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1. Increasing Cybersecurity Career Interest through Playable Case Studies

   https://doi.org/10.1007/s11528-021-00585-w  

   Giboney, Justin Scott; McDonald, Jason K.; Balzotti, Jonathan; Hansen, Derek L.; Winters, Desiree M.; Bonsignore, Elizabeth (January 2021, TechTrends)

   null (Ed.)

   In this paper we introduce an approach to cybersecurity education and helping students develop professional understanding in the form of a Playable Case Study (PCS), a form of educational simulation that draws on affordances of the broader educational simulation genre, case study instruction, and educational Alternate Reality Games (or ARGs). A PCS is an interactive simulation that allows students to “play” through an authentic scenario (case study) as a member of a professional team. We report our findings over a multi-year study of a PCS called Cybermatics, with data from 111 students from two different U.S. universities who interacted with the PCS. Cybermatics increased student understanding about certain key aspects of professional cybersecurity work, improved their confidence in being able to successfully apply certain skills associated with cybersecurity, and increased about half of the students’ interest in pursuing a cybersecurity career. Students also reported a number of reasons why their perceptions changed in these areas (both positive and negative). We also discuss design tensions we experienced in our process that might be encountered by others when creating simulations like a PCS, as they attempt to balance the authenticity of designed learning experiences while also sufficiently scaffolding them for newcomers who have little background in a discipline. 

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2. Introducing Agility into Research Teams

   https://doi.org/10.1109/FIE56618.2022.9962665  

   Ochoa, Omar; Reynolds, Sarah A. (October 2022, 2022 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE))

   In this paper, we propose an innovative practice based on agile software development methods. This research approach introduces agility into learning of research in an academic environment, resulting in an Agile Research Team. Such a research team follows an agile approach, based on modifications to the Scrum approach, to collaboratively learn about research, and to manage research projects and the researchers involved. Success in research requires self-motivation, collaboration, and knowledge exchange. Traditional research occurs in top-down research groups that are led by a leading researcher, who oversees postdoctoral researchers and Ph.D. students, who in turn manage graduate and undergraduate level students. It is up to individual researchers to stay motivated, to acquire the necessary skills to conduct research, and, oftentimes, to decide what the following steps are. Much like effective research groups, agile software development approaches rely on individuals to form self-organizing and motivated teams to deliver technical excellence. Agile software development teams also require an environment of sharing knowledge between senior and junior developers. Agile approaches can facilitate the efficient exchange of knowledge due to a strong dependency on face-to-face communication and teamwork. With the emerging adoption of agile methods for software development in industry and its ability to expedite projects’ delivery, we argue that such approaches can potentially provide similar benefits for researchers and students in academia. The advantages that agile methods provide are twofold: the ability to respond faster to change, and a shorter feedback loop, which facilitates the learning of how to conduct research. This paper explores the impactful benefits of using an agile approach to manage research team projects to keep researchers motivated, enhance the learning of knowledge and research skills, increase scalability, and foster inclusivity. This paper will also present the roles, responsibilities, and processes defined for managing an Agile Research Team to support adoption of the approach with other research teams. In addition, results and lessons learned are presented following our experience with using the approach as described in this work. 

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3. Student Experiences of an Intentionally Embedded Computer Science and Cybersecurity Pathway in U.S. High Schools

   https://doi.org/10.18260/1-2--44296  

   Williamson, Jordan; McGill, Monica (June 2023, ASEE Conferences)

   Research Problem: K-12 school systems are racing to implement Computer Science (CS) education within classrooms across the United States. Prior research on education reform movements suggests that without rigorous research, combined with careful technical support for implementation, we should expect wide variation across districts in how they choose to implement computer science education as well as extreme inequality in which districts provide equitable opportunities to learn CS, with the most underserved students fairing the worst (Ahn & Quarles, 2016; Bryk, Gomez, Grunow, & LeMahieu, 2015; Carlson, Borman, & Robinson, 2011; Gordon and Heck, 2019). It stands to reason that these same challenges are at play in the CS subfield of cybersecurity. Research Question: In what ways does the JROTC-CS experience impact the cognitive (e.g. knowledge and skills) and non-cognitive factors (e.g. social and emotional behaviors) of cadets in high school? Methodology: We used a qualitative study using a semi-structured interview protocol with JROTC cadets attending the schools involved in the intervention (n=17). The interview protocol focused on the types of cognitive and non-cognitive impacts the cadets experienced when participating in CS and Cybersecurity learning experiences. Data Collection: We conducted interviews with 17 cadets and coded the transcripts using a priori codes. Findings: Sixteen of the students reported an increase in their knowledge and skills through self-reported grades and self-perceived knowledge gained through the CS and cybersecurity experiences. While all of the students indicated that the courses and extracurricular activities were beneficial and interesting, only two of the students indicated they wanted to have a career in the computer science or cybersecurity field. However, the findings indicated a lack of school personnel support, specifically at the guidance counselor level. Finally, all of the students reported a strong sense of belonging in their CS and cybersecurity experiences leading to increased peer collaboration and support. Implications: Based on other evidence collected during the intervention, the intervention had multiple successes in expanding equitable experiences for cadets in the schools involved in the study. Guidance counselors and other personnel who are in a position to influence the future career choices of cadets may need more professional development; however, more research is needed to understand the ways in which they currently influence cadets. 

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4. Enhancing Computing Curricular Outcomes and Student Accomplishments Through Collegiate Competitions

   Anand, Vijay; Bolton, Natalie A; Calyam, Prasad; Chadha, Rohit; Raj, Rajendra K; Mishra, Sumita (October 2001, Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Global Computing Education)

   Games and competitions enhance student engagement and help improve hands-on learning of computing concepts. Focusing on targeted goals, competitions provide a sense of community and accomplishment among students, fostering peer-learning opportunities. Despite these benefits of motivating and enhancing student learning, the impact of competitions on curricular learning outcomes has not been sufficiently studied. For institutional or program accreditation, understanding the extent to which students achieve course or program learning outcomes is essential, and helps in establishing continuous improvement processes for the program curriculum. Utilizing the Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (CCDC), a curricular assessment was conducted for an undergraduate cybersecurity program at a US institution. This archetypal competition was selected as it provides an effective platform for broader program learning outcomes, as students need to: (1) function in a team and communicate effectively (teamwork and communication skills); (2) articulate technical information to non-technical audiences (communication skills); (3) apply excellent technical and non-technical knowledge (design and analysis skills applied to problems-solving); and (4) function well under adversity (real-world problem-solving skills). Using data for both students who competed and who did not, student progress was tracked over five years. Preliminary analysis showed that these competitions made marginally-interested students become deeply engaged with the curriculum; broadened participation among women who became vital to team success by showcasing their technical and management skills; and pushed students to become self-driven, improving their academic performance and career placements. This experience report also reflects on what was learned and outlines the next steps for this work. 

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5. Enhancing Computing Curricular Outcomes and Student Accomplishments Through Collegiate Competitions

   Anand, Vijay; Bolton, Natalie A.; Calyam, Prasad; Chadha, Rohit; Raj, Rajendra K.; Mishra, Sumita (December 2023, Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Global Computing Education Vol 1 (CompEd 2023))

   Games and competitions enhance student engagement and help improve hands-on learning of computing concepts. Focusing on targeted goals, competitions provide a sense of community and accomplishment among students, fostering peer-learning opportunities. Despite these benefits of motivating and enhancing student learning, the impact of competitions on curricular learning outcomes has not been sufficiently studied. For institutional or program accreditation, understanding the extent to which students achieve course or program learning outcomes is essential, and helps in establishing continuous improvement processes for the program curriculum. Utilizing the Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (CCDC), a curricular assessment was conducted for an undergraduate cybersecurity program at a US institution. This archetypal competition was selected as it provides an effective platform for broader program learning outcomes, as students need to: (1) function in a team and communicate effectively (teamwork and communication skills); (2) articulate technical information to non-technical audiences (communication skills); (3) apply excellent technical and non-technical knowledge (design and analysis skills applied to problem-solving); and (4) function well under adversity (real-world problem-solving skills). Using data for both students who competed and who did not, student progress was tracked over five years. Preliminary analysis showed that these competitions made marginally-interested students become deeply engaged with the curriculum; broadened participation among women who became vital to team success by showcasing their technical and management skills; and pushed students to become self-driven, improving their academic performance and career placements. This experience report also reflects on what was learned and outlines the next steps for this work. 

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