Transcript A Survey of Student Attitudes: Database Competition NCC 2003

A Survey of Student Attitudes:
Database Competition
NCC 2003
Lissa F. Pollacia
Pam Miller
Northwestern State University
Claude Simpson
University of Texas Pan American
Nola McDaniel
McNeese State University
Database Design and
Implementation Contest
New for 2003!
Two components:
Database Design
•Entity Relationship
Diagram
•Relational Schema
Implementation
•Access 2002 database “shell”
•Problem statement:
Table operations
Queries
Forms
Reports
Web page
Switchboard
Macros and VBA modules
Time was critical!
Exit Survey
• Administered as teams turned in their
solution
• Demographics:
– 65% male, 35% female
– 94% in 2-person teams
– Average of 21 computing hours
Database classes completed
Class/Level
Number
indicated
Introduction to Database Concepts
(Freshman and Sophomore)
19
Access (all levels)
25
SQL, SQL Server, or MySQL (all levels) 11
Oracle (all levels)
18
Database Design and Administration
(Junior and Senior)
31
Data Warehousing or Data Mining
(Senior)
3
Results for overall contest
Overall contest:
% Agree or
neutral
% Disagree
Problem statement was well
organized.
80.2
19.8
The instructions were clear.
77.1
22.9
I was familiar with most Access 65.6
operations.
34.4
I had enough time to complete
most tasks.
46.9
53.1
The computer equipment was
adequate.
76.0
24.0
The room environment was
good.
58.3
41.7
Results for Modeling
(Part I)
Conceptual Modeling Component:
% Agree
or
neutral
%
Disagree
Instructions were clear for this
part.
83.3
16.7
Length of problem was too long.
65.6
34.4
There was enough time to complete
this part.
77.1
22.9
Results for Implementation
(Part II)
Access Implementation
Component:
% Agree
or neutral
%
Disagree
Instructions were clear for this
part.
76.0
24.0
Length of problem was too long.
87.5
12.5
There was enough time to
complete this part.
53.1
46.9
Comparison of adequate time to
complete Part I vs. Part II
Agree or
neutral
Disagree
Part I adequate
time
78%
22%
Part II adequate
time
50.5%
49.5%
chi-square = 13.785, df=1,
p = 0.0002
Significant Difference
Compare “beginners” vs.
“advanced” students
Part I: Difficulty of Modeling by Groups
percentage
50.00
40.00
30.00
Group 1
Group 2
20.00
10.00
0.00
1
2
3
4
5
Level of difficulty
No Significant Difference
percentage
Part II: Difficulty of
Implementation by Groups
50
40
30
20
10
0
group1
group2
1
2
3
4
5
Level of difficulty
No Significant Difference
Room environment
• Compared responses
of those who said the
environment was OK
(58%)
• Versus those who
reported problems
Surprisingly…
No Significant Difference
for any questions!
Conclusion:
• Problem statement was wellorganized
• Instructions were clear
• Problem length & level of
difficulty about right
Big Success!
Problems with room environment:
• Large number of
teams
• Many teams did not
pre-register
– Last minute room
accommodations
• Problems were
unavoidable
2004 Database Competition
• NCC Omaha, April 1 – 4
• Database competition:
Friday, April 2nd
• Problem statement: similar
format
• Better job with logistics
• Better survey questions
See
you
there!