Session F1F

Work in Progress - Research Methods: Teaching

Students How to Learn About Learning
Jennifer A. Polack-Wahl 1 and Karen Anewalt2
Abstract - In order to become skilled in research methods,
students must learn how to learn. Learning how to
research is not easy, especially for undergraduate students.
Studies have shown that college students do not know how
to use learning strategies, even in cases where they
recognize that they need to learn. In order to better
prepare students to think and apply knowledge to new
problems, the computer science department at the
University of Mary Washington decided to offer a course
in research methods. The course was designed to teach
students about learning strategies that they can apply
across the computing discipline and beyond. This paper
describes the process that was used to create a new
research methods course, the details related to the first
offering of the course, and preliminary findings on how
the course changed students perception of research.
Index Terms - Research Methods, Undergraduate Research,
Learning, Game Programming
INTRODUCTION
Undergraduate students often lack the skills necessary to
conduct independent research. Studies have shown that
college students do not know how to use learning strategies,
even in cases where they recognize that they need to learn [1].
When given a specific assignment with precise inputs, the
basic strategy to solve the problem, expected output, and inclass instructions on how to construct the solution, students
can successfully complete the task. However, when the
instructor omits information related to the strategy needed to
solve the problem and does not provide in-class lecture or
discussion directly related to the project, many students cannot
even begin to design a solution. Students do not know how to
apply the ideas and skills that they have learned to new,
different, and larger problems. They have not learned how to
learn. As a result, when an instructor gives an assignment that
does not rely on in-class instruction, the students flounder and
ultimately the instructor must alter the course schedule to
provide additional lectures or discussion related to the project
or must allow the students to fail in completing the
assignment.
We witnessed this deficiency in students ability in a
junior-level software engineering course. The first assignment
in the course was to complete several short programming
exercises in current programming languages such as PHP,
JavaScript, and Visual Basic. The goal of the assignment was
1
2

to provide students with some experience programming in

these languages so that they could make informed decisions
later in the semester when they were required to select a
language to use in their group project. All students enrolled in
the course have had several semesters of programming
experience in C++ and Java, but most are unfamiliar with
PHP, JavaScript and Visual Basic. Seventy percent of the
students enrolled in the course over six recent semesters did
not know how to begin the assignment in spite of their
knowledge of programming and the supporting handouts
provided by the instructor. Instead of using skills related to
learning new programming languages that they learned in
previous courses, students requested that the instructor replace
lectures on software engineering topics with in-class tutorials
related to each programming language. The students felt ill
prepared to learn a new language without significant instructor
guidance. Being able to learn new languages is vital for a
successful career in computer science and therefore it is
essential that we provide our students with strategies to
confidently apply previously acquired knowledge to new
languages, technologies, and problems.
We recognized the need for a course dedicated to research
methods with a strong emphasis on learning strategies.
Acquiring skills in this area will benefit students who attend
graduate school following graduation as well as those who
pursue careers in industry. It has been shown that students
who participate in research will be more self-confident, have
better written and oral communication skills, and an increased
interest in pursing research [2]. Of equal importance, students
will have the learning skills necessary to keep pace with the
continually changing field of computer science.
RESEARCH COURSE APPROACHES
For many years, the Computer Science Department at
University of Mary Washington has offered an independent
study option in which students can earn academic credit for
investigating a research area of their choice during a semester.
Students work with a department faculty member, but often
flounder in the early stages of their research simply because
they do not have any prior research experience.
While students who complete an independent study gain
significant experience in pursuing research within the
discipline, very few students actually enroll in an independent
study. Most students prefer to satisfy degree requirements by
taking a traditional course in a special topics area. Those
students who do enroll in the independent study option are

Jennifer A. Polack-Wahl, Associate Professor of Computer Science, University of Mary Washington, polack@umw.edu
Karen Anewalt, Assistant Professor of Computer Science, University of Mary Washington, Anewalt@umw.edu

0-7803-9077-6/05/$20.00 2005 IEEE

October 19 22, 2005, Indianapolis, IN
35th ASEE/IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference
F1F-12

Session F1F
typically the top computer science students, and even the top
students are often reluctant to enroll in an independent study
and only do so after receiving encouragement from a faculty
member. Using only the independent study course as a
vehicle for introducing undergraduates to research was not
allowing us to reach the majority of our majors. The students
who did enroll in an independent study were often
discouraged by their initial failures.
In addition, the
independent study option did not allow us to prepare students
for future course experiences because the individual study
course is generally taken during the final semester of a
students senior year.
We saw several reasons to add a research methods course.

To better prepare students to think and apply knowledge

to new problems
To increase the number of individual study courses
completed within the department by making students
more familiar with research methods
To increase the quality of student research completed in
independent study courses

Because one of our goals is to increase student awareness

of research and to increase the number of students pursuing
individual studies, we chose to introduce a research methods
course as an elective. This course does not replace the
independent study option, but rather complements it. Students
who take the research methods course receive instruction in
many phases of conducting professional research including
selecting a research topic, conducting a literature review,
constructing a research proposal, creating a research project
schedule, writing a professional paper, and giving a
professional presentation. All of these skills are essential for
successful research and can be applied across the curriculum
as well. Throughout the course, the idea of learning to learn
is emphasized. After completing the course, we anticipate that
many students will expand the preliminary research begun in
the course as an individual study during the subsequent
semester. Because the students will have already completed
the initial research phases, they will be able to tackle more
meaningful problems during their independent study and will
enjoy a greater feeling of success.
COURSE OVERVIEW AND ASSIGNMENTS

The first offering was primarily discussion based and focused

on assigned reading, in-class videos, individual presentations,
and current events within the industry. Before many class
meetings students were required to read one or two papers,
including referred journal publications, gaming editorials, and
articles from gaming and/or computer magazines. The
majority of articles, films, and online investigations were
introduced during the first month of the semester to provide
students with exposure to various topics that they might want
to consider for their research topic. Topics included, but were
not limited to, artificial intelligence, human computer
interaction in game development, gender issues related to

game development and online, console, and computer game

development.
The initial outline for the course is shown below.
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10
Week 11
Week 12
Week 13
Week 14
Week 15

Course Overview
Research Areas within Game Programming
Reviewing Professional Papers
Literature Search: Finding Good Sources
Giving Technical Presentations
Introduction Presentations by Students
Paper Writing
Research Proposals
Managing Research
Reading Reviews and Editing for Approval
Progress Update Presentations by Students
Making Technical Poster Presentations
Poster Presentation
Research Proposal Accepted: What next?
Final Student Presentations

The objective of the course was to train students about

research techniques and the processes of doing research in
computer science. The required deliverables once the students
had selected a research topic included a research proposal,
three technical presentations of such topic, scientific research
summary paper and one poster presentation at our department
research symposium. In addition, the students were assigned
to read and review three published papers in computer science.
At the end of the course, given that their research proposal
was well thought out and reasonable, the students will be
encouraged to pursue the research in an individual study
within the next year.
Grading for the course was based on three presentations
(30%), one poster presentation (20%), writing reviews for
three articles (5%), writing a short research summary paper
(10%), and the final research proposal (35%).
CONCLUSION
Conducting research is a difficult task and often one feared
and dreaded by undergraduates. Many undergraduate students
lack the skills necessary to effectively conduct research which
can lead to frustration and a negative view of research. We
have designed a course appropriate for computer science
students of various levels that emphasizes learning strategies
and research methods. Providing students with learning
strategies and research skills gives students the confidence to
investigate problems on their own which will enable them to
keep up with the ever changing computer science discipline
regardless of their future career paths.
REFERENCES
[1]

Murray, "Teaching Students to Learn", Monitor on Psychology, Vol 31,

No 6., June 2000.

[2]

Schneider, G.M., A New Model for a Required Senior Research

Experience, SigCSE Bulletin, Vol 34, No 4, Dec 2002, pp. 48-51.

0-7803-9077-6/05/$20.00 2005 IEEE

October 19 22, 2005, Indianapolis, IN
35th ASEE/IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference
F1F-13