2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

This evidence-based practice paper describes the CS POGIL Activity Writing Program (AWP),
a faculty development program to help computing faculty create classroom activities for Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL). In POGIL, student teams work during class time on activities that are specifically designed to develop concept understanding and skills such as critical thinking and problem solving. Research has documented POGIL’s benefits for student engagement and learning. However, faculty can find it difficult to adopt POGIL, particularly if classroom activities are not available for the content they are covering. This program sought to increase the number of available CS POGIL activities by increasing the number of active qualified authors. This paper summarizes relevant background, presents the program’s structure, and describes outcomes, evaluation, and directions for future work. During the program, 31 participants, experienced with POGIL, attended virtual meetings and workshops, including a virtual Kickoff Workshop, a hybrid Writers Retreat, and 1:1 coaching with the Project Coordinator and other writing mentors. By the end of the AWP, 27 authors had drafted 71 activities in 17 areas of CS. Fifty-eight activities were revised and approved by the program as ready for classroom testing. Almost all of the authors planned to use the developed activities in their classes (88%) and share them with others (78%), while 75% planned to develop more activities. Almost all (88%) felt that the writing process impacted how they teach with POGIL activities. Thus, the AWP is an effective model to support faculty and produce quality activities.