Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL) is an evidence-based pedagogical approach in which student teams work on classroom activities designed to help them collaboratively construct understanding of key concepts, and at the same time to develop process skills including communication, critical thinking, problem solving, and teamwork. POGIL activities use learning cycles in which teams are given a model (e.g. a diagram, graph, table, or sample code) and then answer questions that guide them to explore the model, invent their own understanding of key concepts, and then apply that understanding in other contexts. The instructor is not a lecturer, but an active facilitator who observes student teams, interacts to address problems, and leads classroom discussion as needed. POGIL has been used across STEM disciplines (including chemistry, engineering, computer science, and mathematics), and research studies generally find that students have better learning outcomes.
The CS-POGIL project and the IntroCS-POGIL project both seek to expand the use and evidence of POGIL in Computer Science and related areas. The 2011 NSF TUES CS-POGIL project developed sample POGIL activities for topics in intermediate level CS courses, and helped to develop a POGIL community in CS through conference presentations, support for CS faculty to attend 3-day regional POGIL workshops, and online discussions. The 2017 NSF IUSE IntroCS-POGIL project is a larger-scale study of how faculty implement POGIL in introductory CS courses and the factors that affect faculty implementation and student outcomes.
Clif Kussmaul is Principal Consultant at Green Mango Associates, LLC. Formerly he was Associate Professor of Computer Science at Muhlenberg College. Visiting Fulbright-Nehru Scholar at the University of Kerala, Chief Technology Officer for Elegance Technologies.
Chris Mayfield, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at James Madison University. His research focuses on CS education and professional development, including for K-12 schools. Over the past five years, he has taught introductory CS courses using POGIL and the flipped classroom. He is coauthor of the textbook Think Java: How to Think Like a Computer Scientist and the designer of JMU's CS 101 course.
Helen H. Hu received her Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Utah. She is a Professor of Computer Science at Westminster College and a member of the ACM. Her research interests include active learning pedagogies and broadening participation i
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