Assessing Collaborative Learning with E-Tools in Engineering and Computer Science Programs

Abstract

Collaborative learning has been gaining popularity as a teaching strategy that creates an active learning environment. Together with the use of e-tools it creates an instructional methodology which places more emphasis on the interaction of the students with each other and with their instructor through group activities. The use of interactive software (e-tools) to supplement the student’s in and out of class activities are intended to generate excitement and motivation by providing students with both heads-on and hands-on experiences. This paper will present an example of one such active learning model as described above that was used in a required three semester programming sequence of courses for Computer Science (CS) and Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) majors at our university. This paper will report that significant gains in student performance and retention rates were achieved when compared to classes using more traditional teaching methodologies.