUSION

ACTIVITY #3: Results

QUESTIONS?

CyberCIEGE http://cisr.nps.edu/cyberciege/

Poll Everywhere http://www.polleverywhere.com/

Ubiquitous Presenter http://up.ucsd.edu/ http://up.ucsd.edu/about/WhatIsUP.html

REFERENCES