Active learning during lecture using tablets

Closed labs have provided hands-on experience for students under supervised conditions. Microlabs extend this approach into the lecture format with very short hands-on activities in the "middle of the lecture." We have tested this approach using tablets as small as 7 inches; student laptops can also be used. Logical microlabs allow students to solve a conceptual problem in computer science that does not involve any programming. Solutions are entered graphically and submitted for evaluation. Code magnet microlabs allow students to construct a method to solve the same problem programmatically. The code is compiled and, if successful, evaluated by a sequence of unit tests. These are integrated into a Microlab Learning Cycle of exploration (the logical microlab), invention (the instructor guides the students toward an algorithm during lecture), and application (the code magnet microlab). This approach has been evaluated at three universities and proven to be popular with students and educationally effective. This work is supported, in part, by three National Science Foundation grants.