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1. Ten simple rules for designing and running a computing minor for bio/chem students

   https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1010202  

   Reyes, Rochelle-Jan; Hosmane, Nina; Ihorn, Shasta; Johnson, Milo; Kulkarni, Anagha; Nelson, Jennifer; Savvides, Michael; Ta, Duc; Yoon, Ilmi; Pennings, Pleuni S. (July 2022, PLOS Computational Biology)

   Schwartz, Russell (Ed.)

   Science students increasingly need programming and data science skills to be competitive in the modern workforce. However, at our university (San Francisco State University), until recently, almost no biology, biochemistry, and chemistry students (from here bio/chem students) completed a minor in computer science. To change this, a new minor in computing applications, which is informally known as the Promoting Inclusivity in Computing (PINC) minor, was established in 2016. Here, we present the lessons we learned from our experience in a set of 10 rules. The first 3 rules focus on setting up the program so that it interests students in biology, chemistry, and biochemistry. Rules 4 through 8 focus on how the classes of the program are taught to make them interesting for our students and to provide the students with the support they need. The last 2 rules are about what happens “behind the scenes” of running a program with many people from several departments involved. 

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2. X+CS: A Computing Pathway for Non-Computer Science Majors

   Mitchell, S; Cole, K; Joshi, A (March 2020, ASEE Mid Atlantic Section Spring Conference, 2020)

   With computing impacting most every professional field, it has become essential to provide pathways for students other than those majoring in computer science to acquire computing knowledge and skills. Virtually all employers and graduate and professional schools seek these skills in their employees or students, regardless of discipline. Academia currently leans towards approaches such as double majors or combined majors between computer science and other non-CS disciplines, commonly referred to as “CS+X” programs. These programs tend to require rigorous courses gleaned from the institutions’ courses for computer science majors. Thus, they may not meet the needs of majors in disciplines such as the social and biological sciences, humanities, and others. The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) is taking an approach more suitably termed “X+CS” to fulfill the computing needs of non-CS majors. As part of a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant, we are developing a “computing” minor specifically to meet their needs. To date, we have piloted the first two of the minor’s approximately six courses. The first is a variation on the existing Computer Science I course required for majors but restricted to nonmajors. Both versions of the course use the Python language and cover the same programming content, but with the non-majors assigned projects with relevance to non-CS disciplines. We use the same student assessment measures of homework, projects, and examinations for both courses. After four semesters, results show that non-CS majors perform comparably to majors. Students also express increased interest in computing and satisfaction with being part of a non- CS major cohort. The second course was piloted in fall 2019. It is a new course intended to enhance and hone programming skills and introduce topics such as web scraping, HTML and CSS, web application development, data formats, and database use. Students again express increased interest in computing and were already beginning to apply the computing skills that they were learning to their non-CS courses. As a welcome side effect, we experienced a significant increase in the number of women and under-represented minorities (URMs) in these two courses when compared with CS-major specific courses. Overall, women comprised 52% of the population, with URMs following a similar upward trend. We are currently developing the third course in the computing minor and exploring options for the remaining three. Possibilities include electives from our Information Systems major. We will also be working with our science, social science, and humanities departments to utilize existing courses in those disciplines that apply computing. The student response that we have received thus far provides us with evidence that our computing minor will be popular among UMBC’s non-CS population, providing them with a more suitable and positive computing education than existing CS+X efforts. 

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3. Online Professional Development for Computer Science Teachers: Gender-Inclusive Instructional Design Strategies

   Goode, Joanna; Peterson, Kirsten; Chapman, Gail (October 2019, International journal of gender science and technology)

   Computer science (CS) education is plagued by a gender divide, with few girls and women participating in this high-status discipline. A proven strategy to broaden participation for girls and other underrepresented students interested in CS is the availability of teacher preparation that requires classroom teachers to grow their knowledge of CS content as well as the pedagogical practices that enhance inclusive learning opportunities for historically underrepresented students. This case study describes the design and impact of an Online Professional Development (PD) for CS teachers, a year-long PD program aimed at broadening participation in the United States. Using survey and observation data from more than 200 participants over three years in PD settings, this paper examines how the design of an online learning community model of PD provides an inclusive venue for teachers to examine their belief systems, develop inclusive pedagogical practices, and collectively transform the culture of CS classrooms to places that support all learners. Findings suggest that purposeful facilitation creates a transformative culture of “shared experience” whereby facilitators and groups of teachers engage in collaborative lesson planning and debriefing discussions, in both synchronous and asynchronous sessions. This case study can inform other online PD efforts aimed at broadening participation in computing. 

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4. WIP: Understanding the Production of Highly Qualified Computer Science Teachers in a Predominant Hispanic Community: Computer Science Undergraduate Students' Perceptions of Becoming a Teacher

   https://doi.org/10.1109/FIE61694.2024.10893334  

   Kim, Sanga; Wang, Xuemei; Villa, Elsa Q (October 2024, IEEE)

   This research WIP paper describes computer science undergraduate students’ perceptions of career pathways and becoming K-12 computer science teachers. Computer science (CS) education has become critical with the rapid pace of technological development to better prepare students for national technology and economic competitiveness and security. According to Code.org, 57.5% of U.S. public high schools offer foundational computer science courses in 2023; unfortunately, access to the courses remains unequal and maintains wide disparities by race/ethnicity and social class. For instance, Hispanics are 1.4 times less likely to take foundational CS courses compared to their white and Asian peers, and students with low socio-economic status are underrepresented in the overall population. The shortage of CS teachers is one of the significant barriers to why minoritized groups of students do not have equal access to learning CS. Various programmatic efforts have been implemented to address the gap, including the recruitment of undergraduate students who will earn bachelor’s degrees in computing. This approach has been considered innovative in building a new pipeline for producing highly qualified CS teachers with the ability to transform computing education and the CS teacher community rather than training in-service teachers certified in other disciplines to receive credentials to teach CS. Studies report that CS degree recipients opt for industry roles and exhibit disinterest in alternative career pathways, such as teaching because they perceive this profession as having lower salaries and unfavorable aspects associated with the job. However, we need a more prosperous and in-depth understanding of why CS degree holders consider industry jobs of greater importance rather than teaching, which would reduce the disparity in K-12 computing education. As a first attempt to better understand the perceptions of computer science undergraduate students at an Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI), we collected qualitative data (i.e., student artifacts) in a course offered in the computer science department. Driven by social cognitive career and FIT-choice theory, our findings from the preliminary analysis indicate that CS undergraduate students at an HSI acknowledged the importance of K-12 CS teachers in their communities, but at the same time, they have more concerns about the underpayment and undervaluation of the job. They have shown a conflict between their perceptions of teaching CS and their own career aspirations as CS teachers. These preliminary findings draw attention to the importance of uncovering common career plans among CS undergraduate students. 

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5. (2024, October). WIP: Understanding the Production of Highly Qualified Computer Science Teachers in a Predominant Hispanic Community: Computer Science Undergraduate Students' Perceptions of Becoming a Teacher. In 2024 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE) (pp. 1-5). IEEE.

   Kim, Sanga; Wang, Xuemei; Villa, Elsa Q (October 2024, Proceedings Frontiers in Education Conference)

   This research WIP paper describes computer science undergraduate students’ perceptions of career pathways and becoming K-12 computer science teachers. Computer science (CS) education has become critical with the rapid pace of technological development to better prepare students for national technology and economic competitiveness and security. According to Code.org, 57.5% of U.S. public high schools offer foundational computer science courses in 2023; unfortunately, access to the courses remains unequal and maintains wide disparities by race/ethnicity and social class. For instance, Hispanics are 1.4 times less likely to take foundational CS courses compared to their white and Asian peers, and students with low socio-economic status are underrepresented in the overall population. The shortage of CS teachers is one of the significant barriers to why minoritized groups of students do not have equal access to learning CS. Various programmatic efforts have been implemented to address the gap, including the recruitment of undergraduate students who will earn bachelor’s degrees in computing. This approach has been considered innovative in building a new pipeline for producing highly qualified CS teachers with the ability to transform computing education and the CS teacher community rather than training in-service teachers certified in other disciplines to receive credentials to teach CS. Studies report that CS degree recipients opt for industry roles and exhibit disinterest in alternative career pathways, such as teaching because they perceive this profession as having lower salaries and unfavorable aspects associated with the job. However, we need a more prosperous and in-depth understanding of why CS degree holders consider industry jobs of greater importance rather than teaching, which would reduce the disparity in K-12 computing education. As a first attempt to better understand the perceptions of computer science undergraduate students at an Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI), we collected qualitative data (i.e., student artifacts) in a course offered in the computer science department. Driven by social cognitive career and FIT-choice theory, our findings from the preliminary analysis indicate that CS undergraduate students at an HSI acknowledged the importance of K-12 CS teachers in their communities, but at the same time, they have more concerns about the underpayment and undervaluation of the job. They have shown a conflict between their perceptions of teaching CS and their own career aspirations as CS teachers. These preliminary findings draw attention to the importance of uncovering common career plans among CS undergraduate students. 

   more » « less