Developing long-term computing skills among low-achieving students via web-enabled problem-based learning and self-regulated learning

Many private vocational schools in Taiwan have taken to enrolling students with lower levels of academic achievement. The authors re-designed a course and conducted a series of quasi-experiments to develop students’ long-term computing skills, and examined the longitudinal effects of web-enabled, problem-based learning (PBL) and self-regulated learning (SRL) on vocational students’ computing skills. Two classes of 76 students in a one-semester course were chosen for this empirical study. These low-achieving students were re-examined for their long-term computing skills 36 months after the course started. The results indicate that students who received web-enabled PBL and SRL had significantly better computing skills in the 36th month than those who received traditional didactic lectures. The authors discuss the implications for schools, and for scholars and teachers engaged in e-learning.

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