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Limited By:	Author = Lockwood, James;

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A neurofeedback system to promote learner engagement (2016)

Lockwood, James; Bergin, Susan

A neurofeedback system to promote learner engagement (2016)

Lockwood, James; Bergin, Susan

Abstract:

This report describes a series of experiments that track novice programmer's engagement during two attention based tasks. The tasks required participants to watch a tutorial video on introductory programming and to attend to a simple maze game whilst wearing an electroencephalogram (EEG)device called the Emotiv EPOC. The EPOC's proprietary software includes a system which tracks emotional state (specifically: engagement, excitement, meditation, frustration, valence and long-term excitement). Using this data, a software application written in the Processing language was developed to track user's engagement levels and implement a neurofeedback based intervention when engagement fell below an acceptable level. The aim of the intervention was to prompt learners who disengaged with the task to re-engage. The intervention used during the video tutorial was to pause the video if a participant disengaged significantly. However other interventions such as slowing the video dow...

http://mural.maynoothuniversity.ie/8234/

Marked Mark

A Pilot Study Investigating the Introduction of a Computer Science Course at Second Level Focusing on Computational Thinking (2017)

Lockwood, James; Mooney, Aidan

A Pilot Study Investigating the Introduction of a Computer Science Course at Second Level Focusing on Computational Thinking (2017)

Lockwood, James; Mooney, Aidan

Abstract:

Computational Thinking has been described by Jeanette Wing (2006) as a skill set everybody should be eager to learn and use in daily life. Based on a significant amount of recent research on Computational Thinking and how we can teach it, the PACT (Programming + Algorithms = Computational Thinking) team at the Department of Computer Science at Maynooth University has been working with teachers with a view to incorporating the subject into their classrooms. To that end, a year-long course is currently being designed to teach students about Computational Thinking and Computer Science. This paper presents a brief background and overview of the course along with the design and results from an initial pilot study conducted in one secondary school. The results of the study indicate that the course was generally well received although performance did not improve on a measure of problem solving and was significantly lower for students with no prior programming experience. The course will b...

http://mural.maynoothuniversity.ie/12676/

Marked Mark

Computational Thinking in Education: Where does it fit? A systematic literary review (2017)

Lockwood, James; Mooney, Aidan

Computational Thinking in Education: Where does it fit? A systematic literary review (2017)

Lockwood, James; Mooney, Aidan

Abstract:

Computational Thinking (CT) has been described as an essential skill which everyone should learn and can therefore include in their skill set. Seymour Papert is credited as concretising Computational Thinking in 1980 but since Wing popularised the term in 2006 and brought it to the international community's attention, more and more research has been conducted on CT in education. The aim of this systematic literary review is to give educators and education researchers an overview of what work has been carried out in the domain, as well as potential gaps and opportunities that still exist. Overall it was found in this review that, although there is a lot of work currently being done around the world in many different educational contexts, the work relating to CT is still in its infancy. Along with the need to create an agreed-upon definition of CT lots of countries are still in the process of, or have not yet started, introducing CT into curriculums in all levels of education. It...

http://mural.maynoothuniversity.ie/10315/

Marked Mark

Computer Science To Go (CS2Go): Developing a course to introduce and teach Computer Science and Computational Thinking to secondary school students (2019)

Lockwood, James

Computer Science To Go (CS2Go): Developing a course to introduce and teach Computer Science and Computational Thinking to secondary school students (2019)

Lockwood, James

Abstract:

Computer Science To Go (CS2Go) is a course designed to teach Transition Year Students about Computer Science and Computational Thinking. This project has been conducted over two years and this thesis charts the development of the course from the initial research stage, through the lesson creation sections to the testing and evaluation of the course material. Over 80 hours of engaging, informative and challenging material has been developed for use in the classroom. Alongside the lesson plans, assessment and monitoring tools have been created, including a novel tool to assess students Computational Thinking skills. The content was tested in two major studies after an initial pilot study. This initial pilot study proved useful in constructing the full CS2Go course. Overall the course has been well received with teachers and students engaging well with the content. A web portal has also been created to allow for easy dissemination of all the CS2Go material. The further development of t...

http://mural.maynoothuniversity.ie/11015/

Marked Mark

Developing a Computational Thinking Test using Bebras problems (2018)

Lockwood, James; Mooney, Aidan

Developing a Computational Thinking Test using Bebras problems (2018)

Lockwood, James; Mooney, Aidan

Abstract:

Assessment is one of the major factors to consider when developing a new course or program of study. When developing a course to teach Computer Science there are many forms this could take, one of which is linked to Computational Thinking. Whilst developing Computer Science to Go (CS2Go), an introductory course aimed at secondary school students, we have developed a Computational Thinking test based on the problems developed for the international Bebras Challenge. This paper will describe the content and development of the course, as well as some analysis on results from a year-long study with secondary school students and first-year undergraduate students. We believe that, based on our analysis and previous research in the field, that our assessment, based on pre-exisiting Bebras problems, has the potential to offer educators another way of testing this increasingly discussed skill, Computational Thinking.

http://mural.maynoothuniversity.ie/10316/

Displaying Results 1 - 5 of 5 on page 1 of 1