Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning
in Introductory Computer Science
Click here to go to the IntroCS POGIL website.
The IntroCS POGIL Project is currently recruiting participants. Participants must be US college faculty who expect to teach CS 1 with Java or Python in 2021-22, and are able to attend multiple virtual POGIL workshops during July 2021.
Participants will receive stipends to attend summer training, implement POGIL activities in their courses, and help with data collection. See the IntroCS Participant Expectations page for more information about joining the project.
To apply, please fill out this application form.
About the Project
The main goal of IntroCS POGIL is to study factors that most influence faculty to adopt POGIL in introductory computer science courses and how the degree of POGIL implementation impacts student learning and engagement. A secondary goal is to make it significantly easier for computer science faculty to adopt POGIL by disseminating high-quality instructional resources and enhancing current professional development practices. The project theory of action is that enhanced instructor support will improve faculty adoption of and persistence with POGIL, which in turn will improve student outcomes. To assess the impact of these and other factors, the project will collect and analyze multi-institutional data including surveys, interviews, and grades.
This work will establish the value of Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL) as an approach to teaching computer science. The POGIL approach has been shown in other STEM disciplines to increase student learning and retention, particularly for students from underrepresented populations, including females and minorities. But there has not yet been a concerted effort to evaluate teaching computer science using the POGIL approach. The growth of the computer science POGIL community, which is a fundamental aspect of this proposal, is a necessary step to study the effectiveness of POGIL in CS education. Broader and more effective use of strategies such as POGIL will improve the quality, quantity, and diversity of students who complete STEM programs.
| NSF Award | Investigator | Institution |
|---|---|---|
| 1626765 | Helen Hu | Westminster College |
| Clif Kussmaul | Green Mango Associates | |
| Chris Mayfield | James Madison University | |
| Aman Yadav | Michigan State University |
| Project Coordinator: | Maria Torres-Demas |
| Project Evaluator: | Pat Campbell, Campbell-Kibler Associates |
| Advisory Board: | Renée Cole, University of Iowa Colleen Lewis, Harvey Mudd College Richard Moog, Franklin & Marshall College; The POGIL Project Tricia Shepherd Beth Simon, University of San Diego |
Collections of IntroCS POGIL Activities
- Helen Hu - Computer Science 1 - Java
- Chris Mayfield - Computer Science 1 - Java
- Chris Mayfield - Computer Science 1 - Python
- Lisa Olivieri - Computer Science 1 - Python
- Clif Kussmaul - Computer Science 1 - Python