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This paper describes the development of a training module to improve students' individual online behaviors. We developed this module to integrate cyber hygiene concepts into a hands-on learning activity where students develop and secure a mobile web application using the Salesforce Developer tool. This new module aims to prepare the next generation of workers by improving cyber hygiene behaviors through an engaging hands-on activity. We hired two students to help create the dialogue and structure of the module in the summer of 2022. Instructors then implemented the module in introductory information systems courses during the 2022-2023 academic year. During the module, each student a) took a survey to establish a baseline of current knowledge and behaviors (pre-survey), b) performed the training module, and c) completed a survey so we could assess knowledge improvement (post-survey). Post-survey results showed that students were satisfied with the assignment, and that the module taught them essential knowledge and tools for improving cyber hygiene behaviors. Three months later, we sent each student a follow-up survey so we could determine behavioral changes. This follow-up survey showed that students improved self-reported behavioral changes, specifically about using multi-factor authentication, identifying phishing messages, assessing social media settings, identifying antivirus and firewall software, backing up data, and updating software. This study demonstrates that students may benefit from this module to improve online behaviors while preparing them to enter the workforce and help organizations, regardless of their work focus.

This study examines the interest, motivation, and behavioral engagement of college students in an introductory course relative to three instructional formats used in the course: hands-on, problem-based laboratory stations; problem-based written case studies; and video lectures. Groups of five to seven students were assigned learning activities as treatments in a Latin Square design consisting of three experimental periods. At the beginning of selected laboratory sessions, students completed 10 minutes of the experimental activity immediately followed by a questionnaire. Students rated hands-on, problem-based laboratory stations as more challenging, novel, and attention-grabbing than they rated case studies or video lectures. Interest, intrinsic motivation, and behavioral engagement were greatest for groups completing laboratory stations followed by those completing case studies and lectures, respectively. Overall, the greater situational interest experienced during laboratory stations and case studies indicates that these activities can be leveraged to create learning environments that promote interest, engagement, and achievement.

The Association for Information Systems (AIS) Teaching Curation Project aims to highlight and summarize research within the association that focuses on the major courses taught in Information Systems (IS) programs. The present literature review is a companion to a curation website specific to the introductory course in IS. In this review, we identify three major themes that pervade this literature: IS program enrollment, pedagogy, and curriculum. We use these themes to structure our summary of the research on the importance of the introductory course and various approaches to instruction. These themes also provide a framework for positioning future research. For instructors of the introductory course, this review and the companion website hosted by the AIS serve as a reference for recommendations and inspiration.

Teaching introductory programming to IS students is challenging. The educational, technological, demographic, and cultural landscape has changed dramatically in recent years. The post-millennial generation has different needs and expectations in an era of open resources. Learning to program is perceived as difficult, teaching approaches are diverse, and there is little research on what works best. In this paper, we share our experiences in developing, testing, and implementing a new design for teaching introductory IS programming at the undergraduate level. We describe pedagogic considerations and present teaching tips for a blended course that combines best practices with experimentation. Our approach recognizes the changing nature of the student body, the needs of an IS major in the current environment, and the worldwide shift in education from instructor-centered to student-centered learning.

Computational thinking (CT) is an essential skill required for every individual in the digital era to become creative problem solvers. The purpose of this research is to investigate the relationships between computational thinking skills, the Big Five personality factors, and learning motivation using structural equation modeling (SEM). The research administered the computational thinking scale, NEO FFI scale, and Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire to a sample of 92 students pursuing degrees in Computer Science and Engineering. Based on the result analysis, it was determined that both personality and learning motivation had positive and significant impacts on computation thinking skills. Personality had a major contribution to the prediction of CT, with consciousness being the most influential predictor. The findings of this study suggest that educators and academics should focus on the significance of the psychological side of CT for the improvement of students’ CT skills.

Cheating, a form of academic dishonesty, is commonly regarded as a problem in science education. This inquiry theorizes cheating not as a moral failing on the part of students or a lack of surveillance by teachers but rather as a resistance to testing. Ethnographic data from a university physical science department, analyzed with Michel Foucault’s theory of governmentality, suggests testing as a technique of disciplinary power to produce normalized cases, schooled subjects of a certain type. The resistance of cheating is an assertion of agency within inequitable power relations. As such, cheating and testing are mutually constituting. This inquiry aims to trouble the notion that testing is educationally beneficial by discussing how testing may be placing students in morally compromised positions and teachers in morally complicit positions.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced all face-to-face college courses to transition to remote instruction. This article explores instructional techniques used in the transition, student perceptions of effectiveness/enjoyment/accessibility of those techniques, barriers that students faced due to the transition, and race/class/gender inequality in experiencing those barriers. We used surveys in introductory courses by two instructors (the authors) to compare students’ reactions to our transitions and the transitions in their other courses. We found that which instructional technique instructors use is less important than how well they implement it for student learning. Although there is a tradeoff between enjoyment and accessibility, instructors can use techniques to increase accessibility of interactive formats. Internet and technology barriers were extremely common, even for students who did not anticipate problems. Most students experienced barriers to their learning due to the pandemic, including distractions, increased anxiety, and feeling less motivated, especially for nonwhite, female, and first-generation college students.

Feedback is an essential part of the teaching/learning processes. This statement is especially true in the introductory communication course where students receive feedback throughout the presentational speaking process. This paper explores how students define useful feedback based on 1,600 qualitative questionnaires that asked students about their perceptions of feedback. A thematic analysis of a randomly selected subset of 163 responses uncovered two themes: (1) feedback content characteristics (e.g., specific, constructive, praiseworthy, and purposive) and (2) process of instructor-provided feedback (e.g., iterative, timely). Based on these findings, a set of best practices for providing feedback is offered as a means to improve teaching/learning in the introductory communication course.

The introductory communication course has a history of producing meaningful scholarship that shapes teaching and learning at institutions of higher education around the world. The scope of this research is broad and, as such, calls for a meta-synthesis of trends in and avenues for future research. This project examines published work from the past decade - 2010 through 2019 - in key outlets that regularly publish introductory course-focused research (The Basic Communication Course Annual, Communication Education, Communication Teacher, The Journal of Communication Pedagogy). This analysis of 98 articles revealed that publications tend to focus on three primary areas: (1) students and instructors, (2) the structure of the course, and (3) assessment - while calling for future research to \"replicate\" past studies. Based on this meta-synthesis, we propose directions for future scholarship that will continue to impact teaching and learning practices beyond replication.

This paper describes the redesign and implementation of an introductory Information Systems class. The redesign was guided by principles drawn from the experiential and active learning literature. Central to the redesign are two simulated companies: petGRO, a fictional ERP-enabled pet food and accessories e-tailer, and beans4all, a technology consulting company of which all registered students are employees. Students work in solution crews throughout the semester to solve a set of technology-related challenges that their client, petGRO, is facing. Initial student response to the redesign has been mixed. Survey responses indicate that students have an increased interest in IS after taking the course. There was a significant increase in students' perception of the usefulness of the knowledge gained from the course in subsequent courses. However, this result is countered by a decrease in students' perception of whether the course led to an improvement in their academic skills. Open-ended comments reveal the polarizing nature of the redesign but with more positive than negative comments.