Enhancing postgraduate students’ technical skills: perceptions of modified team-based learning in a six-week multi-subject Bootcamp-style CS course

ABSTRACT Background and Context Objective This study explores postgraduate students’ perceptions of the modified team-based learning instructional approach used to teach it and the extent to which the Bootcamp course improves their practical skills. Method In the beginning, participants (n = 185) were asked to rate their practical experience on the taught topics. At the end of ProgSD in S1 and Semester 2 (S2) during the Covid19 lockdown, respondents (n = 150 and n = 43, respectively) were surveyed on their perceptions of ProgSD. Wilcoxon test, Mann-Whitney U Test and Kruskal-Wallis test were used to analyse data. Thematic Analysis was used to analyse students’ comments. Findings Results showed that students’ practical experience significantly increased at the end of ProgSD with a p-value < 0.05. Median ratings of the modified TBL activities and perception of teamwork were positive overall, and many (66.5%) felt more confident about taking the courses in S2. Qualitative results supported these findings. Implications Findings have implications for practitioners facing the challenges identified here. Given the current pandemic, the authors suggest approaches to redesign face-to-face activities (tAPP) for online teaching and learning.