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Two professors in the College of Engineering and Computing are meeting important student needs with a novel education approach.
Mihai Boicu, associate professor in Information Sciences and Technology (IST), and Ioulia Rytikova, professor and associate chair for graduate studies in IST, co-directors of the Personalized Learning in Applied Information Technology Laboratory, are teaming up to create mini-learning modules that can be plugged into any one of numerous classes.
Such learning modules are self-contained units or segments of instruction focusing on specific topics. Four years ago, the faculty members got a curriculum impact grant from George Mason’s Stearns Center for Teaching and Learning, which promotes ideas for new teaching techniques. This helped them get the idea off the ground and they attribute the project success to this internal support.
Boicu points to the success of research learning modules, developed to guide students in applied research, as an example of the strategy’s effectiveness. The research modules were implemented in Master of Science programs and introduced students to basic research-related skills and methods. Boicu said, “These were not added to specialized courses or research courses, but to typical courses like database or programming courses.” The modules helped students learn how to choose a research topic, do a literature review, apply research methods, and more. The findings of this ongoing project were published in 10 publications in engineering education conferences, including the American Society of Engineering Education and the American Educational Research Association.
Rytikova said that the focused topics comprising the modules do not take a lot of the students’ class time and are taught within core subjects. In addition, the researchers closely monitor how they help students learn and impact their thinking.
The team used the same idea of mini-learning modules in other instances. “There are many courses that require prerequisite courses and students sometimes take them one or two years after the prerequisite,” said Boicu. “Many students will forget half of the material. So having an easy way for the instructor to make the students review that material is very useful.”
Pongsatorn Onkaew, a graduate information technology student, discussed how helpful the modules are. “My first class at George Mason used the AI research question module. It let me understand what the research questions are and I was able to prepare myself better for the final. Also, I can apply what I learned from the module to many other classes. I don’t need to study them again.”
Last year the faculty duo received a Mason High Impact Grant to use the same methodology to introduce Access to Research and Inclusive Excellence concepts to the students; that effort has already resulted in two publications. They also credit CEC’s Office of Outreach, Student Success, and Engagement with providing guidance and inspiration in crafting modules about the diversity and inclusiveness in STEM. “If any instructor is interested in discussing such concepts with their students, then these modules could be a simple way to support this effort,” Rytikova said.
It is no surprise that Rytikova and Boicu are at the cutting-edge of teaching, as they are both decorated instructors. Rytikova previously won an Online Teaching Excellence Award, a Mason Teachers of Distinction Award, and the School of Engineering Outstanding Teaching Award; Boicu has been awarded the CEC Faculty Excellence Trailblazer Award and a Mason Teachers of Distinction Award.