An Empirical study comparing the learning environments of open and closed computer laboratories

Journal of Information Systems Education, 2002 by Newby, Michael

There are a number of ways in which a computer laboratory may be staffed, and these can affect the way in which the instructor interacts with the students. For closed laboratories, it is usual for these to be staffed by the instructor themselves, with an alternative being a graduate teaching assistant. In either case, the instructor would be able to give a high level of interaction, answering questions on advanced concepts, as well as on technical details. One advantage of closed laboratories is that they tend to encourage both active learning (Huss, 1995; McConnell, 1996) and cooperative learning (Prey, 1996).

The level of assistance provided in open laboratories varies from none to the provision of technical help supplied by non-academic staff. Many universities use undergraduate student assistants in this role to help students with basic questions. Often, because of staffing problems, this is the only help that students get, particularly in open laboratories. This can lead to senior students passing on bad practice to their junior colleagues and generating a philosophy of `getting it to work at all costs' (Newby, 1994). One reason for providing technical help in laboratories is the need for rapid feedback (Pitt, 1993). A student can spend hours looking at a program which will not compile and which produces an unhelpful error message, when all that is needed is for a semi-colon to be removed.