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This paper presents an innovative approach to improve engineering students’ problem-solving skills by implementing think-aloud exercises. Sometimes engineering students claim they do not know where to start with the problem-solving process, or they are not sure how to proceed to the next steps when they get stuck. A systematic training that focuses on the problem-solving process and the justification of each step could help. Think-aloud techniques help make the invisible mental processes visible to learners. Engineering think-aloud technique engages students and helps them make their way through a solving process step-by-step, reasoning along with them. In this study, a multiple faceted systematic approach that integrates think-aloud exercises through video assignments and oral exams were developed and implemented in two pilot engineering classes. We present our think-aloud exercises and oral exams structures in each of the courses and their impacts on students' learning outcomes, and students’ perceptions towards the pedagogical approach. Both quantitative and qualitative results show that the think-aloud exercise assignments and oral exams enhance students’ problem-solving skills and promote learning.
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HackEd: A Pedagogical Analysis of Online Vulnerability Discovery Exercises
Hacking exercises are a common tool for security education, but there is limited investigation of how they teach security concepts and whether they follow pedagogical best practices. This paper enumerates the pedagogical practices of 31 popular online hacking exercises. Specifically, we derive a set of pedagogical dimensions from the general learning sciences and educational literature, tailored to hacking exercises, and review whether and how each exercise implements each pedagogical dimension. In addition, we interview the organizers of 15 exercises to understand challenges and tradeoffs that may occur when choosing whether and how to implement each dimension.We found hacking exercises generally were tailored to students’ prior security experience and support learning by limiting extraneous load and establishing helpful online communities. Conversely, few exercises explicitly provide overarching conceptual structure or direct support for metacognition to help students transfer learned knowledge to new contexts. Immediate and tailored feedback and secure development practice were also uncommon. Additionally, we observed a tradeoff between providing realistic challenges and burdening students with extraneous cognitive load, with benefits and drawbacks at any point on this axis. Based on our results, we make suggestions for exercise improvement and future work to support organizers.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1801545
- PAR ID:
- 10357738
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 1268 to 1285
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Conference Paper:
- https://doi.org/10.1109/SP40001.2021.00092
