Computer science faculty Mihaela Sabin, left, and Karen Jin, right, will present research at national computing education conference.
Professor Mihaela Sabin and Assistant Professor Karen Jin, computer science faculty in the Applied Engineering and Sciences Department at UNH Manchester, and educational researcher Adrienne Smith have had their research paper accepted at the Association of Computing Machinery’s 2021 Special Interest Group on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE) Technical Symposium. Held annually since 1970, the SIGCSE Technical Symposium is a leading international forum for educators and researchers to share new results and insights around developing, implementing or evaluating computing programs, curricula and courses.
The paper’s research study centers on the promising practice of using individual online oral examinations rather than online proctored exams. Last May amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Sabin and Jin adapted the online final exams in their introductory computing courses into individual oral exams, aiming to evaluate students’ content knowledge and problem-solving skills in a low-stress setting. They adapted an Achievement Emotions Questionnaire to gauge effectiveness and students’ feelings surrounding the new format. The study’s findings showed that students had much stronger positive emotions toward the oral exams, with students commenting that they felt more comfortable sharing their knowledge and skills with professors conversationally and appreciated the real-world relevance of the format mirroring a job interview.
Sabin, Jin and Smith share a detailed analysis of the research in their paper, Oral Exams in Shift to Remote Learning. They will present their findings at the virtual 2021 SIGCSE Technical Symposium on March 18.
