Grant program: Teaching and Learning Development Grant (TLDG)

Project team: Diana Cukierman, Computing Science, and Donna McGee, Student Learning Commons

Description: This project focuses on the Academic Enhancement Program (AEP) for students in the Computing Science Department, which has been running for a number of years, but has never been systematically evaluated. Surveys were collected for a number of years – but not analyzed. Data collected with the initial survey will be analyzed and an improved survey will be developed, piloted, and administered.

Question: How effective is the existing Academic Enhancement Program for supporting student learning? Based on the outcomes of this inquiry, could the AEP be improved?

Support provided: Development of the proposal, RA time to analyze existing survey and develop an improved survey.

Knowledge sharing:

Cukierman, D., & McGee Thompson, D. (2007). Learning strategies sessions within the classroom in computing science university courses. Proceedings of the 12th Annual Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education, 39(3), 341, Dundee, UK.

McGee Thompson, D., & Cukierman, D. (2008, February). The academic enhancement program (AEP) in computing science at Simon Fraser University: Understanding today’s students and helping them succeed by integrating learning strategies into the classroom. Presentation at 32nd National Meeting of the Teaching, Learning and Technology Conference Series Ottawa, ON.

Egan, R., Cukierman, D., & McGee Thompson, D. (2011). The academic enhancement program in introductory CS: A workshop framework description and evaluation. Proceedings of ITICSE 2011, 16th Annual Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education (pp. 278-282), Darmstadt, DE.