Computer science students' experiences of decision making in project groups

Wiggberg, M.

This paper describes a study intended to understand the ways in which students experience the process of decision-making in computer science student projects. It also investigates the ways the student team works to make decisions. The empirical setting for the study is a semesterlong project with 22 final year computer science students. It is a qualitative study where data are gathered using interviews and analyzed using phenomenography. Six categories have been identified describing how students experience the process of decision-making in computer science projects. The level of sophistication differs between the categories. The first describes an experience of decision-making as individual decisions too small and unimportant to be handled by anyone other than the individual. At the other end is the experience of decision-making as a democratic process involving both the full group and the context in which the group acts. The other four categories are situated between these two extremes.

Cite as: Wiggberg, M. (2007). Computer science students' experiences of decision making in project groups. In Proc. Seventh Baltic Sea Conference on Computing Education Research (Koli Calling 2007), Koli National Park, Finland. CRPIT, 88. Lister, R. and Simon, Eds. ACS. 137-148.

(from crpit.com) (local if available)