Early Developmental Activities and Computing Proficiency

As countries adopt computing education for all pupils from primary school upwards, there are challenging indicators: significant proportions of students who choose to study computing at universities fail the introductory courses, and the evidence for links between formal education outcomes and success in CS is limited. Yet, as we know, some students succeed without prior computing experience. Why is this? <br/><br/> Some argue for an innate ability, some for motivation, some for the discrepancies between the expectations of instructors and students, and some – simply – for how programming is being taught. All agree that becoming proficient in computing is not easy. Our research takes a novel view on the problem and argues that some of that success is influenced by early childhood experiences outside formal education. <br/><br/> In this study, we analyzed over 1300 responses to a multi-institutional and multi-national survey that we developed. The survey captures enjoyment of early developmental activities such as childhood toys, games and pastimes between the ages 0 — 8 as well as later life experiences with computing. We identify unifying features of the computing experiences in later life, and attempt to link these computing experiences to the childhood activities. <br/><br/> The analysis indicates that computing proficiency should be seen from multiple viewpoints, including both skill-level and confidence. It shows that particular early childhood experiences are linked to parts of computing proficiency, namely those related to confidence with problem solving using computing technology. These are essential building blocks for more complex use. We recognize issues in the experimental design that may prevent our data showing a link between early activities and more complex computing skills, and suggest adjustments. Ultimately, it is hoped that this line of research will feed in to early years and primary education, and thereby improve computing education for all

Searching for Early Developmental Activities Leading to Computational Thinking Skills

Drawing on the long debate about whether computer science (CS) and computational thinking skills are innate or learnable, this working group is based on the following hypothesis: The apparent innate ability of some CS learners who succeed in CS courses despite no prior exposure to computing is a manifestation of early childhood experiences and learning outside formal education

Explaining Gendered Participation in Computer Science Education

Amongst scientific fields, computer science (CS) is the only one in which the percentage of women undergraduates has decreased since the 1980s; in the US and Canada, this percentage has hovered around 15%. Since the 1990s, a great deal of effort and resources have been put toward trying to improve the representation of women in computing. Unfortunately, these wide-spread efforts have not resulted in any macro-scale improvements. Using theoretical and conceptual tools from critical sociology, policy analysis, and systems thinking, I examine the question of why the efforts to improve gender diversity in CS education have not had a more discernible effect on a macro scale. I begin by classifying gender diversity initiatives, and observe that the most prevalent types of initiatives are low-leverage. I examine the history of women in computing, finding that enrolment booms are key times for gendering participation: when universities faced enrolment booms in the late 1980s and dot-com era, the percentage of women decreased, in part from gatekeeping measures enacted by CS departments. And as CS is currently facing its third enrolment boom, I survey CS faculty to see what factors are influencing their current policy discussions about enrolments. I find that diversity is seldom considered, nor is history; this approach to policymaking could exacerbate the gendered participation in CS. I also extend Etzkowitz et al.’s framework of “generations” of women in STEM, noting that different generations of women in CS have had differing and conflicting goals for gender equality. Through re-examining the historical variations in gendered participation in computing, and considering the contemporanous global variations, I determine that Anne Witz’s occupational closure theory provides an explanation for the historico-geographical variations. I find that policies (e.g. educational gatekeeping) and discourses (e.g. you need to be brilliant to be a computer scientist) are the primary ways in which the boundaries of CS are closed. For CS to improve its gender diversity, we need to make higher leverage changes; identifying policies and discourses as critical levers allows for change-agents to more effectively push for gender diversity.Ph.D

Computer science education for social good

Computation and algorithmic thinking have become essential components for solving problems in many different fields. As such, computer scientists are intimately involved in finding solutions to some of the most pressing social, economic, and scientific problems of our day. Yet students\u27 perception of computing reflects the longstanding myths and stereotypes perpetuated in popular media. One often cited study of STEM oriented high school students describes students\u27 perception of the computing discipline(s) as boring, tedious and irrelevant[6, 12]. Though CS educators cannot change popular media, they do have an ideal opportunity to change student misconceptions in the introductory computing curriculum. An introductory curriculum can reinforce student held myths or work to dismantle them. Which does the typical curriculum do? Buckley, in a 2009 CACM Viewpoint column[1], complained that introductory computing students, based on the unscientific examination of the textbooks in his office, are seemingly obsessed with animals (e.g. counting ducks, separating cows from horses), games (e.g. Tetris, Checkers), and food (e.g. donut counting, lemonade stands). He concludes with empathy for the student exposed to such motivating examples who quits CS and goes on to study something important. This special session will present the work of the ITiCSE 2012 working group A Framework for Enhancing the Social Good in Computing Education: A Values Approach. The working group\u27s report[4] makes a case for the merits of Computer Science Education for Social Good (CSG-Ed) projects from an early stage in the computing curriculum. The working group considered the background of computing for the social good, motivated the work, proposed a categorisation, and provided an illustrative set of exemplar case study projects intended for CS educators to adopt in their own institutions. In particular this special session will: Provide definition of a CSG-Ed activity or programming project. Motivate the inclusion of CSG-Ed projets in the computing curriculum in general and in the introductory courses in particular. Present subjective evidence as to why this approach is not more widespread in the introductory curriculum and present strategies to overcome the perceived barriers for adoption. Describe in appropriate detail 6 exemplar examples of introductory CSG-Ed programming projects. A tenet of CSG-Ed proponents is that for any non-theoretical computer science domain, topic, or even task, one should be able to articulate a useful CSG-Ed assignment. The balance of the special session will be a challenge to this position. The panelists will open the discussion to the audience, fielding introductory computing concepts and proposing a CSG-Ed assignment for each

A framework for enhancing the social good in computing education: A values approach

This paper addresses two interrelated problems currently confronting computer science education, motivating students while simultaneously providing them with the skills they\u27ll need to solve complex interconnected problems. We describe a framework for motivating computer science students by adding the context of social good to introductory computing assignments. Adding the context in this manner also goes some way to addressing the need for graduates to have skills, attributes and behaviours appropriate to contributing to social good outcomes. Accompanying this, we provide 14 concrete examples of introductory computing projects that convey and reinforce computing\u27s social relevance and potential for positive societal impact. Copyright © 2012 by the Association for Computing Machinery, Inc. (ACM)

A framework for enhancing the social good in computing education: A values approach

This paper addresses two interrelated problems currently confronting computer science education, motivating students while simultaneously providing them with the skills they\u27ll need to solve complex interconnected problems. We describe a framework for motivating computer science students by adding the context of social good to introductory computing assignments. Adding the context in this manner also goes some way to addressing the need for graduates to have skills, attributes and behaviours appropriate to contributing to social good outcomes. Accompanying this, we provide 14 concrete examples of introductory computing projects that convey and reinforce computing\u27s social relevance and potential for positive societal impact