Mobile CSP||B

CSP||B is a combination of CSP and B in which CSP processes are used as control executives for B machines. This architecture enables a B machine and its controller to interact and communicate with each other while working in parallel. The architecture has focused on sequential CSP processes as dedicated controllers for B machines. This paper introduces Mobile CSP||B, a formal framework based on CSP||B which enables us to specify and verify concurrent systems with mobile architecture instead of the previous static architecture. In Mobile CSP||B, a parallel combination of CSP processes act as the control executive for the B machines and these B machines can be transferred between CSP processes during the system execution. The paper introduces the foundations of the approach, and illustrates the result with an example

Student engagement is key to broadening participation in CS

© 2019 Copyright held by the owner/author(s). Publication rights licensed to ACM. The Mobile CS Principles (Mobile CSP) course is one of the NSF-supported, College Board-endorsed curricula for the new Computer Science Principles AP course. Since 2013, the Mobile CSP project has trained more than 700 teachers, and the course has been offered to more than 20,000 students throughout the United States. The organizing philosophy behind the Mobile CSP course is that student engagement in the classroom is the key to getting students, especially those traditionally underrepresented in CS, interested in pursuing further study and careers in CS. The main strategies used to engage Mobile CSP students are: (1) a focus on mobile computing throughout the course, taking advantage of current student interest in smartphones; (2) an emphasis on getting students building mobile apps from day one, by utilizing the highly accessible App Inventor programming language; and (3) an emphasis on building creative,\u27socially useful\u27 apps to get students thinking about ways that computing can help their communities. In this paper we present and summarize two years of data of various types (i.e., student surveys, teacher surveys, objective assessments, and anecdotal reports from students and teachers) to support the hypothesis that engagement of the sort practiced in the Mobile CSP course not only helps broaden participation in CS among hard-to-reach demographics, but also provides them with a solid grounding in computer science principles and practices

Approaches to Broadening Participation with AP Computer Science Principles

The Advanced Placement Computer Science Principles (AP CSP) course framework was created with the intention of broadening participation in computing. Research has produced mixed results on whether or not the framework succeeds in that goal. Given that teachers have significant freedom in how they choose to teach the AP CSP content, students can have a variety of experiences that may or may not impact their continued participation in CS. In this paper, I compare four different approaches to the AP CSP framework by examining their impact on AP exam scores, self-efficacy and confidence, belongingness and identity, and persistence and interest, to examine how these approaches might impact those traditionally underrepresented in CS. I also discuss how social and curricular interventions may differ in outcomes

\u3cem\u3eLearning to Code Music\u3c/em\u3e: Development of a Supplemental Unit for High School Computer Science

Learning to Code Music is a supplemental unit developed for high school computer science. This unit was developed after researching the effects of biases in curriculum, effective teaching, and incorporating the arts into coding. This supplemental unit is intended to be used with one of the Computer Science Principles curriculum approved by the College Board and explained in the literature review. It is my goal to have other teachers and myself to use this supplemental unit in their high school computer science courses. All supplemental unit material can be found at https://sites.google.com/notusschools.org/earsketch-csp/hom

Preparing Grades K-12 Computer Science Educators in Iowa

Computer Science (CS) is arguably one of the fastest growing disciplines in K12 education. Educators have choices from a variety of curricula at all levels in the K-12 spectrum and two different AP exams. Iowa is finalizing statewide Grades K-12 standards for CS Education and has added a CS endorsement to state licensure. In this talk we will discuss the state of CS Education in Iowa at both the school and BOEE levels. We will make teachers aware of some of the resources out there to use with students. We will also discuss CS professional development opportunities for teachers being conducted at UNI and around the state

Denotational Semantics of Mobility in Unifying Theories of Programming (UTP)

UTP promotes the unification of programming theories and has been used successfully for giving denotational semantics to Imperative Programming, CSP process algebra, and the Circus family of programming languages, amongst others. In this thesis, we present an extension of UTP-CSP (the UTP semantics for CSP) with the concept of mobility. Mobility is concerned with the movement of an entity from one location (the source) to another (the target). We deal with two forms of mobility: • Channel mobility, concerned with the movement of links between processes, models networks with a dynamic topology; and • Strong process mobility, which requires to suspend a running process first, and then move both its code and its state upon suspension, and finally resume the process on the target upon reception. Concerning channel mobility: • We model channels as concrete entities in CSP, and show that it does not affect the underlying CSP semantics. • A requirement is that a process may not own a channel prior to receiving it. In CSP, the set of channels owned by a process (called its interface) is static by definition. We argue that making the interface variable introduces a paradox. We resolve this by introducing a new concept: the capability of a process, and show how it relates to the interface. We then define channel mobility as the operation that changes the interface of a process, but not its capability. We also provide a functional link between static CSP and its mobile version. Concerning strong mobility, we provide: • The first extension of CSP with jump features, using the concept of continuations. • A novel semantics for the generic interrupt (a parallel-based interrupt operator), using the concept of Bulk Synchronous Parallelism. We then define strong mobility as a specific interrupt operator in which the interrupt routine migrates the suspended program

STEM Community Chairs Progress Updates Spring 2016

The following is a brief update of the activities and efforts being undertaken by UNO’s Dr. George and Sally Haddix Community Chair of STEM Education as being held by Dr. Neal Grandgenett. The goal of this position is: Position Goal: To organize, lead and inspire collaborative STEM initiatives at UNO, that cross colleges and disciplines, and that aggressively position UNO to be a true national leader in interdisciplinary STEM programs. (Curriculum, Capacity, Collaboration

Improving Classroom Management and Teacher Retention: A Needs Assessment

This case explores how a needs assessment was conducted at a middle school experiencing high rates of teacher turnover. Pamela Frost, an experienced instructional designer, was assigned to assess the situation and identify opportunities to improve professional development opportunities for the teachers. As a part of a needs assessment, Pamela gathered data to address needs pertaining to classroom management challenges, teacher attrition rates, and establishing relations with the local community. This case explores how Pamela gathered data and triangulated her findings to determine what interventions were needed

The Trinity Reporter, Spring 2016

https://digitalrepository.trincoll.edu/reporter/2151/thumbnail.jp