The research teaching nexus in the computing disciplines: a comparative survey

Abstract

Many institutions make claims in strategy documents and official publications that students will receive an education which is research-led, research-informed, or guided by the scholarship of teaching and learning. Academics who teach regularly experience at first-hand the sometimes conflicting demands of research, teaching and supporting learning. Curricula guidelines are unlikely to help in developing any sophisticated understanding of ways in which research and teaching can be symbiotically applied, since such guidelines most typically deal with the content rather than the educational process experienced by our undergraduates. For these reasons an academic’s understanding of the research teaching nexus is more likely to be informed by their own workaday experience of designing and delivering educational experiences than from an analysis of the students’ perspective. If academics in the computing disciplines are to effectively deliver on their institutional missions to be scholarly, research-led or research-informed in their educational approaches, a clearer understanding of the possible meanings and implications of these terms in the context of the typical computing curricula would be of assistance. This paper presents and analyses the results of a survey conducted at two Universities which sought to identify how far their undergraduate curriculum was informed by research. This data is presented alongside qualitative data gathered from academics which explores their attitudes towards, and understanding of, the various terms commonly used to describe a research-informed approach to education in the computing disciplines