An Alternative Technique to Improve IS/IT Students' Learning of Database Normalization
Hsiang-Jui Kung, Han Reichgelt
The teaching ofdatabase normalization is often based on the definition ofnormalforms. However; this approach may not be the best way to help IS/IT students effectively understand the database normalization process. This paper proposes an alternative technique to be used as a supplement to the traditional technique of teaching database normalization. The alternative technique uses functional dependencies to normalize database schemas. The paper empiricallycomparesstudentperformance ondifferent normalizationexercisesinwhichstudentswere instructedeither to usethetraditional normalization techniqueor the alternative technique. It reports a positive correlationbetween the techniques used and mean exercise scores. It also shows that students seem to retain their ability to normalize tables.
Hsiang-Jui Kung is assistant professor of information systems at Georgia Southern University. He received his B.S. in naval science from the Chinese Naval Academy (Kaohsiung, Taiwan) in November 1980, M.S. in computer science from Northwestern University (Evanston, Illinois) in June 1990, and Ph.D. from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Troy, New York) in December 1997. His research focuses primarilyonsoftware development/maintenance, e-commerce, and IS/IT education. Reports ofhis research have appeared in AMCIS, ICIER, IEEE, and INFORMSconference proceedings and the European Journal ofMarketing.
Han Reichgeltholds degrees in philosophy and psychology from the University of Nijmegen in The Netherlands, and a Ph.D. in cognitive science from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. Previously, he was a research fellow at the University of Edinburgh, lecturer in psychology at the University ofNottingham, and professor ofcomputer science at the University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica. He currently is acting chair of the Department of Information Technology at Georgia Southern University. He is the (co-) author ofsome sixty journal articles and refereed conference papers, as well as a textbook on knowledge representation in artificial intelligence. His research interests include IT and economic development and ISIIT education.
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