An optimization model for group formation in project-based learning

Abstract

We propose an optimization model to tackle the problem of determining how projects are assigned to student groups based on a bidding procedure. In order to improve student experience in project-based learning we resort to actively involving them in a transparent and unbiased project allocation process. To evaluate our work, we collected information about the students' own views on how our approach influenced their level of learning and overall learning experience and provide a detailed analysis of the results. The results of our evaluation show that the large majority of students (i.e., 91%) increased or maintained their satisfaction ratings with the proposed procedure after the assignment was concluded, as compared to their attitude towards the process before the project assignment occurred. © 2020 IEEE Computer Society. All rights reserved.

Keywords

Author Keywords

Not provided

Index Keywords

Students Project based learning optimization Learning experiences Student experiences Student groups Allocation process Group formations Optimization modeling Project assignments

Author Affiliations

Department of Computer Science and Media Technology, Malmö Universitet, Malmo, Skane, Sweden

Funding & Acknowledgements

Malmö Högskola

The presented research study was funded as a pedagogical development project by Malmö University. We would express our great thanks to Farid Naisan, who was coordinating the project course within which we conducted our project. Without his collaboration and support, the project would have not been possible to conduct.

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An optimization model for group formation in project-based learning

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