M.Sc. Mikko Apiola will defend his doctoral thesis Creativity-Supporting Learning Environments: Two Case Studies on Teaching Programming on Friday 23rd of August 2013 at noon in the University of Helsinki Main Building, Unioninkatu 34, Auditorium XIV (old part), 3rd floor. His opponent is Professor Erkki Sutinen (University of Eastern Finland) and custos Professor Esko Ukkonen (University of Helsinki). The defense will be held in Finnish.

Creativity-Supporting Learning Environments: Two Case Studies on Teaching Programming

It is known that students' learning approaches, types of motivation, and types of self-regulation are connected with learning outcomes. It is also known, that deep learning approaches, self-regulated learning, and intrinsic types of motivation are connected with creativity. However, in computing pedagogy there is a lack in empirically grounded analyses in integration of the varying educational theories to build learning environments that support creativity. The literature of programming education proposes a variety of theoretical, as well as practical viewpoints in relation to the teaching and learning situation. However, little effort has been put on understanding cultural and contextual differences in pedagogy of programming. Literature shows that education is highly context dependent, and that educational design should account for contextual differences. In programming education, the nature and implications of those differences are hitherto unclear.

In this study, the paucity in research about creativity-supporting learning environments in computing education, and about contextual differences in the pedagogy of programming are addressed through two case studies. In the first context (CUH) of this study (Department of Computer Science, University of Helsinki, Finland), a method of learning-by-inventing was designed and integrated into a robotics-based programming class, and its effects on students' learning were investigated through qualitative analysis of 144 interviews. In the second context (CTU) of this study (IT Department, Tumaini University, Iringa University College, Iringa, Tanzania) a number of interventions for supporting intrinsic motivation and deep approaches to learning were designed, and their effects on students' learning were studied through qualitative and quantitative methods, and a controlled research setup. In addition, a mixed methods study about contextual factors, which affect the learning environment design was conducted.

In context CUH, the results show that the provided environment supported the learning of creative processes through a number of mechanisms. In general, the provided environment was shown to facilitate changes in students' problem management approaches, and extended students' deep and surface learning approaches to computer science related problem solving and problem management. In context CTU the results reveal that students face many similar challenges than students in other educational contexts, and that the standard learning environment does not offer enough support for gaining the requisite development. Learning is also hindered by many contextually unique factors. Testing a model where students work on their homework under guidance, facilitated by active student-teacher collaboration did not result in significant advantage over the control group. However, the qualitative results about guided environments were exclusively positive.

In context CUH, the analysis suggests that learning of creativity may be facilitated by supporting deep learning strategies, intrinsic motivation, and self-regulated learning through utilizing a combination of open learning environment configuration, learning-by-inventing, and robotics as the vehicle for learning. Secondly, the analysis suggests challenges in context CTU to be addressed through increasing the number of practical exercises, by selecting the proper amount of guidance required in the learning environment, and by implementing educational action research as a standard component into the learning and teaching environment.

Availability of the dissertation

An electronic version of the doctoral dissertation is available on the e-thesis site of the University of Helsinki at http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-10-9031-8.

Printed copies are available on request from Mikko Apiola: mikko.apiola@cs.helsinki.fi.