Collaborative Research: LEGO-Based Active Learning Activities for Software Engineering Education

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Software engineering, which plays a significant role in preparing students for becoming a part of the professional workforce, requires the pairing of in-depth disciplinary knowledge with a robust set of soft skills, such as teamwork and communication abilities. Given the engineering nature of the discipline, one of the best ways to study software engineering principles is to apply them in active learning contexts, such as case studies or hands-on exercises. When teaching undergraduates, it is crucial to make a clear connection between these learning contexts and related theoretical material, while designing active learning activities in a way that students would find easy to relate to. The goal of this project is to develop and establish the effectiveness of using kinesthetic learning modules leveraging LEGO as a tangible manipulative to improve student learning and engagement in undergraduate software engineering education. This project will demonstrate that compared to traditional classroom instructional techniques, the use of LEGO tangible manipulatives will improve student knowledge in software engineering and improve student engagement with coursework by using a framework of active learning activities. This project will develop curricular support materials for educators at universities and high schools to incorporate software engineering topics into their courses via the active learning modules. The study design will utilize a pre-post test control group design without random assignment of students to course sections. The same study design and the same instruments will be used at both participating institutions.