The Wicked and the Logical: Facilitating Integrative Learning Among Introductory Computing Students

Higher education has embraced integrative learning as a means of enabling students to tackle so-called “wicked” problems, i.e. problems that are sufficiently complex, contested, and ambiguous that conventional, disciplinary specific approaches are inadequate to address. However, challenges remain i...

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Main Authors: Jeffrey Stone, Laura Cruz
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of Calgary 2021-03-01
Series:Teaching & Learning Inquiry: The ISSOTL Journal
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/TLI/article/view/70217
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spelling doaj-752dd7f73a7a47628b83a9b6ccf7c2482021-03-26T14:37:15ZengUniversity of CalgaryTeaching & Learning Inquiry: The ISSOTL Journal2167-47792167-47872021-03-019110.20343/teachlearninqu.9.1.13The Wicked and the Logical: Facilitating Integrative Learning Among Introductory Computing StudentsJeffrey Stone0Laura Cruz1Penn State UniversityPenn State University Higher education has embraced integrative learning as a means of enabling students to tackle so-called “wicked” problems, i.e. problems that are sufficiently complex, contested, and ambiguous that conventional, disciplinary specific approaches are inadequate to address. However, challenges remain in defining integrative learning consistently and effectively, especially because the cognitive processes that make up an integrative learning experience are not understood fully. This mixed-methods study was designed to help understand how students perceive, navigate, and resolve challenges that require them to integrate knowledge of one “wicked” subject (sustainability) with the skills of a practice rooted in mathematical logic (computer programming); how they express their integrative learning through reflective writing; and how we gain a stronger understanding of this process through linguistic analysis. The findings suggest that some students demonstrated the ability to integrate computational reasoning skills into socially relevant contexts more successfully, confidently, and in more well-rounded ways than others, though success required ways of thinking that extended beyond programming. The findings also underscore the potential need for reconceptualizing integrative teaching and learning in fields that have problem-solving traditions rooted in less “wicked” solutions. https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/TLI/article/view/70217Integrative LearningSustainabilityComputer ScienceLinguistic Analysis
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Jeffrey Stone
Laura Cruz
spellingShingle Jeffrey Stone
Laura Cruz
The Wicked and the Logical: Facilitating Integrative Learning Among Introductory Computing Students
Teaching & Learning Inquiry: The ISSOTL Journal
Integrative Learning
Sustainability
Computer Science
Linguistic Analysis
author_facet Jeffrey Stone
Laura Cruz
author_sort Jeffrey Stone
title The Wicked and the Logical: Facilitating Integrative Learning Among Introductory Computing Students
title_short The Wicked and the Logical: Facilitating Integrative Learning Among Introductory Computing Students
title_full The Wicked and the Logical: Facilitating Integrative Learning Among Introductory Computing Students
title_fullStr The Wicked and the Logical: Facilitating Integrative Learning Among Introductory Computing Students
title_full_unstemmed The Wicked and the Logical: Facilitating Integrative Learning Among Introductory Computing Students
title_sort wicked and the logical: facilitating integrative learning among introductory computing students
publisher University of Calgary
series Teaching & Learning Inquiry: The ISSOTL Journal
issn 2167-4779
2167-4787
publishDate 2021-03-01
description Higher education has embraced integrative learning as a means of enabling students to tackle so-called “wicked” problems, i.e. problems that are sufficiently complex, contested, and ambiguous that conventional, disciplinary specific approaches are inadequate to address. However, challenges remain in defining integrative learning consistently and effectively, especially because the cognitive processes that make up an integrative learning experience are not understood fully. This mixed-methods study was designed to help understand how students perceive, navigate, and resolve challenges that require them to integrate knowledge of one “wicked” subject (sustainability) with the skills of a practice rooted in mathematical logic (computer programming); how they express their integrative learning through reflective writing; and how we gain a stronger understanding of this process through linguistic analysis. The findings suggest that some students demonstrated the ability to integrate computational reasoning skills into socially relevant contexts more successfully, confidently, and in more well-rounded ways than others, though success required ways of thinking that extended beyond programming. The findings also underscore the potential need for reconceptualizing integrative teaching and learning in fields that have problem-solving traditions rooted in less “wicked” solutions.
topic Integrative Learning
Sustainability
Computer Science
Linguistic Analysis
url https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/TLI/article/view/70217
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