The following are our recommendations for improving the course, these recommendations are based on what we learned through the surveys and interviews.
Ambiguous Project Descriptions
Two out of the four teams had this issue, recommendations to solve it are below.
- Clearer project descriptions
The project descriptions given to students should be more detailed and focused so that the students can come to a proper conclusion about the projects’ requirements and the type of work they will be doing. It can also give students the advantage of a quicker and more efficient start in their project because they will have a clear understanding of their purpose even before they contact their respective clients. - Have course instructor review project descriptions with respective clients
This will give the clients the ability to better transmit their goals and aims to the students (through the project description) who will be deciding on which project to take part in. Second, it will give the clients an improved understanding of the capabilities and resources of the students through the instructor’s explanations. This can eliminate any unforeseen expectations that the clients would have for the students.
Lack of Time
Three out of the four teams mentioned having issues with the lack of time to complete the project, recommendations to solve it are below.
- Start projects earlier
Projects should start during the first week of the course instead of the third. Students should have the project descriptions made available to them during the first day of lecture so that they can be split into groups and start on the project during the first week. Students would then have a total of six weeks to complete their project instead of the current four weeks. - Reduce the project scope
Instructors of the course could narrow down the scope of the projects due to the short time frame available for the projects. The projects would then have fewer objectives and students would be able to complete them more effectively. - Extend the length of the course
Instructors of the course could narrow down the scope of the projects due to the short time frame available for the projects. The projects would then have fewer objectives and students would be able to complete them more effectively. A possible alternative is to have students define the scope of their own project so that they are clear with what needs to be done.
Issues with Client Communication
Three out of the four teams indicated that they had issues communicating with their project clients, a recommendation for solving this issue is below.
- Ensure project clients have resources and time to respond to students
Before presenting the project choices to the students, the course instructor should confirm that the project community partners have the resources to reply to the students’ questions in a timely manner. Staying on schedule and receiving information was an issue for most of the groups when considering the long amount time it took for some clients to reply back to the students.
What Now?
Our group successfully completed the majority of our objectives, but we were unable to accurately gauge student course satisfaction and the impact of the CSL projects on the community groups. We recommend that the recommendations discussed above be implemented and that these two areas be further pursued by the course instructors or by a future CSL Integrators group.