Economics degrees increasingly require the delivery of programming skills such as Python. These are often taught in large lab environments where front led teaching can be difficult to conduct. In April 2023 we piloted a workshop considering an alternate delivery mode through bespoke cheat sheets in a pair programming-based approach. Following the success of the 2023 workshop, in 2024 we scaled up the event and we delved more into understanding the effect of teaching innovations. For this, we also introduced html notes, given the increased use of markdown notes in coding textbooks. We successfully created a supportive and highly social environment in which students were able to make substantial progress with increasing independence from instructors and while developing vital employability skills.
The four day workshop in the Ivy Gate labs centred on using pair programming, cheat sheets, and html notes. On the last day students participated in a group challenge where they had to produce new visualisations from data they researched and processed themselves, using their new Python skills. Supported by our team of three academic staff and four undergraduate Research Assistants (RAs), 50 students drawn from across the University (everywhere from Arts to Sciences) worked together to progress from basic arithmetic commands to independently creating data visualisations in Python.
Findings
We found that students’ coding and data visualisation learning (both self-reported and revealed) benefitted highly from the workshop. Additionally, students reported high levels of satisfaction throughout the event. Even though we did not find strong differences in students’ learning between the use of cheat sheets and the use of html notes, we identified important differences in teaching efficiency, which were also highlighted by the RAs. In some cases using html notes seemed to be more efficient (e.g. students were able to copy full parts of code), however we observed that the use of cheat sheets enhanced group work, discussion, collaboration, and helped students’ understanding of the material.
The Impact
What has been the impact of this practice? (e.g. the student experience and/or staff experience). This could include feedback from students, the external examiner etc – also any changes to the quality of work/assessments, student satisfaction etc.
Students and colleagues participating as informal judges in the workshop’s challenge commented on the way the workshop ran, its organisation, and the projects students prepared. We presented the project at the leading international conferences in Economics Education (AEA CTREE 2024 and Developments in Econ Education 2024), where we received very encouraging comments and feedback from colleagues. We were also invited to discuss our overall project on data visualisation using Python at the University of Birmingham and the University of Exeter, as well as to participate in Aston’s University teaching and learning podcast.
Next Steps
What will happen next – will the practice be continued/developed in any way – or adopted by anyone else?
We are currently considering possibilities of implementing this kind of approach in the curriculum of relevant UG and PGT programs in the School of Economics, including in the development of new industry skills focussed degree programmes.
Contact
Who is the contact if anybody wants to know more?
Annika Johnson (annika.johnson@bristol.ac.uk)
Anastasia Papadopoulou (anastasia.papadopoulou@bristol.ac.uk)
Stefania Simion (Ștefania.simion@bristol.ac.uk)
