Application of Real-World Problems in Computer Science Education: Teachers' Beliefs, Motivational Orientations and Practices

This article describes how it is due to the fact that computer science is present in many activities of daily life, students need to develop skills to solve problems to improve the lives of people in general. This article investigates correlations between teachers' motivational orientations, beliefs and practices with respect to the application of real-world problems in undergraduate courses. A questionnaire was applied to twenty-eight teachers of an undergraduate computer science course. Data from the questionnaire was analyzed using statistical methods. The results show that the majority of the teachers, especially those who interact with companies, believe that the insertion of real-world problems in the classroom is important. However, some teachers are not willing to adopt this practice. This is linked to reasons such as the need for more flexible curricula and a better teaching qualification with respect to collaborative problem solving.