Developing and using animations and simulations to teach
computer science courses: the case of University of Dar es Salaam
Joel S. Mtebe
University of Dar Es Salaam, jmtebe@gmail.com
Abstract
Concepts in computer science courses are among the most complicated to teach and they pose
considerable challenges to the majority of university lecturers particularly in developing
countries institutions. Their complexity is due to the fact that they demand many demonstrations,
practical exercises and normally involve many assignments. This becomes even more difficult
where classes are large and facilities are few. Although, several studies indicate that the use of
ICT particularly multimedia in education has a potential to alleviate these problems, its effective
integration in improving the quality of teaching and learning remain a research issue.
It is for this reason, University of Dar Es salaam (UDSM) through their Centre for Virtual
Learning (CVL), and funded by Partnership for Higher Education in Africa (PHEA), decided to
implement a pilot project for developing and integrating animations and simulations into
computer science courses. The project assisted lecturers to redesign their course blue prints by
identifying areas where animations and simulation can simplify understanding difficult concepts.
. In addition to that, the project developed animation learning objects which were integrated into
course blue prints, converted in eLearning format and made available via Moodle LMS and CDs
for students’ access.
Through this project, we conducted a study to provide a critical analysis of how the use of
animations in computer science courses has enhanced subject matter concept mastery and
improved course design at UDSM. The study shows that 67% of respondents (of 108 students)
indicated that animations and simulations in courses enabled them to grasp difficult concepts
more easily. Moreover, the study has shown that the process of developing animations and
simulations improves the quality of course design. Lecturers strongly agreed that this process
ensured that course goals, course content and methods of assessment were well planned and
integrated in the courses, unlike before. However, it is essential that the pedagogical and
instructional design principles be incorporated in the whole process of course development to
realize the benefit and usefulness of the developed animations.
1
1. Introduction
Concepts in computer science courses are among the most complicated to teach and they pose
considerable challenges to the majority of university lecturers particularly in developing
countries institutions. Their complexity is due to the fact that they demand many demonstrations,
practical exercises and normally involve many assignments. This becomes even more difficult
where classes are large and facilities are few. Moreover, many higher education institutions in
developing countries are faced with a massive shortage of teaching staff particularly in science
courses such as computer science. These challenges and many others may result in poor quality
of graduates and discourage students from further studies.
Several solutions gave been proposed to alleviate these problems such as increasing studentcomputer ratio, improving teaching pedagogy and increasing number of teaching staff. On other
hand, several studies indicate that the use of ICT particularly multimedia in education has a
potential to alleviate these problems and offer several benefits in teaching science courses. These
benefits includes help to develop understanding of abstract and difficult concepts which are
otherwise considered to be ‘invisible’[1] [2] that would be very difficult to grasp from words
alone [3]. Despite these potential benefits ICT can offer, its effective integration in improving the
quality of teaching and learning remain a research issue.
In recognizing the potential benefits of ICT in improving teaching and learning, University of
Dar Es salaam (UDSM) through their Centre for Virtual Learning (CVL), and funded by
Partnership for Higher Education in Africa (PHEA), decided to implement a pilot project for
developing and integrating animations and simulations into computer science courses. The
project was implemented in collaboration with South Africa Institute of Distance Education
(SAIDE) which targeted courses from the department of computer science.
To assess the effectiveness of the intervention, we conducted a study to provide a critical
analysis of how the use of animations in computer science courses has enhanced subject matter
concept mastery and improved course design at UDSM. This paper reports on the results
obtained from the study which was conducted from 108 students who used animated courses for
semester II, 2012. Moreover, data were collected from lecturers who were involved in the
process of developing courses.
2
2. Background
The University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) has made tremendous investment in ICT
infrastructure to enhance the quality of teaching and learning. Some notable achievements
include the increased bandwidth to STM 1/155MBS, deployment of a Wireless LAN (Hotspot) at
the main campus and establishment of public access rooms (PARs). Other achievements include
the deployment of systems such as Human Resource Information System (HURIS), Financial
Information System (FIS), Academic Register Information System (ARIS), Library Information
System (LIBIS) and various eLearning Systems.
Moreover, UDSM has also made considerable investment in eLearning initiatives since 1998.
These initiatives include introduction of the Blackboard LMS through the Technology Enhanced
Independent Learning (TEIL) project (1998-2003), and the Advanced Level End User
Competence Upgrading Project (2004-2007) [5]. Most of these initiatives focused on installation
of network infrastructure and capacity building for core staff to provide technical support to
academic staff and students. Through these initiatives more than 2,000 staff members were
trained on how to use the Blackboard LMS and a total of 415 courses were created and uploaded
[6], but the effective integration of ICT in teaching and learning lies beyond mere access and
ICT literacy [7]. According to Mtebe et al. (2011), little was done beyond improving the
technological environment of the institution and equipping a few academic staff with educational
technology skills. Moreover, most of 415 courses which were uploaded in the Blackboard LMS
consisted of skeletal course guides or course hand-outs with minimum content, summarized in
the form of PowerPoint or Word documents. These courses lack interactivity and were designed
without considering eLearning pedagogical approaches. The problems highlighted above
regarding poor quality of course design have directly impacted on the mastery of course concepts
for students and ultimately affects the quality of graduates.
It is in the wake of the above-cited problems that CVL decided to implement a pilot project for
creating interactive course materials (courses integrated with animations and simulations) for
computer science and other courses. The project developed multimedia enriched course materials
for each selected course to improve the quality of course design and enable students to master
subject content. It aimed to help staff to re-design their courses for eLearning, emphasizing
student centered pedagogy. The project also assisted lecturers in developing interactive
animations and simulations based on their requirements, integrating them into their courses, and
distributing the resulting learning objects (LO) to students. The courses and embedded LOs were
uploaded in the Moodle LMS and burned in CDs for students’ access.
It was envisaged that the design of interactive courses would lead to improved quality of course
design, improved quality of student learning and the opportunity to build student self-motivation
devices into courses. The project had the following components:


Identifying and capacitating experienced academic staff from the computer science
department for creating quality e-content materials;
Designing, developing and piloting interactive course materials (integrated with
animations and simulations);
3


Developing the capacity of CVL staff in the area of multimedia and other educational
technologies;
Sensitization of staff and students to the use of developed course materials
3. Research problem
This case study is a critical analysis of how the use of animations in science courses has
enhanced subject matter concept mastery and improved course design at UDSM. This case study
is premised on the argument that animations and simulations have the potential to enhance the
quality of science course design and student engagement at UDSM .
The main objectives of the study are to:


Show how integration of animations and simulations in science courses improved the
quality of the design of the courses.
Determine if the inclusion of animations and simulations in science courses enhances
concept mastery of subject contents
4. A theoretical framework and Related Work
According to Henderson (1994), there is a growing interest amongst those who are involved in
the teaching of computing to see opportunities for using computer animations or simulation to
help present difficult concepts in the subject. This is because previous studies have shown that
using animations and simulations in teaching science courses offers many benefits in improving
students learning. These benefits include: help to develop understanding of abstract concepts
which are otherwise considered to be ‘invisible’[1]; help to understand difficult and complex
processes [2] that would be very difficult to grasp from words alone [3]. Moreover, animations
are thought to support students with different learning styles by presenting content in a variety of
multimedia (video, audio and sound). “By giving students different ways to learn concepts, it is
possible to attract more novices, especially women and minorities, to computer science” [9].
These potential benefits sparked the interest of several researchers to conduct various studies and
pilots to determine the role of animations and simulations in teaching various science courses.
Some of the notable studies include the development and use of animations for teaching courses
such as cell biology [10], operating systems [11], discrete structures [12], histology [13],
molecular chemistry [14] and mathematical concepts [15]. The majority of these studies appear
to indicate that animated learning materials are more useful in understanding difficult concepts
than equivalent static learning materials. While most of these studies have focused on a single
subject or discipline, our study has focused on more than one course in the specific domain of
computer science.
For animations to be effective, educators who use animations in education settings must
understand the principles that govern their use [16]. These principles include integrating
animations and simulations into their instructional design and be part of their pedagogical
framework. Moreover, based on dual-coding theory by Paivio (1991), they should be coupled
4
with lecture notes, and should not be used alone. Szczerbick, Syrjakow, & Berdu (2000) stressed
that “animations can be utilised to liven up a lecture, where lecturers can use interactive
animations to better demonstrate and explain the behaviour of complex dynamic systems”.
Secondly, they can be used to improve online versions of lectures where interactive animations
presented in a lecture can also be offered on the Web.
Developing quality digital animation is a complex task and requires highly qualified staff with
both technical and pedagogical skills so that desirable learning experiences can be realized. Two
factors are essential during the designing and developing of animations and simulations for
education purposes. Firstly, they must be attractive, engaging and intuitive while enabling
learners to navigate easily to learn content. If animations are not user-friendly, learners spend
more time learning how to use them rather than learning the content [19] and are often
cognitively very demanding, resulting in decreased learning outcomes [20]. On the other hand,
intuitive interfaces and clear information design allow learners to focus on learning content.
Secondly, despite their attractiveness, they must adequately meet the needs of the instructional
process and support learners’ behaviors and actions [21]. It should be noted that “when the users
of the technology are learners we don’t need interfaces that support “doing tasks” but interfaces
that support “learning while doing tasks”” [22]. Addressing these issues will help learners find
animations easier to use and also enable students to learn difficult course concepts
[14].Therefore, developing useful animations requires technical staff to strike a balance between
technological usability and pedagogical objectives. The LOs must also be designed based on
known principles of learning [14]. The learning theories such as Gagné's (1985) nine levels of
learning and Bloom’s Learning Taxonomy [24] should be incorporated in designing courses
blue prints. These theories play a significant role in helping lecturers to construct measurable
learning objectives and therefore ensuring the developed courses attains the intended programme
goal. On other hand, the use of these models and theories in developing and integrating
animations into courses ensures that developed LOs meet intended learning objectives and cater
for different learning styles.
5. The Research Design Implementation
5.1
Methodology
This case study employed both qualitative and quantitative research methods to collect data.
Questionnaires were prepared and distributed to students, instructional designers and lecturers.
Qualitative data collection methods included one-to-one interviews with lecturers who were
involved in the process of developing course blue prints and focus group discussions with
instructional designers and technical staff who were developing animations and integrating them
into courses. Moreover, documentary evidence in the form of developed animations and
integrated courses was used to assess the quality of developed courses based on proposed course
design quality rubrics indicated in Appendix 2. Questionnaires were analyzed using Google doc
tools.
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5.2
Results
The results of this study are divided into two categories, namely:


To determine if the adopted process for course development improved the quality of
course design
To determine if animations and simulations enhanced concept mastery of subject contents
5.2.1 Improvement in Quality of Course Design
In order to determine if the process of developing animations and simulations had an impact on
improving the quality of the course design, we conducted two tasks to collect information. Firstly
we developed Course design Quality Metrics as shown in Appendix 1 which provided guidelines
on how the quality of a course design should be judged. These metrics were adapted from course
development template (given to lecturer during course development) and Quality Matters Rubric
Standards 2011-2013 (extracted from www.QMprogram.org). Secondly we distributed
questionnaires to lecturers to obtain their opinion on the usefulness of the use of animations and
simulations in improving the quality of course design and enhancing concept mastery.
Task 1
From the table metrics developed (Appendix 1), it shows that in most of the courses the overall
course information was made transparent to the student at the beginning of the course. The
information included the titles of modules, course objectives or outcomes, pre-requisites, list of
assignments, lecturer contact information, student evaluation and grading criteria. Although
these guidelines are always available in departments, students are not given them in advance of
face to face settings, unless they request from the head of the department. Based on the course
development template given to lecturers, they were able to fill in and provide all the information.
Moreover, a course calendar was developed and provided in almost all courses. The course
calendar is very important because it helps students to learn at their own pace and plan their
learning time accordingly. Students learn better when they control the pace of their learning [25].
With the presence of the calendar, students can plan when to submit assignments and when to
undertake tests or exams.
The challenging part was the development of animations, embedding into various modules and
ensuring that animations and simulations are based on promoting the achievement of the stated
learning objectives. The metrics shows that developed animations and simulations presented a
variety of perspectives on the course content. Also most lecturers were able to develop learning
activities/practical exercises that encourage reflection.
Task 2
The second task involved eliciting their opinions on the use of animations and stimulation to
improve the quality of course design and enhanced concept mastery in their courses. 71%
strongly agreed that animations and simulations are useful in enhancing students’ mastery of
difficult course concepts while 29% agreed and indicted that the process was also useful. They
6
also indicated that the use of animations and simulations in their courses makes explanation of
difficult concepts easy.
When asked about the usefulness of the project and the use of the animations and simulations in
general, they suggested that



CVL and departments need to look at how this process can be a continuous process; it
should not end up only with these very few courses. Other departments within the
University should follow this example and make use of CVL who are well equipped with
facilities and skills in developing these animations
More courses should be integrated with multimedia for easy concept mastery
The exercise is time consuming; in particular, more time is needed to work with CVL
instructional designers in developing storyboards for animations
5.2.2 Animations and simulations in enhancing concept mastery of
subject contents
To determine if the use of animations and simulations enabled students to understand difficult
concepts, we developed questionnaires and distributed them to students at the end of Semester II,
May 2012.
In these questionnaires, we were interested in finding out about a) perception on interface design
and content arrangement and presentation in courses, and if they were appropriately designed for
independent learning b) determining their perception of the usefulness of animations and
simulations in making difficult concepts easier to understand c) mentioning some examples of
the concepts which were made easier as a result of animations and simulations d) their opinion
on the overall usefulness (in terms of course mastery) of animations and simulations materials in
learning science courses.
The questionnaires were completed by 108 students, where 86 were male (80%) and 22 were
female (20%). Out of these respondents 27 were in their first year of study, 46 were second year
and 35 were third year.
Firstly, when asked on a 5 tier scale about their perception on interface design and content
arrangement presented in courses, and if they were well designed appropriately for independent
learning, the results showed that 78% (52 agreed and 32 strongly agreed) of respondents
indicated that the animations were well designed with content properly arranged to foster
independent learning. On other hand (12) 11% were not sure, (12) 11% disagreed and no
respondent strongly disagreed. The results are shown in Figure 1.
7
Figure 1: Perceptions of students on interface design and content arrangement in fostering independent
learning
Secondly, when asked about their perception on the usefulness of animations and simulations in
making difficult concepts easier to understand on a 5 tier scale, the results showed that 67% (49
agreed and 23 strongly agreed) of respondents agree that animations and simulations made
difficult concepts easier, (26) 24% were not sure, (8) 7% disagreed while (2) 2% strongly
disagreed. The summary of results are shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2: Perception of students on animations and simulations in making difficulty concepts easier
Thirdly when they were asked to mention specific examples of animations and simulations
which made some of course concepts easier, respondents mentioned the following animated
concepts:


The concept of deadlock in operating systems
In networking, animations and simulation help to understand how traffic travels from one
device to another.
In networking, understanding the flow of data from sender to the receiver by the OSI
seven layers was made easier to understand through that simulation because it shows how
data changes from top layer to the bottom layer.
Other concepts mentioned include:



E-R Diagram,
Boyles law,
B-+trees( insertion and deletion ) as shown in figure 5
8



Data encryption and decryption using DES algorithm,
Data Structure (Recursion, concept of Towers of Hanoi),
Applications of gates in digital circuits,
Finally we requested their opinion on the overall usefulness (in terms of course mastery) of
animations and simulations materials in learning science courses on a 5-tier scale. The results
showed that 84% (38 agreed and 53 strongly agreed) of respondents indicated that animations
and simulations are useful in science courses. On other hand, (12) 11% said they are somewhat
useful, (5) 5% indicated they are a little useful while no respondent said they are not useful at all.
The results are shown in Figure 3.
Figure 3: Usefulness of animations and simulations materials in learning science courses
Figure 5: Snapshots on B+ tree Insertion Animation in Database implementation course
6. Discussion & Lessons Learned
This study has shown that the process of developing animations and simulations improves the
quality of course design. Lecturers strongly agreed that this process ensured that course goals,
course content and methods of assessment were well planned and integrated in the courses,
unlike before. However, it is essential that the pedagogical and instructional design principles be
incorporated in the whole process of course development to realize the benefit and usefulness of
the developed animations. CVL developed a course design template which was given to lecturers
9
when they were developing course blue prints. This template was developed in collaboration
with instructional designers and experts from the School of Education (SoED) and addressed
specific questions relating to educational technology. It is through this template that all
pedagogical considerations were incorporated. The template incorporated important pedagogical
aspects from Gagne’s Nine Levels of Learning [23], Bloom’s Taxonomy [24] of learning
objectives and other related principles.
We also examined the effect of animations and simulations in enabling students to master course
content and making difficult concepts easier. The study has revealed that “animations can serve
as effective multimedia tools to engage these students while facilitating and enhancing the
student learning experience by explaining difficult concepts through visual means instead of the
traditional way of heavy textual based presentation” [4]. They also enabled students to learn
difficult concepts and master course contents. This conclusion comes from the fact that 67% of
respondents indicated that animations and simulations in courses enabled them to grasp difficult
concepts more easily. Other researchers also came to the same conclusion [10],[15], [26], [13],
[11] on the potential benefits of animations and simulations in science courses. On other hand
some students had different opinions, although 24% were undecided and only 9% indicated that
animations were not useful and did not have positive effect in learning difficult concepts.
The study also revealed that some lecturers were using the same animations and simulations to
complement face to face teaching. This shows that animations and simulations are not only
useful in online or independent learning but also enable lecturers to easily explain difficult
concepts in face to face classrooms.
7. Conclusion and Future Work
This study has shown that the use of animations and simulations assists students to better
understand complex and difficult concepts in various computer courses. Although the project
focused on computer science courses, the same benefits can be attained in any science course. In
addition, this process enabled quality course materials to be made available to students,
improved course design and ensured the availability of teaching resources even when some
experienced staff member retires or leaves the university. The challenge remains of
sustainability, especially how to ensure these courses are reviewed and updated regularly.
Due to advancement in technology and availability of equipment, the possibilities for educational
animations and simulations are endless. We recommend that future research in the development
of animations should look at some available technologies to assist students with disabilities such
as the Voice and auditory User interfaces. The current animations are mostly web based with
some audio and video complementing the text course notes.
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8. References
[1]
M. Steinke, T. Huk, and C. Floto, “Helping teachers develop computer animations for improving
learning in science education. C. Crawford et al. (Eds.),” in Society for Information Technology
and Teacher Education International Conference, 2003, pp. 3022-3025.
[2]
V. Stoffa and N. Slovakia, “Modelling and Simulation as a Recognizing Method in Education,”
Educational Media International, vol. 41, no. 1, pp. 51-58, 2004.
[3]
A. Woodcock, J. Burns, S. Mount, R. Newman, and E. Gaura, “Animating pervasive computing,”
23rd annual international conference on Design of communication: documenting & designing for
pervasive information. ACM, Coventry, United Kingdom, 2005.
[4]
V. Aravinthan and J. Worden, “Animations as a tool for enhancing teaching and learning
outcomes in Civil Engineering courses,” 2010 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE), p.
T4C-1-T4C-6, Oct. 2010.
[5]
J. S. Mtebe, H. Dachi, and C. Raphael, “Integrating ICT into teaching and learning at the
University of Dar es Salaam,” Special Issue: Distance Education for Empowerment and
Development in Africa, vol. 32, no. 2, pp. 289-294, 2011.
[6]
UDSM, “Blackboard Courses Audit Report.” 2010.
[7]
J. Peeraer and P. V. Petegem, “Factors Influencing Integration of ICT in Higher Education in
Vietnam,” vol. 84, no. 2005, 2000.
[8]
W. D. Henderson, “Animated models for teaching aspects of computer systems organization,”
IEEE Transactions on Education, vol. 37, no. 3, pp. 247-256, 1994.
[9]
G. D. Blank, S. Roy, S. Sahasrabudhe, W. M. Pottenger, and G. D. Kessler, “Adapting multimedia
for diverse student learning styles,” Computing Sciences in Colleges, vol. 18, no. 3, 2003.
[10]
B. J. Stith, “Use of Animation in Teaching Cell Biology,” Cell Biol Educ, vol. 3, no. 3, pp. 181–
188, 2004.
[11]
B. M. English and S. B. Rainwater, “The effectiveness of animations in an undergraduate
operating systems course,” Computing Sciences in Colleges, vol. 21, no. 5, 2006.
[12]
M. Zhang, “The Use of Computer Animation in Teaching Discrete Structures Course.” Computer
Science Department , Winona State University, 2000.
[13]
M. A. Brisbourne, S. S. Chin, E. Melnyk, and D. A. Begg, “Using web-based animations to teach
histology.,” Anat Rec, vol. 269, no. 1, pp. 11-19, 2002.
[14]
D. Falvo, “Animations and simulations for teaching and learning molecular chemistry.,”
International Journal of Technology in Teaching and Learning, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 68–77, 2008.
11
[15]
M. Taylor, D. Pountneya, and I. Malabara, “Animation as an aid for the teaching of mathematical
concepts,” Journal of Further and Higher Education, vol. 31, no. 3, pp. 249-261, 2007.
[16]
J. G. Ruiz, D. a Cook, and A. J. Levinson, “Computer animations in medical education: a critical
literature review.,” Medical education, vol. 43, no. 9, pp. 838-46, Sep. 2009.
[17]
A. Paivio, “Dual coding theory: retrospect and current status,” Can. J. Psychol, vol. 45, pp. 255–
287, 1991.
[18]
H. Szczerbick, M. Syrjakow, and J. Berdu, “Interactive Web-Based Animations for Teaching and
Learning,” in 32nd conference on Winter simulation, 2000.
[19]
R. Lanzilotti, C. Ardito, M. F. Costabile, D. Informatica, U. Bari, and A. D. Angeli, “eLSE
Methodology : a Systematic Approach to the e-Learning Systems Evaluation,” Learning, vol. 9,
pp. 42-53, 2006.
[20]
R. N. B. D. Koning and H. K. Tabbers, “Attention Cueing as a Means to Enhance Learning from
an Animation,” vol. 746, pp. 731-746, 2007.
[21]
M. A. Rentróia-bonito, T. Guerreiro, A. Martins, V. Fernandes, and J. Jorge, “Evaluating Learning
Support Systems Usability An Empirical Approach,” no. September, pp. 7-8, 2006.
[22]
P. Zaharias, K. Vassilopoulou, and A. Poulymenakou, “Designing On-Line Learning Courses:
Implications for Usability,” 2002.
[23]
R. M. Gagné, The conditions of learning and theory of instruction. New York: Holt, Rinehart and
Winston., 1985.
[24]
B. S. Bloom, Taxonomy of Educational Objectives Book 1: Cognitive Domain. 1956.
[25]
R. E. Mayer and P. Chandler, “When learning is just a click away: does simple user interaction
foster deeper understanding of multimedia messages?,” Journal of Educational Psychology, vol.
93, pp. 390-397, 2001.
[26]
M. Taylor, S. Duffy, and G. Hughes, “The use of animation in higher education teaching to
support students with dyslexia,” Education + Training, vol. 49, no. 1, pp. 25-35, 2007.
9. Appendices
Appendix 1: Proposed Course Design Quality Metrics
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A:GENERAL
COURSE
INFORMATION
CH 240
IS 263
IS 273
Course Title
Physical
Chemistry
for
Engineering
Students
Introduction
to Database
Unix
Systems Database
Administration
Systems
in
Linux Implementation
Operating
System
IT
Security
Course Code
YES
YES
YES
YES
YES
Lecturer(s) Introduction
YES
YES
YES
YES
YES
Course Overview
YES
YES
YES
YES
YES
Course
Outcomes/Objectives
YES
YES
YES
YES
YES
YES
YES
YES
YES
YES
Course assessment and YES
Grading options
YES
YES
YES
YES
YES
YES
YES
YES
YES
YES
YES
YES
YES
Clearly stated
outcomes
course YES
YES
YES
YES
YES
Objectives
stated YES
YES
YES
YES
Pre-requisites
Course Calendar
IS 353
IS 364
B: INSTRUCTIONAL
MATERIALS
Module Xi:
are
13
clearly and written from
the students’ perspective.
The
instructional YES
materials contribute to
the achievement of the
stated
module/unit
learning objectives.
YES
Content pitched at level
matching
course
outcomes
YES
YES
YES
YES
YES
YES
Animations
and YES
simulations present a
variety of perspectives
on the course content.
YES
YES
YES
YES
There
are
learning YES
activities/practical
exercises that encourage
reflection
YES
YES
NO
NO
NO
YES
YES
YES
The learning activities
promote the achievement
of the stated learning
objectives.
Further readings are YES
provided and promote
the achievement of the
stated
learning
objectives.
14