Collaborative Research : Innovative Active Learning Using Tablets

微型实验室是一种主动学习的形式，要求学生在授课期间完成5-10分钟的概念或编程活动。这些实验室可以在平板电脑、笔记本电脑或台式机上提供。在逻辑微型实验室中，学生被要求通过排列和连接屏幕上的图标并将他们的解决方案提交到自动评分系统(微型实验室学习周期的探索阶段)来解决概念性问题。然后，教师帮助学生发现解决问题的算法(发明阶段)。在应用阶段，学生被要求通过拖放程序语句(称为代码磁铁)来实现此算法，以形成一个方法，然后进行编译和测试。在过去的两年里，独立评估者对这种方法进行了评估，事实证明，这种方法在教育上是有效的，而且受到学生的欢迎。这个项目是阿巴拉契亚州立大学、纽约州立大学石溪分校和北卡罗来纳大学格林斯伯勒分校三所大学的合作项目。目标是(1)扩大微型实验室作为一种有效的主动学习形式的发展；(2)在合作大学组织的研讨会上，培训地区大学的其他教员使用现有的微型实验室，并开发新的微型实验室。对这些新活动的学习结果的独立评估仍在继续。智力方面的优点包括进一步发展微型实验室方法，以及扩大计算机科学课程中新课程的应用。更广泛的影响包括开发具有成本效益的现场讲习班，以培训其他教员采用微实验室方法并开发新的微实验室，实施用于在全国范围内共享这些材料的微实验室储存库，以及开发使用小额津贴的主动模式，以鼓励对储存库的新贡献。

A microlab is a form of active learning where students are asked to complete a 5-10 minute conceptual or programming activity during lecture. These labs can be delivered on tablets, laptops or desktops. In a logical microlab, students are asked to solve a conceptual problem by arranging and connecting on-screen icons and submitting their solutions to an automated grading system (the exploration phase of the microlab learning cycle). Then the instructor helps students discover an algorithm to solve the problem (the invention phase). In the application phase, students are asked to implement this algorithm by dragging and dropping program statements, known as code magnets, to form a method that is then compiled and tested. This approach had been evaluated over the last two years by an independent evaluator and proved to be both educationally effective and popular with students.This project is a collaboration among three universities: Appalachian State University, SUNY Stony Brook, and UNC Greensboro. The goals are (1) expand the development of microlabs as an effective form of active learning and (2) in workshops organized by the collaborative universities, train other faculty at regional universities to use existing microlabs and develop new microlabs. Independent assessment of learning outcomes is continuing for these new activities.The intellectual merit includes further development of the microlab approach and expanded application to new courses in the computer science curriculum. Broader impact involves the development of cost-effective on-site workshops to train other faculty to adopt the microlab approach and develop new microlabs, implementation of a microlab repository for sharing these materials nationwide, and development of a proactive model using small stipends to encourage new contributions to the repository.