PATCH: Problem-Based Learning Approach for Teaching Cybersecurity and Ethical Hacking in Community Colleges

Cybersecurity education incorporates a variety of teaching methods such as traditional lectures, lectures combined with hands-on exercises, and concept maps. One of the most well-known instructional methods is the use of lectures supplemented by hands-on activities. However, often these exercises either lack a strong connect with the lecture material or invariably lead students step-by-step in predetermined tasks, thereby hindering critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Hence, the instructional method falls short on providing students with a comprehensive understanding of complex and often associated cybersecurity concepts as encountered in real-world security incidents. The authors propose that a problem-based learning (PBL) approach can effectively address these gaps and improve cybersecurity education learning outcomes. This paper presents an application of PBL approach for teaching cybersecurity and ethical hacking in community colleges that play a crucial role in meeting the demand for cybersecurity professionals, but often face several challenges to effectively introduce cybersecurity concepts in their curriculum. Through this research, an existing course on ethical hacking is redesigned using the PBL pedagogy and offered to community college students. The course involves several PBL modules that are developed to cover all key aspects of ethical hacking and implemented using open-source software's. Each PBL module is based on a real-world cybersecurity incident and mapped to the MITRE ATT&CK framework. An external independent evaluation is conducted to assess the effectiveness of the proposed teaching methodology. Overall, the obtained results positively impact students' critical thinking, problem-solving, and communication skills, along with facilitating their understanding of key cybersecurity concepts. 100% of students reported that they enjoyed the PBL exercises. 75% of the students believed that PBL enhanced their learning of key concepts to a great extent, and remaining 25% believed that their learning of key concepts was somewhat enhanced.