Essay On Study Skills & Time Management In Computer Science: Essential For Computing Students.

Practicing specific study skills enhances competency in computing

In addition to practicing general study skills that include effective time management, taking notes, memorizing, reading and comprehension, computer science students need to use specific study skills to enhance their competency in the highly challenging computer science field (1). The first skill is to put more emphasis on practice; computing is a highly practical field and practicing skills such as coding, debugging, troubleshooting, and networking gives one lifelong skills that can be adapted to other computing challenges. Another skill is to go beyond the academic course outline/ content; the computer science industry is highly dynamic and to be a successful professional, one needs to learn ‘outside class’ (2). This relates to learning new programming languages, familiarizing with new trends and developments, such as novel methods of ensuring computer security, and learning new languages used in industry for programming.

Computer professionals need to work as teams to be effective, subsequently, one needs to engage in team and group work as much as possible, such as undertaking projects (4). This is essential in building team dynamics and interpersonal skills, necessary for success as a student and also as a professional (5).

Studying should be continuous, using reading comprehension, practice, undertaking tests and assignments, and working with teams in team projects, to always be prepared for examinations. Follow the study cycle; attend, review, study, check, and preview (6). 

A computer science student ought not to ‘crash’ reading when approaching major examinations as this will not help them much academically or in future as a professional (6).  These skills are essential in building confidence and internalizing knowledge in computer skills, while enabling the student to have an in-depth knowledge of the latest developments in the computer science world.

Checking the written content returned a zero (0%) similarity index; this implies that there was no plagiarism, whether intentional or accidental. The similarity score is very low, and while I aim to maintain zero plagiarism/ similarity in my academic work, I will seek to improve on the quality of my writing. To ensure no plagiarism and the lowest possible similarity score, I paraphrase and rephrase text, while retaining meaning, and acknowledging the sources of the information. To make further improvements, I intend to enhance the grammar of my content, while sticking to the concept of rephrasing and paraphrasing referenced material, and always checking for any plagiarism, as a way of maintaining high academic integrity.

Benefits of going beyond academic course content

Generic Assessment

Why time, project management and team working are important for academic and career success in the field of computer science

Time is always a Constraint in any Endeavor

Time entails planning and organizing how various activities are divided. With respect to computer science, time management is important in all aspects, from studying in class, preparing for exams, doing assignments, and undertaking projects, to working as a computer science professional in the real world (1). The outcomes of computer science related activities, such as undertaking software development projects or planning reading are dependent on effective time management (7).

Poor time management for computer science students results in missed deadlines, poor work quality as speed is given preference over quality, and poor working relations (8). Research shows that time management behaviors have a strong and significant impact on student performance in terms of grades in computer science and engineering subjects (9); this extends to their work life.

Academic endeavors are winding and sometimes complex activities characterized by long periods of study (years), having to undertake different tasks, and still be expected to live a social and cultural life outside the classroom. Academic work entails meeting specific goals, objectives, and set levels of competencies while completing various academic tasks, including attending lectures, doing assignments, engaging in group study, studying, doing exams, writing term papers, and getting involved with industry such as through internships, attachments, or working (12). All these are tasks that must be performed within certain timelines and specific goals achieved. For a computer science student, things get a bit complex given computer science is a highly practical field of study. As a result, students must plan their time, judiciously allocate the available resources (time), and ensure they meet set objectives, whether it is passing an exam or having their assignments ready within a given time. This calls for the use of effective skills in project management, that include planning, effective communication, time management and scheduling. Negotiation, managing risks, problem solving and critical thinking, technical skills, and leadership and teamwork (13). By using effective communication skills, students not only sharpen their skills as communicators, but improve their understanding of study material and also make themselves better understood. The primary means of interaction between students and tutors is communication- written, verbal, and non-verbal communication. By being effective communicators, a key project management principle and skill, the students are able to communicate their ideas in assignments, tests, and presentation, as well as better understand what is required of them, ultimately improving their performance academically.

Engagement in team and group work is essential

Project management entails determining work packages, and scheduling these tasks to fit into the available time (time management); this enables students to better plan their time and schedule their activities such that they fulfill course requirements and meet deadlines, without sacrificing quality and performance. Often, students will work as part of teams in group tasks; group tasks are characterized by a number of group dynamics including leadership, collaboration, and conflict management, among others (14). By applying project management skills such as managing teams, collaboration, and resolving conflicts and risks, the student is able to work effectively as part of a team, making their contributions and not only improving their communication, interpersonal, and communication skills, but also ensuring the highest academic achievement. Since project management encompasses a wide range of skills and principles, the effective management of the principles, such as scheduling, time management, quality management, risk management, teamwork, and planning enables the student to achieve set objectives, be it in writing term papers, doing assignments, or undertaking examinations easily, faster, and efficiently, while generating higher quality output (10). These principles apply even more to professional work, contemporary organizations are becoming more project oriented, and require teams to increasingly deliver more high quality output with increasingly fewer resources. By applying project management principles such as those put forth by PMBOK (Project Management Body of Knowledge), including the 12 knowledge areas, computer science graduates and practitioners are able to be more productive, manage risks better, deliver quality work faster and within the triple constraints of scope, time, and cost (15). Teamwork is important for computer science students for their success because it enables them to work with teaching staff, external partners, and fellow students to undertake projects, learn effectively, and develop strong team skills. Most professional work involves working with teams, be they superiors, subordinates, or colleagues, or customers and other external stakeholders such as policy makers and authorities. Subsequently, having the right team skills, such as communication, cooperation, collaboration, and strong interpersonal skills greatly enhances the productivity of a computer science professional. Research shows students are able to develop higher-level skills and learn better in team activities that require cooperation, in contrast to traditional learning. 

The tool used by the author is known as ‘Cite this for Me’ found at https://www.citethisforme.com/.

Referencing is an integral and highly critical part of academic work because it shows one’s depth and breadth of research, puts the submitted work in its context, and recognizes work done by other entities that have been critical in helping an author complete a scholarly/ academic article. Referencing helps in avoiding plagiarism, which is the use of another’s material verbatim, and shows lack of work by the author because it could imply copying and pasting work done by another entity and passing it as one’s own. Referencing, therefore, is important in avoiding plagiarism, in which case plagiarism can be intentional or accidental; referencing is used in conjunction with rephrasing and paraphrasing (16). Referencing also indicates that one has understood the topic they are writing and provides evidence to support the authors’ opinions, ideas, and arguments. By acknowledging using other people’s work, an author shows the reader the sources of material used to develop an article. It also gives evidence of an authors’ claims, inferences, and assertions, and also illustrates to the reader knowledge and awareness of the chosen area for which the article is written. Referencing is the most critical component of academic/ scholarly writing since as it adds authenticity to a written article. Referencing enables the readers of the work to find the original information sources for purposes of evaluation and to enable them read such material for their own understanding, or even for further research (16). By acknowledging other authors and the use of their work, referencing gives credit to those authors and shows respect for, and acknowledgement of other people’s intellectual work. Referencing is done on various sources of information, including verifiable websites/ online sources, books, journals, magazines and newspapers, videos and images (especially those found online) television programs, films, and documentaries, e-mails/ letters, personal interviews, online discussion forums, and lecture notes. Using a wide variety of references and sources indicates that an author undertook in depth and far reaching (wide) research, and validates the findings while improving the quality of one’s arguments.  Referencing is also a requirement by several academic institutions as acknowledging other authors improves those authors’ own ratings in the quality and depth of research, as well as contribution to the given topic of study (16). Accurate referencing also enables readers to distinguish between the content put forth by the author (their ideas, arguments), and what they have borrowed from relevant authors to back-up, augment, or support their own arguments. 

Once one accesses the page, they make a number of choices, including choosing the referencing style (say APA, Harvard, IEEE). The writer then selects what they minted to reference; this could be a book, a journal, a web page, a conference paper, a video, or audio. Once they have made this choice, they enter the identifying feature, for instance the ISBN if it is a book, the web URL if they are referencing a website, or the DOI (digital object identifier) if it is a journal. The tool can do an automatic referencing by searching for the specific articles, or require manual entry, for example, if it is a conference paper being referenced. However, it comes with guidelines that enable the user to know what content to enter in what specific space, such as author name, dates, article title, among others. Once done, the citation tool asks one to verify the information they entered, and once done, asks the user to complete the citation. The tool then generates the reference in the correct format (e.g. for Harvard or APA) and creates the in-text reference, as well as the bibliographic entry. The user can create a name for references for a specific paper and save for later use. This tool also enables exporting the reference list to another application, such as a word processor, or direct copying and pasting. The process is illustrated in the screenshots below;

Step 1: Navigating to the citation tool  

Step 2: Selecting the desired citation style  

Step 3: Entering identifying information such as URL or DOI  

Step 4: Populating details 

Step 5: The citation is generated in the correct format for the citation style 

References 

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2. University of Sunderland. What skills do you need to study Computing? - University of Sunderland [Internet]. University of Sunderland. 2021 [cited 24 March 2022]. Available from: https://www.sunderland.ac.uk/study/explore/computer-science/what-skills-study-computing/
3. Bulent A, Aydin B, Hakan K. An Analysis of Undergraduates’ Study Skills. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences. 2022; 197:1355-1362.
4. Huffman W, Huffmanb A. Beyond basic study skills: The use of technology for success in college. Computers in Human Behavior. 2012;28(2):583-590.
5. Adams R, Blair E. Impact of Time Management Behaviors on Undergraduate Engineering Students’ Performance. SAGE Open Journals [Internet]. 2022 [cited 24 March 2022];9(1). Available from: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2158244018824506
6. Alyami A, Abdulwahed A, Azhar A, Binsaddik A, Bafaraj S. Impact of Time-Management on the Student’s Academic Performance: A Cross-Sectional Study. Creative Education [Internet]. 2021 [cited 24 March 2022];12(3). Available from: https://www.scirp.org/journal/paperinformation.aspx?paperid=107573
7. The New Times. How poor time management affects grades [Internet]. The New Times | Rwanda. 2017 [cited 24 March 2022]. Available from: https://www.newtimes.co.rw/section/read/224043
8. Das P, Bera S. Impact of Time Management on Students' Academic Achievement at Secondary Level. GIS Science Jorurnal. 2021;8(2).
9. Management Study HQ. 10 Reasons Why Students Need to Learn Project Management? - Management Study HQ [Internet]. Management Study HQ. 2022 [cited 24 March 2022]. Available from: https://www.managementstudyhq.com/project-management.html
10. Bridges J. Top 20 Project Management Skills for 2022 [Internet]. Project Manager. 2022 [cited 24 March 2022]. Available from: https://www.projectmanager.com/blog/project-management-skills
11. Teamwork. The 6 Essential Project Management Skills Every PM Needs [Internet]. Teamwork.com. 2022 [cited 24 March 2022]. Available from: https://www.teamwork.com/project-management-guide/project-management-skills/
12. Vivian R, Falkner K, Falkner N. Computer science students' causal attributions for successful and unsuccessful outcomes in programming assignments. Proceedings of the 13th Koli Calling International Conference on Computing Education Research - Koli Calling '13. 2013;
13. Milosz M, Milosz E. Professional Work of Computer Science Students and their Academic Achievements – Imagination vs. Reality. International Journal of Engineering Pedagogy (iJEP). 2018;8(1):16.
14. Radermacher A, Walia G, Knudson D. Investigating the skill gap between graduating students and industry expectations. Companion Proceedings of the 36th International Conference on Software Engineering. 2014;
15. Schwalbe K. Information Technology Project Management. 9th ed. Boston, Massachusetts: Cengage; 2019.
16. University of South Wales. Why is Referencing Important? [Internet]. Student.unsw.edu.au. 2019 [cited 25 March 2022]. Available from: https://www.student.unsw.edu.au/why-referencing-important