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www.cs.kent.ac.uk Computing Education Research: outline & issues Sally Fincher CRA-E Summit: Georgia Tech 4 th January 2007

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www.cs.kent.ac.uk

Computing Education Research: outline & issues

Sally Fincher

CRA-E Summit: Georgia Tech4th January 2007

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Computing Education Research: outline

• Researchers in education departments are not, in general, interested in computing, or to a large extent, the tertiary classroom. They are, in general, interested in children and policy.

• Computing education research starts with, and is promulgated by, practicing computing educators. (Footnote: as curriculum gravity takes effect and Computing becomes a subject to be taught in high schools, this may change).

• Computing education research does not exist in isolation, but in relation to other computing education activities.

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Computing Education activity: i

• Computing Education Research• Purpose is to investigate areas of common

interest/common concern in principled, controlled manner. Not always a single classroom. Methodologically diverse – this is good and bad.

• Guarantees of results and claims.• Emergent, but some community, and some visible

indicators of community: CSE, JERIC; SIGCSE ICER workshops (2005-2010); ASEE REE conference (first this year)

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Computing Education activity: ii

• Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL)• This is a critical and reflective practice, which situates

an individuals’ practice in a wider landscape. Takes the same scholarly approach to teaching as we do in research (after Boyer).

• Situated. Not about generalisability or transferability. Uses results of other research (computing education or otherwise). In its strongest form may lead to claims of “evidence-based practice”.

• Rests on an acute awareness of context - and comparability of context. That there is no single “best” in education.

CRA currently serves

1. Stanford, Georgia Tech: Brilliantly2. M.S. Schools (Clemson, SIU): zero3. 4-year schools: zero4. PhD programs ranked > 100 (U. Mass

Boston): zero to maybe epsilon.5. PhD programs 40-100 (UIC, Iowa

State): poorly (IMHO; others disagree)

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Computing Education activity: ii

• Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL)• This is a critical and reflective practice, which situates an

individuals’ practice in a wider landscape. Takes the same scholarly approach to teaching as we do in research (after Boyer).

• Uses results of other research (computing education or otherwise). In its strongest form may lead to claims of “evidence-based practice”.

• Rests on an acute awareness of context - and comparability of context. That there is no single “best” in education.

• Artefacts are varied (papers, portfolios, bibliographies) purpose and claims are not always obvious (scholarly contribution, evidence for promotion, self-development)

• Relatively individual & individualistic. Little or no community.

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Computing Education activity: iii

• Staff development.• Classroom teachers want to improve their teaching

(and to bemoan lack of learning) and share ideas of what works and what doesn’t.

• No guarantee on claims, purpose is ideas, enthusiasm, evanglism. Caveat emptor.

• Well-served (IEEE ASEE & FiE; SIGCSE Symposium & ITiCSE; CCSC; “teaching tracks” at research conferences)

Computing Education Research

Scholarship of Teaching

and Learning

Exchange of nifty ideas

Computing Education activities

Computing Education Research

Scholarship of Teaching

and Learning

Exchange of nifty ideas

Spectrum of activity

Spectrum of activity: issues

• Rigour: meant to get higher right to left• Audience: gets much less clear right to left• Conflation: from outside, not necessarily obvious which

is which; frequently individuals are active across all areas. A blurring and misapprehension of activities.

Computing Education Research

Scholarship of Teaching

and Learning

Exchange of nifty ideas

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“Engagement without a role makes no sense”

• CRA-e• Needs to consider what sort of Computing Education

activity the “e” represents.• Needs to consider the audience for the “e”.• Should not contribute further to the blur.

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“What sort of Computing Education activity does the “e” represent?

• A group to support the production of high quality Computing Education Research?

• A group to set research questions and a research agenda? (What do you want to know?)

• A group to support the construction of a Computing SoTL community? (Or “How to be effective teaching in a research environment”)

• A group to disseminate & broker the results of Computing Education Research to Computing Educators?

• Education Bootcamp for incoming faculty? (Henry)• A forum for Deans of CS? Meeting place, benchmarking of effort? An

organisation of peer institutions to learn and influence. Snowbird-e? (Rich)

• A group to educate (train, develop) people to be CS researchers? (“hard” & “soft” skills – cf Roberts report) (Michael)

• The group of people “looking over the hill” to see what’s coming over the horizon for next year’s curriculum. (Merrick)

• A group who gets (senior) researchers involved in undergraduate curriculm. (Merrick)

Computing Education Research

• A group to support the production of high quality Computing Education Research?

• A group to set research questions and a research agenda? (What do you want to know?)

• A group to support the construction of a Computing SoTL community? (Or “How to be effective teaching in a research environment”)

• A group to disseminate & broker the results of Computing Education Research to Computing Educators?

• Education Bootcamp for incoming faculty? (Henry)• A forum for Deans of CS? Meeting place, benchmarking of effort? An

organisation of peer institutions to learn and influence. Snowbird-e? (Rich)• A group to educate (train, develop) people to be CS researchers? (“hard” &

“soft” skills – cf Roberts report) (Michael)• The group of people “looking over the hill” to see what’s coming over the

horizon for next year’s curriculum. (Merrick)• A group who gets (senior) researchers involved in undergraduate curriculm.

(Merrick)

Scholarship of Teaching and

Learning

• A group to support the production of high quality Computing Education Research?

• A group to set research questions and a research agenda? (What do you want to know?)

• A group to support the construction of a Computing SoTL community? (Or “How to be effective teaching in a research environment”)

• A group to disseminate & broker the results of Computing Education Research to Computing Educators? (including Eric’s archival concerns)

• Education Bootcamp for incoming faculty? (Henry)• A forum for Deans of CS? Meeting place, benchmarking of effort? An

organisation of peer institutions to learn and influence. Snowbird-e? (Rich)• A group to educate (train, develop) people to be CS researchers? (“hard” &

“soft” skills – cf Roberts report) (Michael)• The group of people “looking over the hill” to see what’s coming over the

horizon for next year’s curriculum. (Merrick)• A group who gets (senior) researchers involved in undergraduate curriculm.

(Merrick)

Scholarship of Teaching and

Learning

• A group to support the production of high quality Computing Education Research?

• A group to set research questions and a research agenda? (What do you want to know?)

• A group to support the construction of a Computing SoTL community? (Or “How to be effective teaching in a research environment”)

• A group to disseminate & broker the results of Computing Education Research to Computing Educators? (including Eric’s archival concerns)

• Education Bootcamp for incoming faculty? (Henry)• A forum for Deans of CS? Meeting place, benchmarking of effort? An

organisation of peer institutions to learn and influence. Snowbird-e? (Rich)• A group to educate (train, develop) people to be CS researchers? (“hard” &

“soft” skills – cf Roberts report) (Michael)• The group of people “looking over the hill” to see what’s coming over the

horizon for next year’s curriculum. (Merrick)• A group who gets (senior) researchers involved in undergraduate curriculm.

(Merrick)

Exchange of nifty ideas

• A group to support the production of high quality Computing Education Research?

• A group to set research questions and a research agenda? (What do you want to know?)

• A group to support the construction of a Computing SoTL community? (Or “How to be effective teaching in a research environment”)

• A group to disseminate & broker the results of Computing Education Research to Computing Educators?

• Education Bootcamp for incoming faculty? (Henry)• A forum for Deans of CS? Meeting place, benchmarking of effort? An

organisation of peer institutions to learn and influence. Snowbird-e? (Rich)• A group to educate (train, develop) people to be CS researchers? (“hard” &

“soft” skills – cf Roberts report) (Michael)• The group of people “looking over the hill” to see what’s coming over the

horizon for next year’s curriculum. (Merrick)• A group who gets (senior) researchers involved in undergraduate curriculm.

(Merrick)

Exchange of nifty ideas

• A group to support the production of high quality Computing Education Research?

• A group to set research questions and a research agenda? (What do you want to know?)

• A group to support the construction of a Computing SoTL community? (Or “How to be effective teaching in a research environment”)

• A group to disseminate & broker the results of Computing Education Research to Computing Educators?

• Education Bootcamp for incoming faculty? (Henry)• A forum for Deans of CS? Meeting place, benchmarking of effort? An

organisation of peer institutions to learn and influence. Snowbird-e? (Rich)• A group to educate (train, develop) people to be CS researchers? (“hard” &

“soft” skills – cf Roberts report) (Michael)• The group of people “looking over the hill” to see what’s coming over the

horizon for next year’s curriculum. (Merrick)• A group who gets (senior) researchers involved in undergraduate curriculm.

(Merrick)

Scholarship of Teaching and

Learning

Computing Education Research

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