Students’ Perceptions of Applying Real-world Problem Solving in Computer Science Education : Case Study in Interaction Design

Computer science is pervasive, being present in daily life. Computer science students need to develop skills to solve computational problems involving real-world applications. The study presents an exploratory case study that examined the perceptions of computer science students towards real-world problem solving. The participants were 72 computer science graduate students in a human-computer interaction course during two semesters. The students were immersed in a real-world problem solving educational situation. After, a quantitative study was conducted, with data obtained from a questionnaire. Data from the questionnaire revealed that the perspectives of computer science students concerning real-world problem solving are positive. The students recognized that the tasks were valuable, did not present difficulties, were engaged, had fun, attributed long-term importance, judged that the tasks fit their personal development, and it was worth to devote their time and resources. In summary, students in our samples hold the opinion that real-world problem solving provides a meaningful learning experience. The findings provide new insights into the opportunities of the application of real-world problem solving in computer science education.