A strategy to increase students’ motivation and decrease dropout rates

A Strategy to Increase Students’ Motivation and Decrease Dropout Rates on Computer Programming Courses in a Public Institute of Education and Technology

Alexandre R.S. Correia, IFSertaoPE, Brazil

Dr. Essi Ryymin, HAMK, Finland

Fernando S. Pacheco, IFSC, Brazil

D.Sc. Päivi Aarreniemi-Jokipelto, Haaga-Helia, Finland

Brian Joyce, HAMK, Finland

6/23/2015EdMedia 2015, World Conference on Educational Media and Technology [email protected]

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Researchers Institutions

Alexandre R.S. [email protected]

Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology at Sertao Pernambucano -IFSertaoPE, Petrolina, Brazil

Essi [email protected]

Häme University of Applied Sciences -HAMK, Hämeenlinna, Finland

Fernando S. [email protected]

Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology at Santa Catarina - IFSC, Florianopolis, Brazil

Päivi [email protected]

Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences, School of Vocational Teacher Education, Helsinki, Finland

Brian [email protected]

Häme University of Applied Sciences -HAMK, Hämeenlinna, Finland

mailto:[email protected]






Outline

Objective of the study

Computer programming

Context of the study

Research question

Selected strategy

Questionnaire survey

Contributions


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Objective of the Study

This paper is a report on a exploratory design research of educational intervention conducted on a public institute of education in Brazil.

There are remarkable problems of dropout rates in the school.

The educational intervention presented here offers a new strategy to mitigate dropout rates by re-designing teaching on the basis of a student-centered approach with emphasis on guided participation and project-based learning.


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The Brazilian Federal Network of Institutes of Education and Technology Since 2008 the main goal is: providing free and public

education from high-school to doctoral degree;

It was created in 1909 (106 years);

562 educational units spread the whole country;

1 million students seats;

60 thousands staff members (teachers and officers).


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Source: Ministry of Education - report series (2014).

Computer Programming Dropout Rate and the Motivation to Learn A global problem

Introductory courses are known to be a challenge for most of the students. The difficulties to learn the fundamentals on how to program computers have led to high rates of dropout at higher education or vocational degrees (Brusilovsky et al. 1994, McCracken et al. 2001, Lister et al. 2004).

Dropout rate - when a student does not pass a course and need to repeat it or give up the entire program because he/she did not pass.

Motivation - a persistent effort a student pays toward learning (Law et al., 2010)


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Context of the Study

The Institute of Education and Technology at Sertao - Petrolina campus, the region has been known as one of the poorest regions in Brazil

The Brazilian Federal Network of Institutes of Education and Technology: According to Brazilian Government, from 2004 to 2011 on 25% of the student had graduated in bachelor teacher training (4-year long ISCED 6). The first year dropout rate was 57%. The indicators for the vocational education were worst.

The dropout (semiannually statistics):

Bachelor teacher training degree, sdr=27.5% (ces=232 and tcs=320).

Adult education vocational degree, sdr=44.0% (ces=56 and tcs=100)

High school vocational education degree, sdr=-14.0% (ces=114 and tcs=100) at the (More students than seats)

A smaller sdr stands for smaller dropout rate (the ideal situation would be sdr as zero, which stands for the number of current enrolled students equal to the total capacity). 6/23/2015EdMedia 2015, World Conference on Educational Media and Technology

[email protected]

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Research Question

If teachers in computer programing courses at the study institution decide to apply SCAEGP-PBL, would it help to increase students’ motivation and to reduce their dropout rates?

SCAEGP - student-centered approach with emphasis on guided participation pedagogy motivation might

increase (Kember, 2008)

PBL - Project-based Learning: Motivation increases

dropout rate might decrease (Jenkins, 2001; Law et al. 2010)


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Strategy to Enhance Motivation and Mitigate Dropout Rates The current state in the study institution:

Most of the computer programming classrooms are teacher-centered;

Most tasks surrounding project’s aspects are busywork (for students and teachers) rather than effective learning through social context projects.

What we are going to propose?

Adoption of a student-centered approach with emphasis on guided participation pedagogy and project-based learning technique (SCAEGP-PBL)


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Implementing the Selected Strategy

Create a pilot course, to run in parallel with the regular courses

Select randomly students to take this pilot course;

Take questionnaires based on motivation, from students before starting and after ending the both courses

A statistical analysis to find out whether the strategy will increase the motivation and decrease the dropout rates

Present these outcomes to have feedback, contribution, discussion and plan/execute new actions.


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Questionnaire Survey

To students to explore their motivation (Jenkins, 2001): Extrinsic - the desire to complete the course in order

to attain some expected reward, leveraging career, etc.

Intrinsic - interest in programming for its own sake; Social - to please some 3rd party whose the opinion

is valued; Achievement - do well for personal satisfaction.


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Defined Strategy and Its Issues


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Issue A way to mitigate its impacts

High workload (1) The teacher should set levels of tasks, expectations and feedback somehow will keep the students into the learning zone. (2) Progressively implement this strategy rather than try to change all course activities at once. (3) Using orchestration systems tools to deal with large groups of students for delivering pre-programmed activities with automatic grading reviews (De-La-Fuente et al. 2013).

Limitations in the quality of interaction and communication

(1) Lack of face to face interaction or poor quality of communication provided by those collaborative learning tools and technologies. (2) They would be afraid of their own difficulties (or lack of ability) to deal with those tools.

Ownership and Assessment

(1) Students may be concerned that individual contributions would not be identified by the teachers during assessment in this approach. (2) They also complain that sometimes outcomes and criteria are not clear beforehand.

Main Contributions

1. The whole institution (teachers, managers and students) will aware of its dropout rates problem;

2. Encreaced motivation might decrease the dropout rates;

3. The proposed strategy is a systematic way to motivate and decrease the dropout rates.

4. The proposed strategy is aligned with 21st skills and competencies.


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Acknowledgements

Alexandre R. S. Correia and Fernando S. Pacheco received financial support from CNPq (the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development) and SETEC/MEC (Brazilian Ministry of Education) through the public call CNPq - SETEC/MEC n. 015/2014.


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Further information

Alexandre R.S. [email protected]


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