Project Investigator(s): Oluwakemi Ola, Instructor, Computer Science
Project Description
As mental health issues rise in academia, there is a need for integrated approaches to support student wellbeing. In this project, we aim to explore students’ behavioral and emotional engagement in a first-year computing course (CPSC 110) to better understand how such factors impact their performance and wellbeing. In the context of our course, we will observe which student behaviors are necessary for academic success and will consider how students’ emotions and feelings influence their learning experience and their social connection with classmates. This project will provide insight into how we can enrich our current pedagogy and classroom culture.
Research Questions
How do students’ behavioral and emotional engagement impact their performance and experience in CPSC 110? What pedagogical tools and resources would better support students’ behavioral and emotional engagement (and performance) in CPSC 110?
Impact on teaching and learning at UBC
This work will provide workflow processes and guidelines for tracking student engagement in courses that utilize multiple learning platforms. CPSC 110 data includes student utilization of course materials data from edx, assignment submission data from our autograding system, discussion forum data from Piazza, and exam data from Gradescope. The Okanagan Charter includes a call to integrate health into all aspects of campus life (Okanagan Charter, 2015); our work on emotional and behavioral engagement can improve how faculty integrate wellbeing into the curriculum.