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2014 » Papers » Volume 2 » Individualized assignments for imposing better learning habits in the "share everything" generation 1. INDIVIDUALIZED ASSIGNMENTS FOR IMPOSING BETTER LEARNING HABITS IN THE "SHARE EVERYTHING" GENERATION Authors: Yadin Aharon Volume 2 | DOI: 10.12753/2066-026X-14-140 | Pages: 551-556 | Download PDF | Abstract
This paper describes a follow-on study related to the effects of personal and individual assignments on the students' learning habits. The current students' generation (Generation Y) is sometimes defined as "friends with everybody and share everything". This phenomenon, when applied to learning has a negative impact as was demonstrated by a large difference between the assignments grades and the exam grades. A possible explanation is that the assignments' grades do not provide a real representation of the students' knowledge. In trying to address this issue, a method of personal and individual assignments was used as part of a Software Project's Management course. By using this method each student receives a different assignment, so sharing the results is impossible. Furthermore, each assignment has two stages. The first is the assignment itself, and in the second the student has to assess an assignment submitted by another student. This dual stage learning has reduced the large gap between the assignments' grades and the exam grades. As part of the study, one of the assignments was a "standard" assignment in which all students received the same one. In this case, the average grade was very high and the abovementioned gap reappeared. Most of the modern research into effective learning is aimed at collaborative experiences in which the responsibility is transferred from the teacher to the student. Using personal and individual assignments enhances the students' accountability and does not undermine the collaboration importance. The paper describes the study and the results and concludes with a short discussion. The assumption that students who have a high degree of responsibility towards their learning will be better collaborators and will contribute to the team they are part of will be addressed in a follow-on study. | Keywords
personal and individual assignments, better learning habits |
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