CYBEREDUCATION-BY-DESIGN™: DEVELOPING A FRAMEWORK FOR CYBERSECURITY EDUCATION AT SECONDARY EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS IN ARIZONA

Most survey results agree that there is a current and ongoing shortage of skilled cybersecurity workers that places our privacy, infrastructure, and nation at risk. Estimates for the global Cybersecurity Workforce Gap range from 2.72 million (ISC2, 2021) to 3.5 million (Cyber Academy, 2021) for 2021 and the United States estimates range from 465,000 (Brooks, 2021) to over 769,000 (Cyber Seek, 2022) open jobs as of November 2022. The most optimistic estimates still demonstrate a critical issue. As cybersecurity threats continue to grow in sophistication, scope, and scale, the ability to secure the United States from these threats lies in the ability to develop cybersecurity professionals with the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) to accomplish the tasks associated with their cyber roles. The ability to supply qualified cybersecurity professionals is outpaced by the growing demand as previously outlined. This study proposes that conducting a case study of existing cybersecurity programs at secondary education institutions can identify the critical elements of these programs. These elements can be codified into program profiles and further refined into a comprehensive cybersecurity education framework for secondary education institutions. This framework can be used by school districts throughout Arizona to develop cybersecurity programs and ultimately develop qualified and competent cybersecurity professionals to overcome the cybersecurity workforce gap

Designing dissemination and validation of a framework for teaching cloud fundamentals

Three previous Working Groups (WGs) met at ITiCSE conferences to explore ways to help educators incorporate cloud computing into their courses and curricula by mapping industry job skills to knowledge areas (KAs). These WGs identified, organized, and grouped together student learning objectives (LOs) and developed these KAs and LOs in a repository of learning materials and course exemplars. This WG focused on the sustainability of the work of its predecessors through dissemination, community building and validation of the framework of KAs and LOs and its contribution to curriculum development. Firstly, a case study is presented which analyzed the implementation of a new Masters program which was based on the KAs and LOs. It was found that these provide a useful basis for program development and approval and demonstrate that successful program development of this nature can provide a valuable opportunity to communicate the work of the previous WGs. Thereafter, a plan was formulated for dissemination of the work done in order to drive adoption and to encourage instructors with an interest in teaching cloud computing to participate and grow the community. While the strategy included a range of dissemination methods, the importance of interaction with users was a guiding principle. Initial pilots of webinar and workshop activities have been implemented. Approaches to validating that a cloud computing course designed around the KAs and LOs can meet the needs of industry have been outlined with further iterations being considered. A research plan has been designed for a study to be implemented over the coming year in order to perform this validation

A Competency-based Approach toward Curricular Guidelines for Information Technology Education

The Association for Computing Machinery and the IEEE Computer Society have launched a new report titled, Curriculum Guidelines for Baccalaureate Degree Programs in Information Technology (IT2017). This paper discusses significant aspects of the IT2017 report and focuses on competency-driven learning rather than delivery of knowledge in information technology (IT) programs. It also highlights an IT curricular framework that meets the growing demands of a changing technological world in the next decade. Specifically, the paper outlines ways by which baccalaureate IT programs might implement the IT curricular framework and prepare students with knowledge, skills, and dispositions to equip graduates with competencies that matter in the workplace. The paper suggests that a focus on competencies allows academic departments to forge collaborations with employers and engage students in professional practice experiences. It also shows how professionals and educators might use the report in reviewing, updating, and creating baccalaureate IT degree programs worldwide

The CybHER Program supported by CISSE Framework to Engage and Anchor Middle-school Girls in Cybersecurity

There is a piercing shortage of personnel in the cybersecurity field that will take several decades to accommodate. Despite being 50 percent of the workforce, females only account for 11 percent of the cybersecurity personnel. While efforts have been made to encourage more females into the field, more needs to be done. Reality shows that a change in the statistics is not taking place. Women remain seriously under-represented in cybersecurity degree programs and the workforce. Prior research shows that elementary girls are equally as interested in the cyber path as boys. It is in middle school that this interest shifts, which raises interesting questions about middle-school girls’ perceptions of cyber-related studies. This study focuses on middle-school girls’ perceptions of cybersecurity and what promising practices can be discovered to engage middle school girls in cybersecurity. These promising practices are then applied to the CybHER program. Drawing on literature from gender gap and STEM research, prior interventions, and anchoring girls to the field, this study looks specifically at adolescent females in middle school. Through open-ended interviews, rich data was collected to form the CISSE framework of promising practices. The CISSE framework shows that community, influence, social media connection, education, increase in self-efficacy, and education are important factors to anchor girls in a cybersecurity career path. The CISSE framework assisted in developing and enhancing the comprehensive program called CybHER. CybHER started as simply a name with a dream. By incorporating the CISSE framework, paying attention to prior successes and prior research, the CybHER program developed into a comprehensive program that includes intervention methods to educate and motivate girls to pursue cybersecurity. Five CybHER themes make up the program. These themes recognize time and relationships as important elements to girls. CybHER provides community, influence, social media connection, increased selfefficacy and education while also producing anchors for girls in cybersecurity. Evaluation from experts in the field suggest that the program will make a significant difference in recruitment and retention of girls

Integrated STEM and STEM Partnerships: Teaching and Learning

The overall focus of this Special Issue is on educational spaces relating to integrated STEM and interdisciplinary partnerships that might occur in integrated STEM spaces. These educational spaces include formal and informal schooling and include studies involving collaborative work teams, pre-service, in-service teachers, STEM faculty experiences, pre-collegiate students, interdisciplinary education, science education, technology education, engineering and computer science education, and mathematics education. The purpose of this Special Issue is to bring together a showcase of current studies in integrated STEM and related partnership work in teaching and learning. The newly released Handbook of Research on STEM Education (Johnson, Mohr-Schroeder, Moore, and English, 2020) explores areas of STEM in an international context and sets the stage for this Special Issue. The articles included show perspectives from around the globe

Designing Dissemination and Validation of a Framework for Teaching Cloud Fundamentals

Three previous Working Groups (WGs) met at ITiCSE conferences to explore ways to help educators incorporate cloud computing into their courses and curricula by mapping industry job skills to knowledge areas (KAs). These WGs identified, organized, and grouped together student learning objectives (LOs) and developed these KAs and LOs in a repository of learning materials and course exemplars. This WG focused on the sustainability of the work of its predecessors through dissemination, community building and validation of the framework of KAs and LOs and its contribution to curriculum development. Firstly, a case study is presented which analyzed the implementation of a new Masters program which was based on the KAs and LOs. It was found that these provide a useful basis for program development and approval and demonstrate that successful program development of this nature can provide a valuable opportunity to communicate the work of the previous WGs. Thereafter, a plan was formulated for dissemination of the work done in order to drive adoption and to encourage instructors with an interest in teaching cloud computing to participate and grow the community. While the strategy included a range of dissemination methods, the importance of interaction with users was a guiding principle. Initial pilots of webinar and workshop activities have been implemented. Approaches to validating that a cloud computing course designed around the KAs and LOs can meet the needs of industry have been outlined with further iterations being considered. A research plan has been designed for a study to be implemented over the coming year in order to perform this validation

Investigating Pre-Service Teachers’ Perceptions of the Virginia Computer Science Standards of Learning: A Qualitative Multiple Case Study

Computer science education is being recognized globally as necessary to better prepare students in all grade levels, K-12, for future success. As a result of this focus on computer science education in the United States and around the world, there is an increased demand for highly qualified teachers with content and pedagogical knowledge to successfully support student learning. As a result, there is a call to include and improve the computer science training offered to pre-service teachers in their educator preparation programs from methods courses to practicum and student teaching experiences. Thus, it is important to understand how pre-service teachers view content, classroom practices, and teaching and learning methodologies and theories to inform teacher educators about best practices for integrating computer science. This multi-case study investigated pre-service teachers’ perceived abilities and intent to integrate the Virginia Computer Science Standards of Learning into future content area instruction, as well as any shifts that occurred in these pre-service teachers’ perceptions as a result of their student teaching experience. Five elementary pre-service teachers enrolled in a teacher preparation program at a large, public research university in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States comprised the cases in this research study. Data were collected during the participants’ student teaching experience and final semester in their respective programs and was comprised of the following: pre-, mid-, and post-questionnaires, meeting transcriptions (2), semi-structured individual phone interview transcriptions (2), and written/posted exchanges on an online discussion board. Data representing each case were analyzed using a qualitative general inductive approach as outlined by Thomas. A within-case analysis was performed to develop main categories and identify central themes for each case, and a cross-case analysis was then conducted using the NVivo Qualitative Data Analysis Software. The findings revealed similarities and differences across the cases, as well as perceived challenges and benefits to incorporating computer science and the Virginia Computer Science Standards of Learning into future content area lessons as determined by elementary pre-service teachers. Findings from this study can be used to inform and improve pre-service teacher education as well as provide insight to school administrators