Learning to solve problems involving rapidly changing technology can prove to be very difficult, even for computing science students in their final years of study. Their previously-learnt problem-solving techniques, gained while studying programming in earlier years, are inappropriate in situations where solving problems is dependent upon information and documentation that is changing rapidly, even during the semester of study.
This paper describes a CAUT project for which the authors were granted funds in 1994. The project aimed to help students learn how to solve complex computing problems by developing more appropriate ways of thinking and better problem-solving techniques. It used collaborative learning activities, involving Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC), and a pilot study. The subject used for the pilot study was Computer Systems Architecture 3, a final-year bachelor's subject that contains a major topic strand on parallel processing. It was felt that learning would be improved in this topic, if students could learn new and more effective problem-solving strategies when seeking to build the programs that were very complex and involved dynamic information and documentation.
The outcomes of this pilot study suggest that, by providing innovative group learning experiences involving collaborative learning, especially computer conferencing, and by using technology to 'extend' the normal classroom, students can overcome their previously-learnt strategies faster and more successfully than when only experiencing traditional ways of learning.
