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1. Forging a Path: Faculty Interviews on the Present and Future of Computer Science Education in the United States

   https://doi.org/10.1145/3546581  

   Lunn, Stephanie ; Samary, Maíra Marques ; Hambrusch, Susanne ; Yadav, Aman ( December 2022 , ACM Transactions on Computing Education)

   Computer science education (CSEd) is a growing interdisciplinary area that continues to gain momentum from students, researchers, and educators. Yet, there are few formal programs or degree options for students interested in pursuing graduate work in CSEd. This article explores the existing state of CSEd in the United States (U.S.) through semi-structured interviews with ( n = 15) faculty engaged in CSEd research. Thematic coding of the transcripts revealed the complexities involved in the development of formal programs, the distinct considerations for faculty, and the value of having strong ties to both computer science and education. The themes described positive aspects of support and cohesion within the larger community and opportunities to expand knowledge across fields. Applying Cornell and Parker’s principles of interdisciplinary science to the field of CSEd, we provide recommendations for ways forward and discuss the potential impact on institutional structures, research capacity, individual and group identities, and teaching and learning. The findings from this investigation not only inform on the present state of CSEd in the U.S., but also offer guidance for CSEd-focused graduate programs. 

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2. Where is Computer Science Education Research Happening?

   https://doi.org/10.1145/3408877.3432375  

   Lunn, Stephanie ; Marques Samary, Maíra ; Peterfreund, Alan ( March 2021 , SIGCSE '21: Proceedings of the 52nd ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education)

   null (Ed.)

   Although computer science education (CSEd) is growing rapidly as a discipline, presently there are a limited number of formal programs available for students to pursue graduate degrees. To explore what options exist, we sought to develop a better understanding of the researchers and institutions currently working in CSEd. We collected publication data between 2015 and 2020 from the Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education (ITiCSE) and ACM International Computing Education Research (ICER) conferences, and from the ACM Transactions on Computing Education (TOCE) journal. Using a total of 1,099 publications, we analyzed the authorship blocks and their affiliations. We created a comprehensive database, used for analysis on recent contributions to CSEd research. Among other findings, we observed that 2,068 distinct authors contributed, spanning 578 global institutions. From these, 963 of the authors came from 236 distinct universities in the United States. Moreover, we found that most often, new growth from international contributions resulted from the participation of additional universities, whereas in the United States most growth was the result of new contributors from the same universities. The results of this research are intended to encourage global collaborations, to provide an informative guide about recent publications in the field, and also to serve as a guidepost for graduate recruitment and further exploration into CSEd research and programs. 

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3. Collaborative Culture: Analyzing Global Trends in Computing Education

   Marques Samary, Maıra ; Lunn, Stephanie ; Peterfreund, Alan ( July 2021 , The 17th International Conference on Frontiers in Education: Computer Science & Computer Engineering)

   null (Ed.)

   Computing education (CEd), or computer science education (CSEd), research has the potential to affect not only what and how we teach, but also who is taught and where. While CEd has grown as a discipline over the past two decades, many institutions still lack formal departments or programs. Given that it is a specialized and interdisciplinary area of research, we wanted to assess the values of collaboration and access. To develop a better understanding of the researchers and institutions working in CEd, we manually collected publication data from the Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education (ITiCSE) and the ACM International Computing Education Research (ICER) conferences, and the ACM Transactions on Computing Education journal, between 2015 and 2020. Using a collective total of 1099 publications, we analyzed affiliation information about the authors and their institutions. Although we hoped to uncover a global presence and collaborative relationships demonstrating a “CSEd for all” mindset, instead we found that North America and Europe were over-represented relative to other continents. Additionally, collaborations remained a national or regional affair, for the most part. While many factors may contribute, from language barriers to financial obstacles, communication across country lines needs to improve to truly develop a more equitable international presence in the field. Through this research, we hope to raise awareness of where CEd research is being conducted and what level of collaboration occurs between institutions and countries. Moreover, we want to encourage researchers to seek alternative perspectives and to expand their collaborations to ensure CEd work truly encompasses a broader worldview. 

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4. Graduate Programs in CS Education: Why 2020 is the Right Time

   https://doi.org/10.1145/3328778.3372517  

   Hambrusch, Susanne ; Peterfreund, Alan ; Yadav, Aman ; Ko, Amy ( February 2020 , SIGCSE '21: Proceedings of the 52nd ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education)

   null (Ed.)

   Opportunities for training CS K-12 pre-service and in-service teachers, research in CS Education, and career pathways for PhDs/EdDs in CS education are happening, but often in an uncoordinated way. We advocate that now is the right time for CS and Education to collaborate on developing new joint degree programs in Computer Science Education and to explore joint faculty appointments. High undergraduate enrollment in computing programs and the increasing interest in CS courses from non-majors represent a unique opportunity for starting successful programs. As more of CS undergraduates are undergraduate TAs and see teaching and learning from a non-learner perspective, their interest in education has also increased. The growing interest in CS education, including the need for effecting CS teaching at both K-12 and the undergraduate level, provide interesting job opportunities for CS education researchers. As CS departments develop new undergraduate degree programs and scale class sizes, research on questions like How do we teach effectively computing to different audiences? How can we assess CS learning? What are culturally responsive pedagogies? is important. To answer many of these and related questions, CS departments should be actively engaged in CS Education research, from training graduate students in interdisciplinary programs to research programs. This BOF will provide a platform for the discussion on what such graduate programs – from certificate to a PhD – can and should look like, what challenges exist to creating them, and how students with different backgrounds should get trained in the relevant foundations of CS and Education. 

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5. Impacts Resulting from a Large-Scale First-Year Engineering and Computer Science Program on Students’ Successful Persistence Toward Degree Completion

   Ragusa, Gisele ; Allen, Emily L. ; Menezes, Gustavo B. ( June 2020 , ASEE Annual Conference Proceedings 2020)

   There is a critical need for more students with engineering and computer science majors to enter into, persist in, and graduate from four-year postsecondary institutions. Increasing the diversity of the workforce by inclusive practices in engineering and science is also a profound identified need. According to national statistics, the largest groups of underrepresented minority students in engineering and science attend U.S. public higher education institutions. Most often, a large proportion of these students come to colleges and universities with unique challenges and needs, and are more likely to be first in their family to attend college. In response to these needs, engineering education researchers and practitioners have developed, implemented and assessed interventions to provide support and help students succeed in college, particularly in their first year. These interventions typically target relatively small cohorts of students and can be managed by a small number of faculty and staff. In this paper, we report on “work in progress” research in a large-scale, first-year engineering and computer science intervention program at a public, comprehensive university using multivariate comparative statistical approaches. Large-scale intervention programs are especially relevant to minority serving institutions that prepare growing numbers of students who are first in their family to attend college and who are also under-resourced, financially. These students most often encounter academic difficulties and come to higher education with challenging experiences and backgrounds. Our studied first-year intervention program, first piloted in 2015, is now in its 5th year of implementation. Its intervention components include: (a) first-year block schedules, (b) project-based introductory engineering and computer science courses, (c) an introduction to mechanics course, which provides students with the foundation needed to succeed in a traditional physics sequence, and (d) peer-led supplemental instruction workshops for calculus, physics and chemistry courses. This intervention study responds to three research questions: (1) What role does the first-year intervention’s components play in students’ persistence in engineering and computer science majors across undergraduate program years? (2) What role do particular pedagogical and cocurricular support structures play in students’ successes? And (3) What role do various student socio-demographic and experiential factors play in the effectiveness of first-year interventions? To address these research questions and therefore determine the formative impact of the firstyear engineering and computer science program on which we are conducting research, we have collected diverse student data including grade point averages, concept inventory scores, and data from a multi-dimensional questionnaire that measures students’ use of support practices across their four to five years in their degree program, and diverse background information necessary to determine the impact of such factors on students’ persistence to degree. Background data includes students’ experiences prior to enrolling in college, their socio-demographic characteristics, and their college social capital throughout their higher education experience. For this research, we compared students who were enrolled in the first-year intervention program to those who were not enrolled in the first-year intervention. We have engaged in cross-sectional 2 data collection from students’ freshman through senior years and employed multivariate statistical analytical techniques on the collected student data. Results of these analyses were interesting and diverse. Generally, in terms of backgrounds, our research indicates that students’ parental education is positively related to their success in engineering and computer science across program years. Likewise, longitudinally (across program years), students’ college social capital predicted their academic success and persistence to degree. With regard to the study’s comparative research of the first-year intervention, our results indicate that students who were enrolled in the first-year intervention program as freshmen continued to use more support practices to assist them in academic success across their degree matriculation compared to students who were not in the first-year program. This suggests that the students continued to recognize the value of such supports as a consequence of having supports required as first-year students. In terms of students’ understanding of scientific or engineering-focused concepts, we found significant impact resulting from student support practices that were academically focused. We also found that enrolling in the first-year intervention was a significant predictor of the time that students spent preparing for classes and ultimately their grade point average, especially in STEM subjects across students’ years in college. In summary, we found that the studied first-year intervention program has longitudinal, positive impacts on students’ success as they navigate through their undergraduate experiences toward engineering and computer science degrees. 

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