Retention in First Stage Undergraduate Computing: Lessons Learned from a Collaborative Learning Intervention

Abstract

It is challenging to retain computing students through their first stage of undergraduate education. Attrition is high, with many transferring courses or dropping out. This poster explores preliminary findings from an action research project improving continuation in first-stage undergraduate computing. Five years of data from Falmouth University's Games Academy in the UK suggest improvement in first-stage retention from 66.6% in 2017-18 to 91.2% in 2021-22. Findings support prior work on pair programming, media computation, and peer instruction. However, they also highlight the benefits of collaborative learning facilitated by faculty and informed by learning analytics. Peer reviews and pre-submission clinics, student advisor follow-ups, and retrieval via synoptic assessment also contributed to the improvement.