Computer science education in small colleges

The ACM Subcommittee on Small College Programs of the Committee on Curriculum in Computer Science (C 3 S) was appointed in 1969 to consider the unique problems of small colleges and universities, and to make recommendations regarding computer science programs at such schools. This report, authorized by both the subcommittee and C 3 S, supplies a set of recommendations for courses and necessary resources. Implementation problems are discussed, specifically within the constraints of limited faculty and for the purposes of satisfying a wide variety of objectives. Detailed descriptions of four courses are given; suggestions are made for more advanced work; and an extensive library list is included.

Introduction The computing sciences are complex fields that combine both theoretical and practical components. Students successfully completing an undergraduate computer science program should have instruction in both the mathematical and theoretical foundations of computing as well as the more practical aspects of how to effectively use computers to solve problems. Software engineering, as its name implies, is more directed toward the practical aspects of how to successfully develop complex systems that meet user requirements and are reliable, usable, and maintainable. Computing Curricula 2005 recognizes the need for more extensive education to produce professional engineers than what can be reasonably provided in a typical computer science program (ACM, 2005). As such, they propose engineering be treated as a totally separate discipline within computer science education. However, while there has been some debate about the exact role engineering should have in a computer science program (Curran, 2003), the ACM Curricula has maintained the importance of engineering to all computer science students and has kept it as a core element in computer science education (ACM, 2008). For purposes of this paper, we will focus on the teaching of engineering within the computer science discipline. Unlike other topics in the computer science major, the techniques and principles taught in engineering are often first developed and refined in industry before arriving in the classroom. As commercial development techniques and tools evolve, so pedagogical methodologies change. Computer science educators have taken different approaches to teaching engineering over the years, both as a result of changing methodologies as well as individual beliefs about what teaching methods work best in a particular academic environment. This paper is a case study in applying current productivity tools (specifically Redmine) in a engineering course at our institution. The objectives of the study are to investigate how to integrate the tools into the existing structure and evaluate their impact. We describe our experience in recently changing our approach to teaching engineering to be more aligned with current tools and how to effectively use them in an academic environment. The paper begins with an overview of engineering teaching methods, then describes our traditional approach and motivation for changing, how the new approach was integrated into the course, our experience with the change, and, finally, our plans for the future Software Engineering Education Background Software Engineering is defined as the application of a systematic, disciplined, quantifiable approach to the development, operation and maintenance of software (Petkovic, Thompson, & Todtenhoefer, 2006, p. 294). The need to teach engineering in colleges has been identified for decades. Stiller & LeBlanc (2002) point out as far back as the early 1990's, ACM Computing Curricula suggested that the at least one engineering course should be required in accredited computer science programs. They point out that the number of large projects in industry demand this and suggest that the proof of the success of these accredited computer science programs should be seen in the reduction of failure in the design and operation of large computer programs. Software engineering programs can be thought of as a replacement for the old apprenticeship programs which taught the trades to workman (Stroulia, Bauer, Craig, Reid, & Wilson, 2011). The issue, however, is how to bring this effect into the classroom. Many educators feel that current practices of teaching engineering are not adequately preparing students for the real world of development. Nurkkala & Brandle (2011) summarize the problems with current teaching approaches: * No product--students are creating projects, not commercial grade products * Short duration--single semester, or two-semester, courses impose an artificial time constraint * High turnover--new students each semester means the talent pool remains shallow and student skills are not developing based on previous experience * Low complexity--by necessity given time constraints and skill sets * No maintenance--as a result of short duration, students do not experience a key aspect of development, the maintenance phase * No customer--most engineering projects do not interface with a real customer To address these shortcomings, different approaches to teaching engineering have emerged and been proposed in the literature. …

In today's technological market, job candidates must possess technical and communication skills to acquire a desired position. Computer science programs, for the most part, provide the technological training, but are inconsistent in teaching students all the necessary communication skills. In many computer science curricula faculty members realizing the importance of improving writing ability have incorporated writing intensive courses. However, many computer science curricula neglect oral communication, largely because of the amount of class time needed to make presentations. Several gaps exist between computer science curricula and business world reality. Computer science curricula must teach students to listen and express themselves clearly, since getting the maximum utilization of an information resource requires contact with the user community. This is not to say that educators have ignored industry requests. The emerging trend in computer science curricula is to stress written and oral communication skills. This article discusses the importance of incorporating speaking intensive courses into computer science programs. In addition, this article reviews two courses that have included speeches and presentations. Finally it presents a new way to grade oral communication.

the University of Amsterdam, May 20-31, 1974.This Tract collects the lecture notes of five of the courses given.The sixth course, given by Dr. R. Kowalski on Predicate Logic as a Programming Language in Artificial Intelligence, is scheduled to appear elsewhere.We are very grateful to the Netherlands Organization for the Advancement of Pure Research (Z.W.O.)

Computer science is a higher education domain that still show a significant male dominance. Many research studies have highlighted the importance of diversity and gender balance in computer science related areas such as software engineering and system development. However, there is still a well-identified problem that university programmes and courses on computer science fail to attract the female audience. The objective of this study is to investigate the concept of gender-inclusive computer science (CS) education with the aim of broadening participation in CS courses and programs. This is conducted through a literature study, initially focusing on keywords and research areas, and subsequently searching into existing research. The research question that guided the study was: "What concepts can be found in literature to make computer science education more gender-inclusive?". Data were analysed thematically in a two-step analysis process inspired by the grounded theory methods of Open coding and Axial coding. Findings suggest that there is significant room for learning in this field, particularly from Critical CS education studies. The Open coding analysis showed that the findings can be categorised into eight main themes. In the Axial coding the themes were merged, refined, renamed, and centred around the main axial theme of 'Epistemological pluralism'. Other essential themes that all are related to the axial main theme were: 'Design and creativity', 'Bias awareness and ethics', 'Collaboration and communication', 'Self-regulated learning', 'Real-world applications', and 'Role models and mentorship'. The result of this study is presented through a visual model that illustrates essential aspects of inclusive computer science education. The paper also proposes various directions for future research.

Just as yeast, flour, water, and salt are to bread, algorithms, data structures, operating systems, database design, compiler design, and programming languages were computer science (CS) education's core ingredients in past years. Then, universities led the computer technology revolution by producing the inventors for Yahoo, Google, Facebook, and others. The overarching question that we pose in this roundtable is: Is university computer science education leading technology forward or are commercial technology demands leaving university computer science programs "in the dust"?

This white paper argues that formal methods need to be better rooted in higher education curricula for computer science and software engineering programmes of study. To this end, it advocates improved teaching of formal methods; systematic highlighting of formal methods within existing, ‘classical’ computer science courses; and the inclusion of a compulsory formal methods course in computer science and software engineering curricula. These recommendations are based on the observations that formal methods are an essential and cost-effective means to increase software quality; however computer science and software engineering programmes typically fail to provide adequate training in formal methods; and thus there is a lack of computer science graduates who are qualified to apply formal methods in industry. This white paper is the result of a collective effort by authors and participants of the 1st International Workshop on Formal Methods – Fun for Everybody which was held in Bergen, Norway, 2–3 December 2019. As such, it represents insights based on learning and teaching computer science and software engineering (with or without formal methods) at various universities across Europe.

The Computing Curricula 2001 (CC 2001) computer science volume [1] is the first professional society curriculum model for computer science to include elements of discrete mathematics as part of the core of computer science. In the roughly eight years between the release of that curriculum and SIGCSE 2010, computer science education in general has evolved in many ways, and the CC 2001 recommendations have played an influential role in that evolution. This panel reviews developments in integrating discrete mathematics into the computer science curriculum since CC 2001, how those developments have been influenced by the centrality of discrete math in the CC 2001 core, and how the role of math in computer science curricula may continue to develop in the future. The panel will address both the influence CC 2001’s discrete math recommendation has had on curricular changes to computer science courses, and what changes have taken place in the discrete math courses themselves. The panel format will consist of… ˜ A 5 minute introduction by the moderator ˜ 10 minute presentations by each panelist, each describing a specific development with which that panelist has been involved, discussing its relationship to CC 2001, and outlining what it bodes for the future ˜ 30 minutes for discussion between the audience and panel. Suggested topics for discussion include (in addition, of course, to anything that the audience wishes to introduce) the role of mathematics in computer science, whether math’s actual place in computer science curricula has changed since the publication of CC 2001, and if so how. A questionnaire handed out to audience members as they enter the panel session will help them start thinking about these issues.

Given the simple fact that mathematics forms the foundation of computing, mathematics must play a meaningful role in the computer science program. This meaningful role, however, must be substantially less, in content, than a second major. We must avoid the extreme of little or no mathematics in the curriculum. We must, at the same time, avoid the excess of too much mathematics. The need for restraint becomes most obvious when we recognize that the ideal liberal arts program should be approximately one-third for a major, one-third for a broad “liberal arts” component, and one-third for free electives. A curriculum including all of the mathematics suggested in “Curriculum-68”, all of the computer science now needed by an individual wishing to devote his or her post-baccalaureate life to computing, and a minimal number of necessary cognates from other disciplines, would strain the traditional concept of the conventional four-year liberal arts degree. Thus, the only alternatives to moderation in the mathematics component are moderation in the major itself (unthinkable), extension of the curriculum to five or more years, and/or conversion of the curriculum to a professional degree, i.e., an engineering degree.

The poster describes our project of integrating mobile computing and security into the Computer Science program at North Carolina A&T State University. Twelve (12) course modules in mobile computing and security are being developed and integrated into existing Computer Science courses such as computer programming, software development, operating systems, and information assurance courses. Each course module includes learning objectives, a tutorial, presentation slides, hands-on labs and/or case studies, test questions, etc. The course module material we develop and our teaching experiences will be beneficial to computer science educators who are considering including mobile computing and mobile security into their curricula.

Little is known about how K-12 Computer Science (CS) teachers use technology and problem-based learning (PBL) to teach CS content in the context of CS Principles curricula. Significantly, little qualitative research has been conducted in these areas in computer science education, so we lack an in-depth understanding of the complicated realities of CS teachers' experiences. This paper describes the practices and experiences of six teachers' use of technology that was implemented to support PBL in the context of a dual enrollment CS Principles course.

This panel will discuss the various programs of the National Science Foundation dealing with Computer Science Education and Research. These include programs on basic research in computer science, research in computer science education and various programs designed to increase the quality of science education, especially where computers can plan a significant role in the educational process.

The organization of computer science education as an interdisciplinary program is described. First, various possible relationships among disciplines are traced, and the features of interdisciplinarity are explained. Next, a specific interdisciplinary program in computer science is introduced, including experiences with the administration and operation of the program. An appraisal of the interdisciplinary approach to computer science education follows. The advantages are significant: a lower cost program, a more adaptive program, and one that is better able to treat the interfaces of computer science with other areas. Such a favorable report suggests that the interdisciplinary approach merits consideration, especially by colleges which want to offer a computer science degree but have limited funds.

Three key forces are shaping the modern Computer Science (CS) curriculum: (1) new topics/courses are squeezing out existing ones; (2) a focus on "big picture" and interdisciplinary aspects of CS is leading to curricula in which the traditional core courses + electives model is being superseded by a more flexible approach based on tracks/threads; and (3) project-based courses are increasingly relying on a notion of just-in-time teaching in which particular skills are not bundled into a particular course, but are covered at a point when they are needed for particular project work. The undergraduate programming language curriculum is feeling the pressure of these forces. Core courses on programming languages and compilers are being changed to electives, relegated to a software/systems track, or phased out altogether. Particular programming languages and programming language concepts are being taught in a more piecemeal fashion on an as-needed basis. Unfortunately, these changes make it increasingly likely that CS majors can graduate without being exposed to certain "big ideas" of programming languages. Programming languages (along with many other subdisciplines of CS) contains ideas that every well-educated computer scientist needs to know and which are relevant to a wide variety of projects/careers. In a CS curriculum based on tracks and projects, how can we ensure that vital intellectual components are not lost in the shuffle? One way to think about this problem is to view the CS curriculum as a collection of aspects that can be combined in different arrangements to produce various projects/courses. In this paper, we consider the benefits and challenges of an aspect-oriented view of the CS curriculum, particularly in regard to programming language concepts.

Aim/Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify how Advanced level Mathematics and Mathematics course units offered at university level do impact on the academic performance of theoretical Computer Science course units. Background: In Sri Lankan state universities, students have been enrolled only from the Physical Science stream to do a degree program in Computer Science. In addition to that, universities have been offering some course units in Mathematics to provide the required mathematical maturity to Computer Science undergraduates. Despite of this it is observed that the failure rates in fundamental theoretical Computer Science course units are much higher than other course units offered in the general degree program every year. Methodology : Academic records comprised of all 459 undergraduates from three consecutive batches admitted to the degree program in Computer Science from a university were considered for this study. Contribution: This study helps academics in identifying suitable curricula for Mathematics course units to improve students’ performance in theoretical Computer Science courses. Findings: Advanced level Mathematics does not have any significant effect on the academic performance of theoretical Computer Science course units. Even though all Mathematics course units offered were significantly correlated with academic performance of every theoretical Computer Science course unit, only the Discrete Mathematics course unit highly impacted on the academic performance of all three theoretical Computer Science course units. Further this study indicates that the academic performance of female undergraduates is better than males in all theoretical Computer Science and Mathematics course units. Future Research: Identifying other critical success factors contributing to the students’ academic performance of the theoretical Computer Science through empirical studies