Marie Devlin

Bio: Marie Devlin is an academic researcher from Newcastle University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Active learning & Curriculum. The author has an hindex of 8, co-authored 30 publications receiving 575 citations. Previous affiliations of Marie Devlin include Ulster University.

A survey of literature on the teaching of introductory programming

Abstract: Three decades of active research on the teaching of introductory programming has had limited effect on classroom practice. Although relevant research exists across several disciplines including education and cognitive science, disciplinary differences have made this material inaccessible to many computing educators. Furthermore, computer science instructors have not had access to a comprehensive survey of research in this area. This paper collects and classifies this literature, identifies important work and mediates it to computing educators and professional bodies.We identify research that gives well-supported advice to computing academics teaching introductory programming. Limitations and areas of incomplete coverage of existing research efforts are also identified. The analysis applies publication and research quality metrics developed by a previous ITiCSE working group [74].

Using Facebook to improve communication in undergraduate software development teams

Abstract: As part of the CETL ALiC initiative (Centre of Excellence in Teaching and Learning: Active Learning in Computing), undergraduate computing science students at Newcastle and Durham universities participated in a cross-site team software development project. To ensure we offer adequate resources to support this collaboration, we conducted an experience survey amongst teams and a content analysis of their reports. This article reports on the findings of that investigation, and shows that success in the project was often determined by the students' communication strategies and use of available technology. Significantly, students often abandoned the technologies provided and adopted Web 2.0 technologies such as Facebook instead. Based on these findings we have developed a tool called CommonGround, designed to run on the Facebook platform, which harnesses the students' engagement with the service. CommonGround couples the communication and ‘social awareness’ features inherent in the Facebook platform with basic...

Exploring Metacognition as Support for Learning Transfer

Abstract: The ability to transfer learning to new situations lies at the heart of lifelong learning and the employability of university graduates. Because students are often unaware of the importance of learning transfer and staff do not always explicitly articulate this expectation, this article explores the idea that metacognition (intentional awareness and the use of that awareness) might enhance the development of learning transfer. Our exploratory study includes results from a survey of 74 staff and 118 students from five institutions in Australia, Belgium, UK, and USA. Our data indicate that many staff and a majority of students do not have a clear understanding of what learning transfer entails, and that there are many mismatches between staff and student perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors regarding learning transfer. This helps explain why learning transfer does not occur as often as it could. We found significant positive correlations between thinking about transfer and thinking about learning processes and the likelihood to use awareness of metacognition to guide practice. Our findings suggest a positive relationship between metacognition and learning transfer. Implications for the scholarship of teaching and learning are discussed.

Software Engineering Students' Cross-site Collaboration: An Experience Report

Abstract: This paper outlines preliminary work which is part of the Active Learning in Computing project at the Durham University and the University of Newcastle The aim of the work was to investigate the feasibility of students' projects being developed across sites This work allowed students to utilise the expertise from their site's Software Engineering (SE) modules and provided strategic coupling of cross-site student groups The activity investigated the suitability of projects and the technology to support collaboration across sites and to address the interests and fears of students Our initial experiences tell us that cross-site working emulates industrial practice well and is beneficial to students in terms of enhancing their skills and hence their employability

Learning with Technology: What do Students Want?

Abstract: This paper presents the results of a study into which technologies are preferred by students to support their studies. The study has taken place across four universities in the North of England. Much has been written and discussed about the differences between generations regarding their acceptance and ease of use of technology. Terms such as ‘Digital Natives’ (Prensky, 2001) or ‘Net Generation’ (Tapscott, 1999) are frequently used to portray the younger generations born after 1980, who regard digital technology as routine, essential and unexciting. However, many authors have also argued against this rather simplistic classification. Independent of whether Digital Natives exist or not, it cannot be denied that mobile and internet-based technologies have proved valuable tools that enable students to access learning at a time that suits them, at their own pace, and wherever they prefer. As part of a HEFCE funded project, the Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning Active Learning in Computing (CETL ALiC) has conducted ten surveys over four years and across four institutions to identify the needs and preferences of our undergraduate students. CETL ALiC is a collaborative project between four universities in the North of England: Durham, Newcastle, Leeds and Leeds Metropolitan, allowing the opportunity to conduct a comparative study across all four institutions and share findings of studies conducted at individual institutions. The comparative study in the form of a survey about preferences in information and communication technologies was distributed to all first year students soon after their arrival at the four institutions. Findings indicate that the majority of these students arrive with technologies that allow them constant access to internet technologies while at their university accommodation and to internet-ready mobile devices capable of playing audio or video files that they carry with them on an daily basis, providing them with a range of options in how they might access learning materials. The spread of personal technologies brought by students on entering university has grown year on year. We also specifically investigated student attitudes towards podcasting, i.e. the use of audio and video files to support flexible teaching and learning, which can be automatically downloaded to mobile players via subscription; and to attitudes towards universities communicating with them through social networking sites. Our findings indicate that while students value the choice available to them, the majority still prefer to access and conduct their learning in traditional ways using computers, pen and paper, as well as personal contact time with their tutor and many are sceptical about what is viewed as university intrusion into their social spaces.

Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education: Faculty Inventory. Institutional Inventory.

Abstract: Arthur Chickering is Distinguished Professor of Higher Education at Memphis State University. On leave from the Directorship of the Center for the Study of Higher Education at Memphis State, he is Visiting Professor at George Mason University. Zelda Gamson is a sociologist who holds appointments at the John W. McCormack Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Massachusetts-Boston and in the Center for the Study of Higher and Postsecondary Education at the University of Michigan.

Computer supported collaborative learning

Abstract: 1 Peer Learning with Computers.- Collaborative problem solving with HyperCard: The influence of peer interaction on planning and information handling strategies.- Small group collaborative discovery learning from hypertext.- Peer interaction and writing: The process of revision.- Computer support for the collaborative learning of physics concepts.- The construction of shared knowledge in collaborative problem solving.- 2 Computer Support for Distance Learning.- Learning network design: Coordinating group interactions in formal learning environments over time and distance.- Computer-supported collaborative learning in a multi-media distance education environment.- Distance learning and computer-mediated communication: Interactive, quasiinteractive or monologue?.- 3 The Social and Organisational Context.- Educational practice within two local computer networks.- Technology's role in restructuring for collaborative learning.- 4 Models of Collaboration.- The negotiation of dialogue focus: An investigation of dialogue processes in joint planning in a computer based task.- Computational modelling of constructive interaction: Relaxing the mutuality hypothesis.- Designing human-computer collaborative learning.- 5 Design Issues.- Issues in computer supported collaborative learning.- Designing computer support for collaborative learning.

Agent-Mediated Electronic Commerce

Abstract: This paper surveys and analyzes the state of the art of agent-mediated electronic commerce (e-commerce), concentrating particularly on the business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) aspects. From the consumer buying behavior perspective, agents are being used in the following activities: need identification, product brokering, buyer coalition formation, merchant brokering, and negotiation. The roles of agents in B2B e-commerce are discussed through the business-to-business transaction model that identifies agents as being employed in partnership formation, brokering, and negotiation. Having identified the roles for agents in B2C and B2B e-commerce, some of the key underpinning technologies of this vision are highlighted. Finally, we conclude by discussing the future directions and potential impediments to the wide-scale adoption of agent-mediated e-commerce.

On agent-mediated electronic commerce

Abstract: This paper surveys and analyzes the state of the art of agent-mediated electronic commerce (e-commerce), concentrating particularly on the business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) aspects. From the consumer buying behavior perspective, agents are being used in the following activities: need identification, product brokering, buyer coalition formation, merchant brokering, and negotiation. The roles of agents in B2B e-commerce are discussed through the business-to-business transaction model that identifies agents as being employed in partnership formation, brokering, and negotiation. Having identified the roles for agents in B2C and B2B e-commerce, some of the key underpinning technologies of this vision are highlighted. Finally, we conclude by discussing the future directions and potential impediments to the wide-scale adoption of agent-mediated e-commerce.

A Review of Generic Program Visualization Systems for Introductory Programming Education

Abstract: This article is a survey of program visualization systems intended for teaching beginners about the runtime behavior of computer programs. Our focus is on generic systems that are capable of illustrating many kinds of programs and behaviors. We inclusively describe such systems from the last three decades and review findings from their empirical evaluations. A comparable review on the topic does not previously exist; ours is intended to serve as a reference for the creators, evaluators, and users of educational program visualization systems. Moreover, we revisit the issue of learner engagement which has been identified as a potentially key factor in the success of educational software visualization and summarize what little is known about engagement in the context of the generic program visualization systems for beginners that we have reviewed; a proposed refinement of the frameworks previously used by computing education researchers to rank types of learner engagement is a side product of this effort. Overall, our review illustrates that program visualization systems for beginners are often short-lived research prototypes that support the user-controlled viewing of program animations; a recent trend is to support more engaging modes of user interaction. The results of evaluations largely support the use of program visualization in introductory programming education, but research to date is insufficient for drawing more nuanced conclusions with respect to learner engagement. On the basis of our review, we identify interesting questions to answer for future research in relation to themes such as engagement, the authenticity of learning tasks, cognitive load, and the integration of program visualization into introductory programming pedagogy.