Second level computer science: The Irish K-12 journey begins

This paper initially describes the introduction of a new computer science subject for the Irish leaving certificate course. This is comparable to US high school exit exams (AP computer science principals) or the UK A level computer science. In doing so the authors wish to raise international awareness of the new subject’s structure and content. Second, this paper presents the current work of the authors, consisting of early initiatives to try and give the new subject the highest chances of success. The initiatives consist of two facets: The first is the delivery of two-hour computing camps at second level schools (to address stereotypes and provide insight on what computer science really is), which was delivered to 2,943 students, in 95 schools between September 2017 and June 2018. Second, the authors followed this with teacher continual professional development (CPD) sessions, totalling 22, to just over 500 teachers. Early findings are presented, showing potentially concerning trends for gender diversity and CPD development. A call is then raised, to the international computer science education community for wisdom and suggestions that the community may have developed from prior experience. This is to obtain feedback and recommendations for the new subject and the authors’ current initiatives, to address early concerns and help develop the initiatives further

Promoting a Growth Mindset in CS1: Does One Size Fit All? A Pilot Study

This paper describes a pilot intervention conducted in CS1, in theacademic year of 2016-2017. The intervention was based on thework of Dweck, promoting a growth Mindset in an effort to in-crease performance in introductory programming. The study alsoexamined data from a previous year (as a control group) to compareand contrast the results. Multiple factors related to programmingperformance were recorded with the control and treatment group,which were measured at multiple intervals throughout the course,to monitor changes as the pilot intervention was implemented.This study found a significant increase in programming perfor-mance when the intervention was deployed. However, althoughperformance increased for the treatment group, the average Mindsetdid not significantly change towards a growth Mindset (replicatingthe findings of Cutts et al, 2010). To further explore this finding,a preliminary deeper investigation using k-means clustering wascarried out. The investigation found that the intervention promoteda growth Mindset for some student profiles and a fixed Mindset forothers. This finding is important for educators considering interven-tion development or implementation of Mindset, and demonstratesthat a Mindset intervention may not be suitable for all learners

Programming: Predicting student success early in CS1. A re-validation and replication study

This paper describes a large, multi-institutional revalidation study conducted in the academic year 2015-16. Six hundred and ninetytwo students participated in this study, from 11 institutions (ten institutions in Ireland and one in Denmark). The primary goal was to validate and further develop an existing computational prediction model called Predict Student Success (PreSS). In doing so, this study addressed a call from the 2015 ITiCSE working group (the second Grand Challenge ), to systematically analyse and verify previous studies using data from multiple contexts to tease out tacit factors that contribute to previously observed outcomes . PreSS was developed and validated in a longitudinal study conducted over a three year period (twelve years previous from 2004- 06). PreSS could predict with near 80% accuracy, how a student would likely perform on an introductory programming module. Notably this could be achieved at a very early stage in the module. This paper describes a revalidation of the original PreSS model on a significantly larger multi-institutional data set twelve years after its initial development and looks at recent research on additional factors that may improve the model. The work involved the development of a fully automated end-to-end tool, which can predict student success early in CS1, with an accuracy of 71%. This paper describes, in detail the PreSS model, recent research, pilot studies and the re-validation and replication study of the PreSS model

Role of cytoskeletal abnormalities in the neuropathology and pathophysiology of type I lissencephaly

Type I lissencephaly or agyria-pachygyria is a rare developmental disorder which results from a defect of neuronal migration. It is characterized by the absence of gyri and a thickening of the cerebral cortex and can be associated with other brain and visceral anomalies. Since the discovery of the first genetic cause (deletion of chromosome 17p13.3), six additional genes have been found to be responsible for agyria–pachygyria. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge concerning these genetic disorders including clinical, neuropathological and molecular results. Genetic alterations of LIS1, DCX, ARX, TUBA1A, VLDLR, RELN and more recently WDR62 genes cause migrational abnormalities along with more complex and subtle anomalies affecting cell proliferation and differentiation, i.e., neurite outgrowth, axonal pathfinding, axonal transport, connectivity and even myelination. The number and heterogeneity of clinical, neuropathological and radiological defects suggest that type I lissencephaly now includes several forms of cerebral malformations. In vitro experiments and mutant animal studies, along with neuropathological abnormalities in humans are of invaluable interest for the understanding of pathophysiological mechanisms, highlighting the central role of cytoskeletal dynamics required for a proper achievement of cell proliferation, neuronal migration and differentiation

Community Violence and Youth: Affect, Behavior, Substance Use, and Academics

Community violence is recognized as a major public health problem (WHO, World Report on Violence and Health,2002) that Americans increasingly understand has adverse implications beyond inner-cities. However, the majority of research on chronic community violence exposure focuses on ethnic minority, impoverished, and/or crime-ridden communities while treatment and prevention focuses on the perpetrators of the violence, not on the youth who are its direct or indirect victims. School-based treatment and preventive interventions are needed for children at elevated risk for exposure to community violence. In preparation, a longitudinal, community epidemiological study, The Multiple Opportunities to Reach Excellence (MORE) Project, is being fielded to address some of the methodological weaknesses presented in previous studies. This study was designed to better understand the impact of children’s chronic exposure to community violence on their emotional, behavioral, substance use, and academic functioning with an overarching goal to identify malleable risk and protective factors which can be targeted in preventive and intervention programs. This paper describes the MORE Project, its conceptual underpinnings, goals, and methodology, as well as implications for treatment and preventive interventions and future research

An international pilot study of K-12 teachers' computer science self-esteem

Session: Computing in Schools IIComputer Science (CS) is a new subject area for many K-12 teachers around the world, requiring new disciplinary knowledge and skills. Teacher social-behavioral factors (e.g. self-esteem) have been found to impact learning and teaching, and a key part of CS curriculum implementation will need to ensure teachers feel confident to deliver CS. However, studies about CS teacher self-esteem are lacking. This paper presents an analysis of publicly available data (n=219) from a pilot study using a Teacher CS Self-Esteem scale. Analysis revealed significant differences, including 1) females reported significantly lower CS self-esteem than males, 2) primary teachers reported lower levels of CS self-esteem than secondary teachers, 3) those with no CS teaching experience reported significantly lower CS self-esteem, 4) teachers with 0-3 years experience had a negative CS self-esteem, but after four years, teachers had a positive CS self-esteem, and 5) teachers who lived further from metropolitan areas and in some countries reported lower CS self-esteem. These initial findings suggest a pressing need for future research to look further into teacher CS self-esteem to inform teacher CS professional development.Rebecca Vivian, Keith Quille, Monica M. McGill, Katrina Falkner, Sue Sentance, Sarah Barksdale, Leonard Busuttil, Elizabeth Cole, Christine Liebe, Francesco Maioran

Investigating K-12 Computing Education in Four African Countries (Botswana, Kenya, Nigeria, and Uganda)

Motivation. As K-12 computing education becomes more established throughout the world, there is an increasing focus on accessibility for all, whether in a particular country or setting or in areas of the world that may not yet have computing established. This is primarily articulated as an equity issue. The recently developed capacity for , access to , participation in , and experience of computer science education (CAPE) Framework is one way of demonstrating stages and dependencies and understanding relative equity, taking into consideration the disparities between sub-populations. While there is existing research that covers the state of computing education and equity issues, it is mostly in high-income countries; there is minimal research in the context of low-middle-income countries like the sub-Saharan African countries. Objectives. The objective of the article is therefore to report on a pilot study investigating the capacity (one of the equity issues), for delivering computing education in four sub-Saharan African countries: Botswana, Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda, countries that are in different geographic regions as well as in different income brackets (low-middle income). Method. In addition to reviewing the capacity issues of curriculum and policy around computing education in each country, we surveyed 58 teachers about the infrastructure, resources, professional development, and curriculum for computing in their country. We used a localized version of the MEasuring TeacheR Enacted Computing Curriculum (METRECC) instrument for this purpose. Results. We analyzed the results through the lens of the CAPE framework at the capacity level. We identified similarities and differences in the data from teachers who completed the original METRECC survey, all of whom were from high-income countries and African teachers. The data revealed statistically significant differences between the two datasets in relation to access to resources and professional development opportunities in computer studies/computer science, with the African teachers experiencing more barriers. Results further showed that African teachers focus less on teaching algorithms and programming than teachers from high-income countries. In addition, we found differences between African countries in the study, reflecting their relative access to IT infrastructure and resources. Discussion. The findings suggest that African countries are still struggling with the lowest level of the CAPE pyramid, Capacity for as compared to high-income countries. This level is concerned with the availability of resources that support the enactment of a computing curriculum of high quality. The CAPE framework helps map the progression from Capacity for to Experience of computer science education as a route to equity, but to support development in low and middle-income countries, it may be helpful to have the capacity level finely grained. Such an adaptation draws out dependencies between policy and vision, infrastructure, curriculum implementation, and teacher professional development. More research is recommended to investigate these dependencies further and thus support and facilitate the development of global computing education. </jats:p

Computing in School in the UK &amp; Ireland: A Comparative Study

Many countries have increased their focus on computing in primary and secondary education in recent years and the UK and Ireland are no exception. The four nations of the UK have distinct and separate education systems, with England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland offering different national curricula, qualifications, and teacher education opportunities; this is the same for the Republic of Ireland. This paper describes computing education in these five jurisdictions and reports on the results of a survey conducted with computing teachers. A validated instrument was localised and used for this study, with 512 completed responses received from teachers across all five countries The results demonstrate distinct differences in the experiences of the computing teachers surveyed that align with the policy and provision for computing education in the UK and Ireland. This paper increases our understanding of the differences in computing education provision in schools across the UK and Ireland, and will be relevant to all those working to understand policy around computing education in school

The Effect of an Engineered Biostimulant Derived from Ascophyllum nodosum on Grass Yield under a Reduced Nitrogen Regime in an Agronomic Setting

Nitrogen (N) is the most important macronutrient used in modern agricultural systems to enhance crop yields; however, a significant amount of applied N is not taken up by the crop and is lost to the environment. Improving the nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) of crops can curb these environmental losses while concurrently delivering economic gains. Plant biostimulants have potential to improve NUE in agronomic settings. In this research, a granular N-containing fertilizer coated with the biostimulant PSI-362, an extract from the brown seaweed Ascophyllum nodosum, was applied to grass managed under different production systems to assess its impact on NUE. The role of soil type, pH, phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) on the efficacy of the biostimulant in improving NUE was assessed using lysimeters filled with six different soils. A significant increase in grass yield (29%) was found with PSI-362 addition at a 75% N rate over the 75% N control (8478 kg of dry matter (DM) ha&minus;1 vs. 6772 kg of DM ha&minus;1) over two years of trials under a simulated grazing platform of six rotations. The NUE increased to 96.6% for the PSI-362-treated grass compared to 82.8% for controls. Field-based evaluations demonstrated no decrease in yield and quality from harvested and grazed grass treated with the biostimulant when the N rate was reduced by 20 to 25%. Based on these results, the application of PSI-362 allows a reduction in nitrogen input by up to 25% without losses of grass yield or quality