Switching to another research question (Erina)

I ended up doing a complete 180 in my research topic this week (I hope it’s not too late!) and decided to focus on how students can increase their learning in virtual learning environments. This topic was partially inspired by experiencing full-on remote learning these last few weeks but also draws from my previous experience teaching and tutoring middle and high school students.

There are various pros and cons to in-classroom learning and remote learning. In-classroom teaching has the advantage of being able to visually witness students’ and instructors’ non-vocal behavior to serve as cues for learning and teaching. For example, if several students are showing puzzled expressions on their faces, students may be more willing to ask questions in the classroom or instructors may realize students are not understanding the content and will explain the content further. The current format of online teaching, on the other hand, does not wholly support this kind of non-verbal interaction. Moreover, technical barriers such as internet connection, speaker/audio issues, and time lag from typing questions also hinder lively interaction between students and instructors. At the same time, virtual learning has its advantages. It has provided students the chance to replay recorded lecture videos and re-listen to topics they may be unfamiliar with (although the question of exactly how many students do this is another topic). In addition, if the teacher has provided a forum for students to ask questions, students are more likely to ask questions after reflecting on the lecture content.

Now, these are standard issues that I am sure all remote learning students and instructors are experiencing these days. What I would like to do in my research is to examine how we can improve remote learning courses by universities that teach programming. I have chosen to focus on classes that teach programming because even before COVID there were a plethora of online courses that taught coding and post-COVID, many schools have begun offering classes in programming now that most classes are conducted remotely. After reading a few journal articles I believe the following are important factors to consider: 

• How do students learn and how do instructors teach (a huge area of study that dates back centuries).
• How do current online coding courses teach students how to program?
• What more can schools offer to students compared to online coding courses?
• What qualities do students need to have to be successful in remote learning programming classes? Persistence, maturity?
• How can teachers and students effectively communicate with each other? Is this done in or outside of the virtual classroom-sphere (forums, chats, emails, messenger applications)?
• Research methods could include surveys, interviews, or diary entries.
• I will need to consider ethical issues if I choose to interview study participants. 

So, all in all, I plan on continuing to read articles and I plan to talk to the professor to refine my research question and research methodology.