Correlating Self-Reported Confidence with Time Studying And Math Preparedness among Computer Science Students
Research Mentor(s)
Jagodzinski, Filip
Description
Education research across STEM fields has explored how math preparedness and time spent studying impact test performance. In this study, we explore how students’ self-reported confidence on midterm and final exam questions in an introduction to programming course correlates with the amount of time spent studying and math courses completed. For a 200-student CSCI141 class during Fall 2017, we used a questionnaire to collect information about each student's math courses taken previously. On both the midterm and final exams, students were prompted to indicate how much time they had spent preparing for the exam. For both exams, students were asked to specify their confidence level for each question on a scale of 1 to 4. We analyzed the data using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). We report that students spent less time preparing for the final exam than for the midterm. However, the correlation between time studying and confidence barely change between the midterm and final exams. Also, we observed a poor correlation between mean of self-reported confidence and amount of math preparedness. We concluded that the level of math and the time spent on exam preparation does not seem to have a significant contribution to a student’s confidence. Despite the varying levels of math preparation among the students, the mean confidence level averages near 3 (out of 4) across all groups.
Document Type
Event
Start Date
17-5-2018 12:00 AM
End Date
17-5-2018 12:00 AM
Department
Computer Science
Genre/Form
student projects, posters
Subjects – Topical (LCSH)
Colleges students--Attitudes; Computer Science; Preparedness; Self-confidence; Mathematics--Psychological aspects
Type
Image
Rights
Copying of this document in whole or in part is allowable only for scholarly purposes. It is understood, however, that any copying or publication of this document for commercial purposes, or for financial gain, shall not be allowed without the author’s written permission.
Language
English
Format
application/pdf
Correlating Self-Reported Confidence with Time Studying And Math Preparedness among Computer Science Students
Education research across STEM fields has explored how math preparedness and time spent studying impact test performance. In this study, we explore how students’ self-reported confidence on midterm and final exam questions in an introduction to programming course correlates with the amount of time spent studying and math courses completed. For a 200-student CSCI141 class during Fall 2017, we used a questionnaire to collect information about each student's math courses taken previously. On both the midterm and final exams, students were prompted to indicate how much time they had spent preparing for the exam. For both exams, students were asked to specify their confidence level for each question on a scale of 1 to 4. We analyzed the data using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). We report that students spent less time preparing for the final exam than for the midterm. However, the correlation between time studying and confidence barely change between the midterm and final exams. Also, we observed a poor correlation between mean of self-reported confidence and amount of math preparedness. We concluded that the level of math and the time spent on exam preparation does not seem to have a significant contribution to a student’s confidence. Despite the varying levels of math preparation among the students, the mean confidence level averages near 3 (out of 4) across all groups.