2014). In this section, we present review several of 
these approaches: active learning, peer instruction, 
and other types of student-created artifacts. 
Studies on active learning have demonstrated 
their ability to enhance students’ performance, 
motivation, and engagement (Gehringer & Miller, 
2009; Kearney & Schuck, 2004). Within Computer 
Science, studies have shown that active learning 
activities are effective in helping students to learn CS 
concepts (e.g., Frank-Bolton & Simba, 2018; Feijóo-
García & Ortíz-Buitrago, 2018). Gehringer & Miller 
(2009) studied the use of active learning activities in 
introductory CS courses, i.e., CS1 and CS2. Their 
findings suggest that use of student designed games, 
diagrams, props, and videos, working on topics like 
debugging and sorting were effective techniques for 
increasing students’ attention. In general, active 
learning have been found to be effective in 
introductory CS courses across institutions, diverse 
demographics, and countries (e.g., Feijóo-García & 
Ortíz-Buitrago, 2018; Kearney & Schuck, 2004; 
Murray  et al., 2017). They have also been shown 
effective in upper division courses on algorithms 
(Frank-Bolton & Simba, 2018).  
Peer-instruction (i.e., peer-review and peer-
tutoring) is a commonly used active learning 
technique in the CS ED community (Feijóo-García & 
Ortíz-Buitrago, 2018; Porter et al., 2016; Cottam et 
al., 2011). Peer-instruction positions the student as 
both an instructor and learner allowing them to learn 
from and with their peers (Porter et al., 2016). Within 
CS1 and CS2 courses, peer-instruction has been 
found to increase students’ understanding of topics, 
their communication skills, and their motivation 
(Feijóo-García & Ortíz-Buitrago, 2018; Porter et al., 
2016; Cottam et al., 2011). 
A core feature of peer-instruction is the 
requirement for students to explain their 
understanding of a topic to a peer (Feijóo-García & 
Ortíz-Buitrago, 2018). This is a feature that also 
exists in active learning activities that involve 
student-created artifacts (e.g. student-created 
instructional videos). Studies of student-created 
instructional videos in K-12, CS1, and an algorithms 
analysis course, report that instructors and students 
positively perceived using student-created artifacts to 
promote learning (Gehringer & Miller, 2009; 
Kearney & Schuck, 2004). Frank-Bolton & Sihma 
(2018) reported that student-created videos can 
promote students’ understanding of advanced CS 
concepts. Additionally, they found that videos’ 
creators performed better compared to students who 
simply watched the videos. In this paper, we refer to 
student-created instructional videos as student-
created video tutorials as this is the name we are 
accustomed to calling them. 
3 THEORETICAL FOUNDATION 
The student-created video tutorials described in this 
paper were designed to promote significant student 
learning and engagement using a learner-centered 
design approach built on constructivist notions of 
learning and Fink’s Taxonomy on Significant 
Learning (Fink, 2013).  
Constructivism defines learning as a process in 
which knowledge is constructed and adapted by the 
learner based on the learner’s assimilation and 
accommodation of new knowledge gained in from 
new experiences or reinterpreted past experiences 
(Bain, 2014). Both, constructivism and learner-
centered design approaches, describe the learner as a 
dynamic individual, who learns through active 
engagement in their learning process (Guzdial, 2016; 
Bain, 2014). As Freire stated, the art of teaching 
implies the need for continuous learning (Freire, 
2012). 
Similarly, Fink’s Taxonomy for significant 
learning (Fink, 2013) is based on constructivism and 
identifies six interconnected dimensions (Fink, 
2013). Coding requires skills from two of these 
dimensions. The first is Foundational Knowledge, 
which refers to the individual’s understanding of how 
a computer or system works according to its 
capacities and limitations. The second is the 
Application Dimension, which considers the coding 
skills needed to use the computer as a medium 
(Guzdial, 2016; Fink, 2013). We used these two 
dimensions of Fink’s Taxonomy to help us focus 
what students focused on in their video tutorials. 
Considering knowledge as something not 
transferable but constructed, we designed the student-
created video tutorials to provide learners with an 
opportunity to consciously reflect on what they 
understood about foundational Functional 
Programming (FP) concepts, while verbalizing their 
understanding as they explained concepts for 
someone else to learn. 
4 OUR APPROACH 
This section describes the FP course in which student-
created video tutorials were used to foster learning of 
CS concepts. It explains the video tutorial