Do project-based learning, hands-on activities, and flipped teaching enhance student’s learning of introductory theoretical computing classes?

The need for computer science (CS) education, especially computer network education, is increasing. However, the challenges of teaching students with diverse backgrounds and engaging them in hands-on activities to apply theories into practices exist in CS education. The study addressed the challenges by using project-based learning (PBL) and flipped teaching approaches to cover both theoretical and hands-on learning aspects in CS education. This study aims to demonstrate the design and development journey of a CS course and examine whether using PBL, hands-on activities, and flipped teaching approaches improves students’ learning. The design-based research study was conducted in an undergraduate CS course from 2014 to 2020 at a midwestern university. The design and development trajectory in the six years were described. The descriptive statistics were used to analyze the trends of the course evaluation results, and ANOVA were conducted to examine whether the evaluation differs from each semester. The results indicated that using PBL, hands-on activities, and flipped teaching increased students’ learning motivation and their perceptions of their learning. Combining PBL and flipped teaching appropriately can enhance students’ learning motivation and perceived learning in CS education, but further research is needed to examine how each individual intervention influence students’ learning motivation and learning outcomes.