Induction and deduction are two specific cognitive aspects of critical thinking that provide insi... more Induction and deduction are two specific cognitive aspects of critical thinking that provide insight regarding the instruction of abstraction in computer coding. A variety of learning taxonomies for critical thinking and computational thinking offer additional guidance for abstraction instructional best practices.
Proceedings of the 2020 ACM Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education, 2020
Increased opportunities for online learning, including growth in Massive Open Online Courses (MOO... more Increased opportunities for online learning, including growth in Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCS), are changing our education environments, increasing access and flexibility in how students engage with education. However, there are still many questions regarding how we engage with students effectively in these environments, in particular through assessment. Assessment within on-line environments can vary, based on the technology available and pedagogical approach. However, forms of assessment in these environments must support additional constraints, in that they must scale to support potentially massive cohorts, minimal learner interaction, and range of learner intention. At the same time, there are unique opportunities due to the accessibility of rich learning analytics and learner data. Understanding effective assessment and assessment feedback at scale has broader implications as we cope with growing CS enrolments, and interest in technology. This working group aims to explore assessment within CS MOOCs, as a specific example of the on-line learning environment, identifying engaging and effective assessment exemplars that reflect both the constraints and opportunities of this context. The working group will (1) identify and survey existing literature on formative and summative assessment of Computer Science MOOCS, (2) clarify how assessment may be considered meaningful for students, (3) identify key features of assessment that assist an instructor in evaluating the nature and quality of learning, and (4) identifying case studies that explore both innovative and effective assessments to provide a rich experience for students and also detailed feedback to teaching staff. The outcome of this working group will be a report.
Proceedings of the 51st ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education, 2020
The Department of Computer Science (CS@Mines) at Colorado School of Mines (Mines) was founded in ... more The Department of Computer Science (CS@Mines) at Colorado School of Mines (Mines) was founded in 2016 when the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (CS) split into separate departments. As a result, CS faculty, who had worked for years to broaden participation in computing without departmental lead- ership support, were able to become more strategic in their efforts. CS@Mines faculty, staff, and students now engage in well-defined recruitment, retention, and evaluation strategies, which includes K-12 outreach programs, flexible CS major and minor tracks, a near-peer mentoring program, scholarship programs, and contin- ual evaluation. Ten years ago, the CS degree program at Mines had 157 majors, 17 women (10.8%), and 12 students from underrepre- sented groups in computing (7.6%). As of Fall 2019, CS@Mines has 679 majors, 146 women (21.5%), and 132 students from underrep- resented groups (20.2%). Although the concentrated effort focused on increasing the number of women majors, the data clearly shows an increase in students from underrepresented groups as well. The changes achieved by CS@Mines are noteworthy considering (1) only 30% of the students at Mines are women, (2) only 17% of the students at Mines are from underrepresented groups in computing, and (3) women and underrepresented groups enrolled in undergraduate CS programs are predominantly not at parity with their respective populations in the United States. CS@Mines achieved positive results by applying the Undergraduate Systemic Change Model developed by the National Center for Women & Information Technology. In this paper, we present CS@Mines as a case study for positive change and discuss the strategies CS@Mines has enacted (74 of the recommended 81).
Proceedings of the 52nd ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education, 2021
Colorado Strategic Approach to Rally Teachers (C-START) has provided computer science (CS) profes... more Colorado Strategic Approach to Rally Teachers (C-START) has provided computer science (CS) professional development to 1,425 K-12 teachers from 2016 to the present impacting over 7,000 students (who are ~33% female and 21% from other underrepresented groups). Pre and post training surveys from the 2019 summer cohort revealed teachers made statistically significant gains in CS content knowledge, confidence in teaching CS, confidence in learning CS, motivation to learn CS, and knowledge of engaging students in CS. C-START professional development trainings are offered each year based on educator requests, such as Beauty and Joy of Computing, Mobile CSP, Java Programming, Web Programming, Snap!, CS Unplugged, and Introduction to Cryptography. Synergystically, the C-START program has hosted the National CSPdWeek three times featuring Bootstrap and Exploring Computer Science. C-START has had a significant positive impact in Colorado CS high school education. For example, in 2015, a year before C-START began, only 170 high school students in Colorado took the AP CS A exam and only 15.4% of those students were female. In 2018, 791 high school students took the AP CS A exam in Colorado and 20.6% of the exam takers were female. Similar positive outcomes exist for students from other underrepresented groups (e.g., from 7.3% to 21.3% for Hispanic/Latino). While C-START is not the only PD opportunity for Colorado teachers, we are confident that C-START is helping more Colorado students access CS education.
Induction and deduction are two specific cognitive aspects of critical thinking that provide insi... more Induction and deduction are two specific cognitive aspects of critical thinking that provide insight regarding the instruction of abstraction in computer coding. A variety of learning taxonomies for critical thinking and computational thinking offer additional guidance for abstraction instructional best practices.
Proceedings of the 2020 ACM Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education, 2020
Increased opportunities for online learning, including growth in Massive Open Online Courses (MOO... more Increased opportunities for online learning, including growth in Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCS), are changing our education environments, increasing access and flexibility in how students engage with education. However, there are still many questions regarding how we engage with students effectively in these environments, in particular through assessment. Assessment within on-line environments can vary, based on the technology available and pedagogical approach. However, forms of assessment in these environments must support additional constraints, in that they must scale to support potentially massive cohorts, minimal learner interaction, and range of learner intention. At the same time, there are unique opportunities due to the accessibility of rich learning analytics and learner data. Understanding effective assessment and assessment feedback at scale has broader implications as we cope with growing CS enrolments, and interest in technology. This working group aims to explore assessment within CS MOOCs, as a specific example of the on-line learning environment, identifying engaging and effective assessment exemplars that reflect both the constraints and opportunities of this context. The working group will (1) identify and survey existing literature on formative and summative assessment of Computer Science MOOCS, (2) clarify how assessment may be considered meaningful for students, (3) identify key features of assessment that assist an instructor in evaluating the nature and quality of learning, and (4) identifying case studies that explore both innovative and effective assessments to provide a rich experience for students and also detailed feedback to teaching staff. The outcome of this working group will be a report.
Proceedings of the 51st ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education, 2020
The Department of Computer Science (CS@Mines) at Colorado School of Mines (Mines) was founded in ... more The Department of Computer Science (CS@Mines) at Colorado School of Mines (Mines) was founded in 2016 when the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (CS) split into separate departments. As a result, CS faculty, who had worked for years to broaden participation in computing without departmental lead- ership support, were able to become more strategic in their efforts. CS@Mines faculty, staff, and students now engage in well-defined recruitment, retention, and evaluation strategies, which includes K-12 outreach programs, flexible CS major and minor tracks, a near-peer mentoring program, scholarship programs, and contin- ual evaluation. Ten years ago, the CS degree program at Mines had 157 majors, 17 women (10.8%), and 12 students from underrepre- sented groups in computing (7.6%). As of Fall 2019, CS@Mines has 679 majors, 146 women (21.5%), and 132 students from underrep- resented groups (20.2%). Although the concentrated effort focused on increasing the number of women majors, the data clearly shows an increase in students from underrepresented groups as well. The changes achieved by CS@Mines are noteworthy considering (1) only 30% of the students at Mines are women, (2) only 17% of the students at Mines are from underrepresented groups in computing, and (3) women and underrepresented groups enrolled in undergraduate CS programs are predominantly not at parity with their respective populations in the United States. CS@Mines achieved positive results by applying the Undergraduate Systemic Change Model developed by the National Center for Women & Information Technology. In this paper, we present CS@Mines as a case study for positive change and discuss the strategies CS@Mines has enacted (74 of the recommended 81).
Proceedings of the 52nd ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education, 2021
Colorado Strategic Approach to Rally Teachers (C-START) has provided computer science (CS) profes... more Colorado Strategic Approach to Rally Teachers (C-START) has provided computer science (CS) professional development to 1,425 K-12 teachers from 2016 to the present impacting over 7,000 students (who are ~33% female and 21% from other underrepresented groups). Pre and post training surveys from the 2019 summer cohort revealed teachers made statistically significant gains in CS content knowledge, confidence in teaching CS, confidence in learning CS, motivation to learn CS, and knowledge of engaging students in CS. C-START professional development trainings are offered each year based on educator requests, such as Beauty and Joy of Computing, Mobile CSP, Java Programming, Web Programming, Snap!, CS Unplugged, and Introduction to Cryptography. Synergystically, the C-START program has hosted the National CSPdWeek three times featuring Bootstrap and Exploring Computer Science. C-START has had a significant positive impact in Colorado CS high school education. For example, in 2015, a year before C-START began, only 170 high school students in Colorado took the AP CS A exam and only 15.4% of those students were female. In 2018, 791 high school students took the AP CS A exam in Colorado and 20.6% of the exam takers were female. Similar positive outcomes exist for students from other underrepresented groups (e.g., from 7.3% to 21.3% for Hispanic/Latino). While C-START is not the only PD opportunity for Colorado teachers, we are confident that C-START is helping more Colorado students access CS education.
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