Novice programmers and the problem description effect. (2016)
Conference Proceeding
BOUVIER, D., LOVELLETTE, E., MATTA, J., ALSHAIGY, B., BECKER, B.A., CRAIG, M., JACKOVA, J., MCCARTNEY, R., SANDERS, K. and ZARB, M. 2016. Novice programmers and the problem description effect. In Proceedings of the Innovation and technology in computer science education on working group reports 2016 (ITiCSE-WGR '16), 9-13 July 2016, Arequipa, Peru. New York: ACM [online], pages 103-118. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1145/3024906.3024912

It is often debated whether a problem presented in a straightforward minimalist fashion is better, or worse, for learning than the same problem presented with a real-life or concrete context. The presentation, contextualization, or problem descriptio... Read More about Novice programmers and the problem description effect..

Competencies for paradigm shift 'survival'. (2015)
Conference Proceeding
DANIELS, M., CAJANDER, A., ECKERDAL, A., LIND, M., NYLEN, A., CLEAR, T. and MCDERMOTT, R. 2015. Competencies for paradigm shift 'survival'. In Proceedings of the 2015 Frontiers in education conference (FIE 2015): launching a new vision in engineering education, 21-24 October 2015, El Paso, USA. New York: IEEE [online], article number 7344255. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1109/FIE.2015.7344255

The rapid development in the IT area brings a series of shifts, in underlying theories, technology and work practices. In the normal course of events, most changes are evolutionary, with small, incremental improvements being made to theoretical under... Read More about Competencies for paradigm shift 'survival'..

A comparative analysis of two globally distributed group projects: a perspective from CSCW/CSCL research. (2015)
Conference Proceeding
MCDERMOTT, R., DANIELS, M., CAJANDER, A., BASS, J. and LALCHANDANI, J.P. 2015. A comparative analysis of two globally distributed group projects: a perspective from CSCW/CSCL research. In Proceedings of the 2015 Frontiers in education conference (FIE 2015): launching a new vision in engineering education, 21-24 October 2015, El Paso, USA. New York: IEEE [online], article number 7344344. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1109/FIE.2015.7344344

Globally distributed group projects are becoming an attractive and increasingly common feature in computer science education. They provide opportunities for students to engage in activities that enhance both their technical skills and wider professio... Read More about A comparative analysis of two globally distributed group projects: a perspective from CSCW/CSCL research..

A case study of Facebook use: outlining a multi-layer strategy for higher education. (2015)
Journal Article
MENZIES, R., PETRIE, K. and ZARB, M. 2017. A case study of Facebook use: outlining a multi-layer strategy for higher education. Education and information technologies [online], 22(1), pages 39-53. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-015-9436-y

Many students are looking to appropriate social networking sites, amongst them, Facebook, to enhance their learning experience. A growing body of literature reports on the motivation of students and staff to engage with Facebook as a learning platfor... Read More about A case study of Facebook use: outlining a multi-layer strategy for higher education..

Virtual teams and employability in global software engineering education. (2015)
Conference Proceeding
BASS, J.M., MCDERMOTT, R. and LALCHANDANI, J.T. 2015. Virtual teams and employability in global software engineering education. In Proceedings of the 10th IEEE international conference on global software engineering (ICGSE 2015), 13-16 July 2015, Ciudad Real, Spain. Piscataway: IEEE [online], article number 7224489, pages 115-124. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1109/ICGSE.2015.21

Universities face many challenges when creating opportunities for student experiences of global software engineering. We provide a model for introducing global software engineering into the computing curriculum. Our model is based on a three year col... Read More about Virtual teams and employability in global software engineering education..

Challenges and recommendations for the design and conduct of global software engineering courses: a systematic review. (2015)
Conference Proceeding
CLEAR, T., BEECHAM, S., BARR, J., DANIELS, M., MCDERMOTT, R., OUDSHOORN, M., SAVICKAITE, A. and NOLL, J. 2015. Challenges and recommendations for the design and conduct of global software engineering courses: a systematic review. In Proceedings of the 2015 Innovation and technology in computer science education on working group reports (ITiCSE-WGR '15), 4-8 July 2015, Vilnius, Lithuania. New York: ACM [online], pages 1-39. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1145/2858796.2858797

Context: Global Software Engineering (GSE) has become the predominant form of software development for global companies and has given rise to a demand for students trained in GSE. In response, universities are developing courses and curricula around... Read More about Challenges and recommendations for the design and conduct of global software engineering courses: a systematic review..

Perserverance measures and attainment in first year computing science students. (2015)
Conference Proceeding
MCDERMOTT, R., DANIELS, M. and CAJANDER, A. 2015. Perserverance measures and attainment in first year computing science students. In Proceedings of the 2015 Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Innovation and technology in computer science education conference (ITiCSE '15), 4-8 July 2015, Vilnius, Lithuania. New York: ACM [online], pages 302-307. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1145/2729094.2742625

We investigate the link between concepts of perseverance such as conscientiousness and grit, and the academic attainment of first year computing students. We review the role that perseverance plays in learning models, as well as describing the trait... Read More about Perserverance measures and attainment in first year computing science students..

Breaking the communication barrier: guidelines to aid communication within pair programming. (2015)
Journal Article
ZARB, M. and HUGHES, J. 2015. Breaking the communication barrier: guidelines to aid communication within pair programming. Computer science education [online], 25(2), pages 120-151. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1080/08993408.2015.1033125

Pair programming is a software development technique with many cited benefits in learning and teaching. However, it is reported that novice programmers find several barriers to pairing up, typically due to the added communication that is required of... Read More about Breaking the communication barrier: guidelines to aid communication within pair programming..

An analysis of user engagement in relation to computing workshop activities. (2015)
Conference Proceeding
MENZIES, R., CRABB, M., HERRON, D., PETRIE, K., STEWART, C. and ZARB, M. 2015. An analysis of user engagement in relation to computing workshop activities. In Proceedings of the 46th Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Technical symposium on computer science education (SIGCSE'15), 4-7 March 2015, Kansas City, USA. New York: ACM [online], pages 469-474. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1145/2676723.2677272

Computing is now one of the fastest growing fields of employment, with a large bias placed on developing Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education in schools. However, due to the fast pace of technology development, it is inc... Read More about An analysis of user engagement in relation to computing workshop activities..

Further evaluations of industry-inspired pair programming communication guidelines with undergraduate students. (2015)
Conference Proceeding
ZARB, M., HUGHES, J. and RICHARDS, J. 2015. Further evaluations of industry-inspired pair programming communication guidelines with undergraduate students. In Proceedings of the 46th Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) technical symposium on computer science education (SIGCSE 2015): keep connected, keep committed, keep computing, 4-7 March 2015, Kansas City, USA. New York: ACM [online], pages 314-319. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1145/2676723.2677241

Pair programming has several benefits when it is successfully used by students and experts alike. However, research shows that novice pairs find the necessary pair communication to be one of the main challenges in adopting this process. A set of indu... Read More about Further evaluations of industry-inspired pair programming communication guidelines with undergraduate students..

Quality assurance using international curricula and employer feedback. (2015)
Conference Proceeding
LARUSDOTTIR, M., DANIELS, M. and MCDERMOTT, R. 2015. Quality assurance using international curricula and employer feedback. In D'Souza, D. and Falkner, K. (eds.) Proceedings of the 17th Australian computing education conference (ACE 2015), 27-30 January 2015, Sydney, Australia. Sydney: Conferences in Reserach and Practice in Information Technology (CRIPT) [online], 160, pages 19-27. Available from: http://crpit.com/confpapers/CRPITV160Larusdottir.pdf

The focus of this paper is the quality assurance process for the bachelor program in the School of Computer Science at Reykjavik University, which is a combination of outcome- and process-oriented quality assurance. Faculty members and employers of g... Read More about Quality assurance using international curricula and employer feedback..

The learner experience of student-led international group project work in software engineering. (2014)
Conference Proceeding
MCDERMOTT, R., BASS, J. and LALCHANDANI, J.P. 2014. The learner experience of student-led international group project work in software engineering. In Proceedings of the 2014 Frontiers in education conference (FIE 2014): opening innovations and internationalization in engineering education, 22-25 October 2014, Madrid, Spain. Piscataway: IEEE [online], article number 7044181. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1109/FIE.2014.7044181

Software development has become increasingly globalized because of technological innovation, the evolution of work and business processes, as well as prevailing educational systems and national policies [1]. This paper addresses the challenges faced... Read More about The learner experience of student-led international group project work in software engineering..

Subject-level quality assurance in computing: experiences from three national perspectives. (2014)
Conference Proceeding
MCDERMOTT, R., DANIELS, M. and LARUSDOTTIR, M. 2014. Subject-level quality assurance in computing: experiences from three national perspectives. In Proceedings of the 2014 Frontiers in education conference (FIE 2014): opening innovations and internationalization in engineering education, 22-25 October 2014, Madrid, Spain. Piscataway: IEEE [online], article number 7044182. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1109/FIE.2014.7044182

This paper examines some aspects of the Quality Assurance processes in Computing departments in three European universities. We first examine the operation of a quality assurance activity in the School of Computer Science in Iceland. The next case is... Read More about Subject-level quality assurance in computing: experiences from three national perspectives..

Critical thinking, peer-writing, and the importance of feedback. (2014)
Conference Proceeding
CAJANDER, A., DANIELS, M., PETERS, A.-K. and MCDERMOTT, R. 2014. Critical thinking, peer-writing, and the importance of feedback. In Proceedings of the 2014 Frontiers in education conference (FIE 2014): opening innovations and internationalization in engineering education, 22-25 October 2014, Madrid, Spain. Piscataway: IEEE [online], article number 7044234. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1109/FIE.2014.7044234

Critical thinking is one of the key competencies listed by OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) [1], a central European Community organization, and is also mentioned as a learning outcome for higher education by international... Read More about Critical thinking, peer-writing, and the importance of feedback..

Evaluating industry-inspired pair programming communication guidelines with undergraduate students. (2014)
Conference Proceeding
ZARB, M., HUGHES, J. and RICHARDS, J. 2014. Evaluating industry-inspired pair programming communication guidelines with undergraduate students. In Proceedings of the 45th Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) technical symposium on computer science education (SIGCSE 2014), 5-8 March 2014, Atlanta, USA. New York: ACM [online], pages 361-366. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1145/2538862.2538980

A set of industry-inspired pair programming guidelines have been derived from qualitative examinations of expert pairs in order to aid novice programmers with their intra-pair communication. This research describes the evaluation of these guidelines... Read More about Evaluating industry-inspired pair programming communication guidelines with undergraduate students..

Contemplations on results from investigating the personal epistemology of computing students. (2013)
Conference Proceeding
MCDERMOTT, R., PIRIE, I., LAXER, C., CAJANDER, A. and DANIELS, M. 2013. Contemplations on results from investigating the personal epistemology of computing students. In Proceedings of the 2013 Frontiers in education conference (FIE 2013): energizing the future, 23-26 October 2013, Oklahoma City, USA. Piscataway: IEEE [online], article number 6684941, pages 825-831. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1109/FIE.2013.6684941

'Personal Epistemology' is the analysis of the ways in which an individual perceives what constitutes knowledge, its boundaries, how it is justified, and how it is related to learning. While investigation of metacognitive strategies used by students... Read More about Contemplations on results from investigating the personal epistemology of computing students..

Investigation into the personal epistemology of computer science students. (2013)
Conference Proceeding
MCDERMOTT, R., PIRIE, I., CAJANDER, A., DANIELS, M. and LAXER, C. 2013. Investigation into the personal epistemology of computer science students. In Proceedings of the 18th Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Innovation and technology in computer science education conference (ITiCSE 2013), 1-3 July 2013, Canterbury, UK. New York: ACM [online], pages 231-236. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1145/2462476.2465589

In this paper, we investigate the personal epistemology of computing students, that is, their conceptions of knowledge and learning. We review some models of personal epistemological development and describe one of the questionnaire tools that have b... Read More about Investigation into the personal epistemology of computer science students..

Categorizing how students use collaborative technologies in a globally distributed project. (2012)
Conference Proceeding
CAJANDER, A., DANIELS, M., CULLHED, M., CLEAR, T., MCDERMOTT, R. and LAXER, C. 2012. Categorizing how students use collaborative technologies in a globally distributed project. In Proceedings of the 2012 Frontiers in education conference (FIE 2012): soaring to new heights in engineering education, 3-6 October 2012, Seattle, USA. Piscataway, NJ: IEEE [online], article number 6462411. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1109/FIE.2012.6462411

Possibilities for collaboration in globally distributed projects have radically changed with the introduction of new Collaborative Technologies (CTs) in the Web 2.0 era. The use of such technologies in the context of students collaborating in a globa... Read More about Categorizing how students use collaborative technologies in a globally distributed project..

Student reflections on collaborative technology in a globally distributed student project. (2012)
Conference Proceeding
MCDERMOTT, R., DANIELS, M., CAJANDER, A., CULLHED, M., CLEAR, T. and LAXER, C. 2012. Student reflections on collaborative technology in a globally distributed student project. In Proceedings of the 2012 Frontiers in education conference (FIE 2012): soaring to new heights in engineering education, 3-6 October 2012, Seattle, USA. Piscataway, NJ: IEEE [online], article number 6462410. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1109/FIE.2012.6462410

Collaborative Technology (CT) plays an important role in overcoming the challenges of globally distributed projects. It enables collaboration, but the specific choice of technology also imposes constraints on how projects are conducted. Over the past... Read More about Student reflections on collaborative technology in a globally distributed student project..

Intercultural competence in global collaboration courses in computer engineering. (2012)
Book Chapter
BERNALD, H., CAJANDER, A., DANIELS, M., KULTUR, C., LOFSTROM, A., MCDERMOTT, R. and RUSSELL-DAG, L. 2012. Intercultural competence in global collaboration courses in computer engineering. In Schmorrow, D.D. and Nicholson, D.M. (eds.) Advances in design for cross-cultural activies: Part I. Boca Raton: CRC Press [online], chapter 35, pages 351-361. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1201/b12316-42

With the rapid and ever expanding globalization of the workforce, international collaborations are becoming part of everyday life for people of many professions. Intercultural competence has therefore become one of the central professional competenci... Read More about Intercultural competence in global collaboration courses in computer engineering..