Note: When clicking on a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) number, you will be taken to an external site maintained by the publisher.
                                            Some full text articles may not yet be available without a charge during the embargo (administrative interval).
                                        
                                        
                                        
                                            
                                                
                                             What is a DOI Number?
                                        
                                    
                                
Some links on this page may take you to non-federal websites. Their policies may differ from this site.
- 
            Free, publicly-accessible full text available February 18, 2026
- 
            Free, publicly-accessible full text available February 18, 2026
- 
            Free, publicly-accessible full text available February 18, 2026
- 
            Competencies are knowledge, skills, and dispositions that enable professionals to successfully perform a goal-oriented task. A traditional education model focuses primarily on presenting and assessing knowledge, with student performance represented by grades. The Competency-Based Education (CBE) model focuses on each student developing and demonstrating knowledge, skills, and dispositions. This implies a difference in the approach towards curriculum (content), pedagogy (teaching methods), and assessment. This workshop will introduce basic concepts of competencies and CBE. We will present a competency list derived from research on computing professionals' experiences. Participants will develop a spiral curriculum and (re)design a course to purposefully integrate cross-disciplinary skills (e.g., communication) and dispositions (e.g., perseverance), along with computing skills. Takeaways will include: (1) an understanding of what competencies and CBE are, and what pedagogical and assessment approaches may align with CBE; (2) a document that integrates competencies across a spiral curriculum; and (3) a plan for (re)designing one of their courses. Collaborative ideation will be used to help generate ideas for each participant's unique context and goals. Higher education faculty/instructors and administrators who would like to learn more about competencies and apply CBE practices to their own program/course will find the most benefit from this workshop. Multiple people from the same program are encouraged to attend, allowing them to consider how they can plan for integrating competencies across their program-level curriculum. Please bring internet-enabled laptops/comparably sized devices, choose a course to (re)design, and have access to relevant course materials.more » « less
- 
            This work-in-progress research paper shares the findings of a survey of computing professionals regarding the importance of various dispositions on the job. Survey findings from recent graduates also include their perception of how well each disposition was covered in their undergraduate courses. Dispositions are beliefs, attitudes, or values, such as being ethical, being persistent, and valuing collaboration. Dispositions impact whether individuals will apply their knowledge and skills appropriately in any given situation. There is increasing recognition of the importance of dispositions in the realm of computing education, as evidenced by recent computing curricular guidelines (e.g., IT2017 and CC2020). However, few existing studies of professionals explicitly discriminate between dispositions and other types of competencies (e.g., cross-disciplinary or “soft” skills). Furthermore, little research has been focused on the degree to which professionals believe that dispositions have been adequately covered by computing education in the United States. This study will present the findings of a survey of computing professionals, utilizing items based on on a list of 30 dispositions derived from earlier studies. It will present practitioners’ perceptions of the importance of each of the 30 dispositions and will also present the satisfaction recent graduates (who have graduated with an undergraduate degree within the last 5 years) have with the coverage of these dispositions during their undergraduate experience. Findings of this paper may reveal not only of the importance of dispositions in general, but which dispositions are most important, and which are most or least covered in current educational programs. The research team recommends that higher education administrators, curriculum designers and individual faculty members use the data-informed disposition list, in conjunction with college/university and departmental vision and values, to select a small number of dispositions to purposefully incorporate across their program. Findings may also be of interest to curricular guideline committees and scholars interested in dispositions, competency-based education, character education, or virtue ethics.more » « less
- 
            This paper explores Computing and Engineering (C&E) educators' perceptions about dispositions and investigates their readiness to integrate dispositions into their teaching. Dispositions are the underlying beliefs, attitudes, and values that influence how individuals apply their knowledge and skills. Employers recognize the importance of dispositions in the workplace, yet in C&E education the cultivation and assessment of dispositions is not frequently emphasized. Recent guidelines and frameworks in C&E education require dispositional competencies. However, implementing these guidelines requires pedagogical and curricular transformations, including authentic teaching and learning experiences and innovative assessment techniques. This study aims to address an important gap in C&E education by investigating educators' perceptions and readiness for integrating dispositions into curricula, thereby contributing to the ongoing efforts to align educational programs' objectives with industry needs to foster graduates' success in their careers. This work is guided by the Agency Influence Framework, adapted to incorporate educators' worldview (epistemology) in addition to their beliefs, abilities, and motivations towards their readiness for change. The study provides preliminary insights and serves as a foundation for future research in educators' perception about dispositions.more » « less
 An official website of the United States government
An official website of the United States government 
				
			 
					 
					
