Understanding the Relation Between Study Behaviors and Educational Design: Research in Computing Education

Important learning happens outside organized lectures and labs; however, much of the interaction between these educational design constructs and how students study is unknown. This thesis aims to understand how knowledge about computing students’ study behavior can help us design first-year undergraduate computing programs. Previous research has looked at individual courses and specific tools, but the holistic perspective across courses and classes is somewhat missing. Furthermore, the inconsistent use of study behavior terminology and lacking tools to describe educational design makes it challenging to compare findings. This PhD research took a closer look at the first year of two computing programs, examining the student experience and the relation to all levels of the educational design - from admission systems to course assignments. Through a mixed-method approach in three phases, this research used questionnaires, interviews, and document analysis to further our understanding of how educational design parameters affect how students study. The results include a mapping of Norwegian computing education programs and a systematic literature review of study behaviors in computing education, producing a framework of educational design elements and a taxonomy of study behaviors. Together, these contribute to an improved understanding of the relationship between study behavior and educational design parameters in computing education and identifying the room for action for educators. Furthermore, a comprehensive investigation of the whole first year found that schedules, assignments, and campus layout facilitates how, when and where students study. A central result was the definition and characterization of the student-driven learning environment, which is based on the individual students’ perspective and describes how they navigate the educational design constructs across courses within a program. Lastly, the findings from this thesis encourage educators, policymakers, and students to consider shifting the focus slightly from the quantity to the quality of learning by better understanding how students study. Re-examining why we do things based on updated research and theories is an important first step. Every parameter and variable should be questioned, looking for the room for action. In addition to increasing the understanding of computing students, this work also contributes to the knowledge about how to understand computing students.