How Does a Student-Centered Course on Communication and Professional Skills Impact Students in the Long Run?

TL;DR

This long-term study investigates how a student-centered communication course in a European computer science master's program influences students' attitudes, behaviors, and skills over ten years, highlighting lasting impacts and practical implications.

Contribution

The paper presents a longitudinal, mixed-methods study on the long-term effects of a student-centered communication course, offering insights into its sustained influence on students' professional skills.

Findings

Students improved active listening and presentation skills.

Participants became more open to diverse perspectives.

Long-term positive effects on confidence and stress management.

Abstract

This Full Paper in the Research-To-Practice Category presents a long-term study about the effects of a student-centered course on communication and professional skills on students' thoughts, attitudes, and behavior. The course is offered at a European university as part of a computer science master's program. This paper shares the design and challenges of a longitudinal study that reaches ten years behind and employs a mixed-methods approach. Besides presenting and interpreting the findings, we shed light on which features tend to stay on students' minds and impact their way of being and acting in society. Moreover, we suggest implications for the design and practice in comparable courses to maximize constructive, sustainable effects, such as improved active listening, presentation skills, and openness to other perspectives. These are essential (not only) for computer science professionals. Our findings suggest that the course provided significant learning for the vast majority of respondents, including aspects such as presenting while keeping the other side in mind, managing one's stress, and becoming less shy to speak up. All in all, we aim to contribute an evidence-based source of motivation for instructors in technically focused curricula who hold a student-centered stance.