GIYF: investigating and removing barriers to student self sufficiency

Student self sufficiency is essential for Computer Science students to be successful in the field. It enables them to work through their problems independently and keep up with rapidly changing development ecosystems, and is a significant contributor to success both as a student and in the workplace. Student self sufficiency is especially important as the demand for Computer Science keeps rising and rising. Self sufficient students place a significantly smaller load on difficult to scale course resources such as office hours, and encouraging student self sufficiency enables courses to better cope with larger enrollments. To identify common problems students encounter when they attempt to solve their problems on their own, we created test instruments to mimic common problems students may encounter in introductory courses. We then administered these instruments to eleven students and recorded their thought process for analysis. We discovered a number of common barriers faced by students in the pursuit of self sufficiency. These barriers indicate several common underlying problems. Future work can focus on addressing these problems in a systematic manner.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.S.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Computer Science

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2016

Author dc:creator

• Meenai, Shoaib Abdul Rehman

Contributors dc:contributor

• Zilles, Craig

• student self sufficiency
• Computer Science education

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2015 Shoaib Meenai

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/89086

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/89086