A Study of Required Liberal Arts Courses Using the Engaged Learning Classroom Model: Focusing on Computational Thinking and Algorithms

This study deals with a case study of a required Liberal Arts class called “Computational Thinking and Algorithms” at S University using the Engaged Learning class model. The study targets 188 first-year students in the first semester of 2023. The class was designed as a two-credit course by applying the three-stage teaching principle of problem definition - idea generation - solution application - confirmation. The research method was a t-test using SPSS and quartile analysis. The research results showed significant differences by quartile in the level of class content, class satisfaction, and project progression applying the Engaged Learning class model. The quartiles composed of students from the Literary and Creative Arts, Film Arts, and Law departments all showed lower satisfaction than the students from the other majors, while the students from the Software and AI integration department were the most satisfied with the level of lecture content applying Engaged Learning. However, the students from the Electronics and IT integration department were the least satisfied with the level of lecture content applying Engaged Learning as well as the project progression. The level of student participation in the Engaged Learning-based class was 84.1% positive and 0.5% negative, indicating that the Engaged Learning-based class model was more satisfactory to the students than the lecture-based class model. The percentage of affirmative and negative responses to the Engaged Learning model was 73.8% and 7.50%, respectively, indicating that students were more likely to understand the course content than in a lecture-style class. We further found that applying the Engaged Learning lesson model to the management of the Computational Thinking and Algorithms subject was more effective than lecture-style teaching. It is expected that the Engaged Learning lesson model will be expanded to be used in other subject classes in the future.