Embedding digital skills – FST CSSE (Computer Science and Software Engineering)
Module: ECSC400, Communication and Career Management for Computer Scientists
and Software Engineers
Academic Liaison Librarian: Sabri U. Dikmen
Module Leader: Maria Chondrogianni
Summary of Module Content (from handbook)
This module enables students to discuss with confidence, orally or in writing, the past,
present and future of Computer Science and Software Engineering through appropriate case
studies and enhances students’ relevant research skills. It provides students with a
theoretical overview of the discipline and supports them in communicating their learning
effectively by choosing appropriate writing and/or speaking styles. The skills they acquire will
support them in their studies, future career, as well as in securing a placement.
Module Aims
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To provide an Introduction to Computer Science and Software Engineering by defining
the area, offering an overview of its history and its current and future priorities and
examining social, ethical and legal computing related issues.
To develop students’ critical thinking and evaluation skills in researching primary and
secondary sources relevant to their subject of study.
To develop the students’ ability to relate their skills to the needs of the industry and
enable them to describe their skills effectively.
To raise students’ awareness of the evidence-based nature of academic study.
To enhance students’ writing and communication skills in their subject.
To familiarise the students with the different forms of (academic) communication, both
written and oral.
To enable the students to choose the most appropriate register in order to communicate.
Relevant Learning Outcomes
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To develop students’ critical thinking and evaluation skills in researching primary and
secondary sources relevant to their subject of study.
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To develop the students’ ability to relate their skills to the needs of the industry and
enable them to describe their skills effectively.
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To raise students’ awareness of the evidence-based nature of academic study.
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To enhance students’ writing and communication skills in their subject.
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To familiarise the students with the different forms of (academic) communication, both
written and oral.
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To enable the students to choose the most appropriate register in order to communicate.
How I got involved with this module
Soon after I took on responsibility for the CSSE, the module leader, Maria Chondrogianni,
contacted me about arranging digital skills sessions for ECSC400. This was an excellent
proposal as our collaboration with Maria in this module had already been in place for four
years plus and because there had been an integration of the curriculum contents. Since both
the teaching staff and library staff shared a common understanding of the usefulness of the
skills sessions it was relatively straightforward to make the arrangements. After meeting
once initially, we finalised the content through email communication.
The sessions:
There were nearly 150 students taking module ECSC400 in 2013/14. The sessions were
embedded into the curriculum and were delivered in the teaching week. I delivered a one
and a half hour lecture during the module teaching time – for all students. This included an
overview of different types of information sources and an identification of the appropriate
types of sources for academic work. Referencing and the use/evaluation of websites for
academic work was also included.
The following week we organised eight tutorial sessions, of around 20 students in each
group, lasting approximately 90 minutes. The seminar activities included playing a card
game for identifying information sources, practising finding information sources that was
covered in the lecture, and writing the references of the items recently discovered. Students
were requested to evaluate each other’s findings and referencing to develop/practice peerlearning.
Following this peer-learning exercise we asked students to evaluate the appropriateness of
the webpages that they found for their course work. Finally, we asked them to deliver a three
minute mini presentation about all sources that they found in the session. This was a
practical mock-presentation exercise to prepare them for their assessed group presentation
three weeks ahead. The following week, we visited their seminar groups in 15 minute follow
up sessions to answer any enquiries they may have arisen in the interval. Seminar tutors
were present during the activities.
Resources for the session:
Presentation slides
Walsh, Andrew and Williamson, Tanya (2012) SEEK! The search skills game. [Teaching
Resource]
Computer lab with access to the internet
Referencing Your Work Guide
http://www.westminster.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0018/178101/Referencing-YourWork.pdf
Evaluation
We felt the sessions were successful because:
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We linked the tutorial activities to tangible student assignments. This meant the tasks
were concrete, providing subject based knowledge and terminology/context required
to develop generic information skills.
We gave information selectively in the lectures and put this into practice in the
tutorials and arranged the reflective follow-up sessions for enquiries. The importance
of this underlined the role of reinforcement in student active learning through
practice.
The students’ response was overwhelmingly positive, from 1-5
From a student reflective statement
Some students comments about the sessions:
“The Library tutorial was very informative and I learnt a lot.”
“Card game was very useful for learning keywords”
“Information provided was straightforward and useful”
Comments from the Module Leader:
“(…)
The results are immensely positive: in a case study we undertook, based on two tutorial
groups (39 students) we observed that students who did attend the hands-on library
sessions (27 students) achieved on average a higher result by 10 marks. Although the
students' higher result might not be solely attributed to the hands-on tutorials, as it reflects
their overall performance on the assignments, the quality of the references the attendees
used is of very high standard, when compared not only to the group of students who did not
attend the tutorials, but also to students from previous cohorts. The majority of their sources
are based on appropriate books and peer reviewed journal papers, while the students
themselves (in a reflective paragraph) praised the research experience and highlighted that
this is a new skill they acquired since the joined the University. Students who had to be
absent from sessions also benefited, both from the tasks, advice and accompanying slides
published on BB, as well as through peer learning.
(…)
Research skills are key for students to succeed in their university studies, as well as in order
to be efficient in employment and in order to be aware of potential research related career
opportunities. ”