Strengthening Learning Habits Through Individual Unique Assignments

This paper describes a method for reinforcing learning habits among students in the Computer Science and Information Systems department. On top of the sharp reduction in the number of enrolled students, there is an increase in the dropout rate that stems from poor learning habits. Strengthening learning habits can play a significant role in increasing students’ overall motivation and self-accountability, and it can reduce the relatively high failure rate. These learning characteristics are necessary as well for future collaborative activities, which are a cornerstone of the computer science profession. The individual unique assignments method described in this paper was employed on two courses and helped reduce the failing rate. This paper relates to some quantitative results combined with a qualitative analysis obtained through the students' own reflections on the method, and concludes with a discussion on the results and future follow-up directions.