Education Commons^™

Chicago Alliance For Equity In Computer Science, Steven Mcgee, Lucia Dettori, Ronald I. Greenberg, Andrew M. Rasmussen, Dale F. Reed, Don Yanek

Computer Science: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Each year, about 14,000 Chicago Public Schools (CPS) students graduate with one year of high school computer science (CS) in fulfillment of the district’s CS graduation requirement. This accomplishment was the culmination of a decade of work by the Chicago Alliance for Equity in Computer Science (CAFÉCS), which includes CPS teachers and administrators, university CS faculty, and educational researchers. CAFÉCS research indicates that CPS significantly increased the capacity of schools to offer the Exploring Computer Science (ECS) introductory course, resulting in a rapid, equitable increase in students’ participation in CS. Making CS mandatory did not negatively impact performance in ECS. …

Chicago Alliance For Equity In Computer Science, Steven Mcgee, Lucia Dettori, Ronald I. Greenberg, Andrew M. Rasmussen, Dale F. Reed, Don Yanek

Computer Science: Faculty Publications and Other Works

CAFECS is committed to ensuring that all students in Chicago participate in engaging, relevant, and rigorous computing experiences by addressing problems of practice through research and development that increases opportunities for all students to pursue computing pathways and prepares all students for the future of work.

Chicago Alliance For Equity In Computer Science, Steven Mcgee, Lucia Dettori, Ronald I. Greenberg, Andrew M. Rasmussen, Dale F. Reed, Don Yanek

Computer Science: Faculty Publications and Other Works

In 2016, CPS enacted a high school computer science graduation requirement as a means to broaden participation in computer science. ECS is the primary course that supports enactment of this policy. With limited numbers of certified computer science teachers, CPS relied on teachers from a variety of disciplines to teach ECS. The ECS professional development program is designed to prepare teachers from all backgrounds to support student success in ECS. This study examines how the profile of ECS teachers changed and the impact of that change on teachers' experiences with ECS professional development.

Assessing The Effectiveness Of Computer Science Rpps: The Case Of Cafecs, Erin Henrick, Steven Mcgee, Ronald I. Greenberg, Lucia Dettori, Andrew M. Rasmussen, Don Yanek, Dale F. Reed

Computer Science: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Research Practice Partnerships (RPPs) are a relatively

recent development as a potential strategy to address the

complex challenges in computer science education. Consequently,

there is little guidance available for assessing the effectiveness of

RPPs. This paper describes the formative evaluation approach

used to assess the progress of the first year of the formalized RPP,

Chicago Alliance for Equity in Computer Science (CAFE´CS).

This paper contributes to the RPP literature by providing a case

study of how an RPP effectiveness framework can be adapted

and used to inform partnership improvement efforts in computer

science education.

Guest Editors' Introduction: Best Of Respect, Part 2, Tiffany Barnes, Jamie Payton, George K. Thiruvathukal, Jeff Forbes, Kristy Elizabeth Boyer

Computer Science: Faculty Publications and Other Works

The guest editors introduce best papers on broadening participation in computing from the RESPECT'15 conference. The five articles presented here are part two of a two-part series representing research on broadening participation in computing. These articles study participation in intersectional ways, through the perceptions and experiences of African-American middle school girls, the sense of belonging in computing for LGBTQ students, the impact of a STEM scholarship and community development program for low-income and first-generation college students, a leadership development program, and how African-American women individually take leadership to enable their success in computing.

The Need For Research In Broadening Participation, Tiffany Barnes, George K. Thiruvathukal

Computer Science: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Underrepresentation in computing is a global problem, marked by a disturbing lack of access to computing resources and education among people underrepresented by race, ethnicity, gender, income, disability, and sexual-orientation status. It is urgent that we address this divide between those with and without the knowledge to create computational artifacts or even basic functional literacy. Important alliances for broadening participation (BP) are catalyzing efforts to engage more people in computing, but they are not enough. We need solid research as well.

Enhancing The Cs Curriculum With With Aspect-Oriented Software Development (Aosd) And Early Experience, Konstantin Läufer, George K. Thiruvathukal, Tzilla Elrad

Computer Science: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Aspect-oriented software development (AOSD) is evolving as an important step beyond existing software development approaches such as object-oriented development. An aspect is a module that captures a crosscutting concern, behavior that cuts across different units of abstraction in a software application; expressed as a module, such behavior can be enabled and disabled transparently and non-invasively, without changing the application code itself. Increasing industry demand for expertise in AOSD gives rise to the pedagogical challenge of covering this methodology and its foundations in the computer science curriculum. We present our curricular initiative to incorporate a novel course in AOSD in the …

A Multi-Platform Application Suite For Enhancing South Asian Language Pedagogy, Tao Bai, Christopher K. Chung, Konstantin Läufer, Daisy Rockwell, George K. Thiruvathukal

Computer Science: Faculty Publications and Other Works

This interdisciplinary project explores the potential for handheld/wireless (H/W) technology in the context of language education within and beyond the classroom. Specifically, we have designed and implemented a suite of multi-platform (desktop/laptop, handheld, and browser) applications to enhance the teaching of South Asian languages such as Hindi-Urdu. Such languages are very difficult to learn, let alone write, and H/W devices (with their handwriting/drawing capabilities) can play a significant role in overcoming the learning curve. The initial application suite includes a character/word tracer, a word splitter/joiner, a smart flashcard with audio, contextual augmented stories for reading comprehension, and a poetic metronome. …

The Extreme Software Development Series: An Open Curricular Framework For Applied Capstone Courses, Konstantin Läufer, George K. Thiruvathukal

Computer Science: Faculty Publications and Other Works

We describe an open, flexible curricular framework for offering a collection of advanced undergraduate and graduate courses in software development. The courses offered within this framework are further unified by combining solid foundations with current technology and play the role of capstone courses in a modern software development track. Our initiative has been very successful with all stakeholders involved.