Spiral and Project-Based Learning with Peer Assessment in a Computer Science Project Management Course

Different learning methods such as project-based learning, spiral learning and peer assessment have been implemented in science disciplines with different outcomes. This paper presents a proposal for a project management course in the context of a computer science degree. Our proposal combines three...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Jaime, A. [0000-0002-6300-9307], Blanco, J.M. [0000-0001-7541-0299], Domínguez, C. [0000-0002-2081-7523], Sánchez, A. [0000-0002-7907-4330], Heras, J. [0000-0003-4775-1306], Usandizaga, I. [0000-0002-0691-313X]
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión aceptada para publicación
Fecha de publicación:2016
País:España
Institución:Universidad de La Rioja (UR)
Repositorio:RIUR. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de La Rioja
OAI Identifier:oai:portal.dialnet.es:doc/5bbc686cb750603269e808aa
Acceso en línea:https://investigacion.unirioja.es/documentos/5bbc686cb750603269e808aa
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Peer assessment
Project management
Project-based learning
Spiral learning
Descripción
Sumario:Different learning methods such as project-based learning, spiral learning and peer assessment have been implemented in science disciplines with different outcomes. This paper presents a proposal for a project management course in the context of a computer science degree. Our proposal combines three well-known methods: project-based learning, spiral learning and peer assessment. Namely, the course is articulated during a semester through the structured (progressive and incremental) development of a sequence of four projects, whose duration, scope and difficulty of management increase as the student gains theoretical and instrumental knowledge related to planning, monitoring and controlling projects. Moreover, the proposal is complemented using peer assessment. The proposal has already been implemented and validated for the last 3 years in two different universities. In the first year, project-based learning and spiral learning methods were combined. Such a combination was also employed in the other 2 years; but additionally, students had the opportunity to assess projects developed by university partners and by students of the other university. A total of 154 students have participated in the study. We obtain a gain in the quality of the subsequently projects derived from the spiral project-based learning. Moreover, this gain is significantly bigger when peer assessment is introduced. In addition, high-performance students take advantage of peer assessment from the first moment, whereas the improvement in poor-performance students is delayed.