Assessing the Effectiveness of Experiential-Learning-Based Teaching Tools in Cybersecurity Courses (Abstract Only)

The poster describes our project of Assessing the Effectiveness of Experiential-Learning-Based Teaching Tools in Cybersecurity Courses. We are assessing the effectiveness of experiential-learning-based teaching tools for 10 cybersecurity topics in five cybersecurity courses. For each topic, two teaching methods are selected: the control group teaching method, and the experimental group teaching method. The two teaching methods are compared to answer one of the two research questions: (1) Is using an experiential-learning-based teaching tool more effective in improving student learning than the traditional teaching method without using the teaching tool? (2) Is one experiential-learning-based teaching tool more effective than another experiential-learning-based teaching tool? We will assess the effectiveness of the teaching methods via three measures: (1) improvement in student learning outcomes, (2) improvement in student motivation in learning the topic, and (3) improvement in the student experience such as student enjoyment, satisfaction, and perceived difficulty in learning the topic. The knowledge gained from this research can be used by cybersecurity educators at other institutions to use effective teaching tools to improve cybersecurity education practices, which has the potential to increase the number of students well-prepared for entering cybersecurity careers.