Fostering Problem-Based and Challenge-Based Learning Through Students' Engagement in Hackathons

Abstract

There has been an ongoing effort to develop creative instructional techniques aimed at improving skills, knowledge, and competency of ICT students in developing nations. To join efforts in this endeavor, a two-year project at the Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) introduced the “Morogoro Youth Empowerment through the Establishment of Social Innovation Lab (YEESI Lab).” Through a series of hackathons, students engaged in collaborative learning experiences alongside multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and transdisciplinary peers. Diverse problem- and project-based learning (PBL) approaches were used, enabling active and authentic interactions between peer students and students and their instructors. This chapter describes the experiences, lessons, and outcomes derived mostly from hackathons hosted by the Zindi Africa platform in which YEESI Lab students participated. Notably, the results reveal a trend in which students who did not specialize in ICT degree programs as well as those who did not attend the synchronous learning sessions performed the best.