Computer Science Learning Environments Research Articles

Implementation of Virtual Training: The Example of a Faculty of Computer Science during COVID-19 for Sustainable Development in Engineering Education

Research on faculty engagement in computer science and e-learning environments is limited. Students in computer science majors and courses often cite the lack of engagement of their faculty as a reason for their decision to switch majors, drop out or perform poorly. With the shift to e-learning associated with the current global pandemic, reports of faculty engagement across countries and higher education systems converged to indicate a reduced level of interactivity. Using a cross-sectional sample of 39 lecturers and professors from a southern public university in Saudi Arabia, this manuscript documents empirically the low levels of computer science faculty engagement during the 2020 spring semester (March–May). The study found support for the hypotheses linking higher levels of empathetic instruction, an exhibition of exemplary performance traits, utilization of community building strategies and use of storytelling and students’ engagement. The study also found that many faculties need immediate and significant training on making their online instruction more interactive and exciting. Theoretically, the evidence presented confirms the importance of faculty engagement as the main predictor of desirable students’ outcomes across e-learning, as well as computer science learning environments.

Engaging Equity Pedagogies in Computer Science Learning Environments.

In this position paper, we advocate for the use of equity-focused teaching and learning as an essential practice within computer science classrooms. We provide an overview of the theoretical underpinnings of various equity pedagogies (Banks & Banks, 1995), such as culturally relevant pedagogy (Ladson-Billings, 1995, 2006) and share how they have been utilized in CS classrooms. First, we provide a brief history of CS education and issues of equity within public schools in the United States. In sharing our definition of equity, along with our rationale for how and why these strategies can be taken up in computer science (CS) learning environments, we demonstrate how researchers and educators can shift the focus from access and achievement to social justice. After explaining the differences between the relevant theoretical frameworks, we provide practical examples from research of how both practitioners and researchers might use and/or examine equity-focused teaching practices. Resources for further learning are also included.

Equitable Learning Environments in K-12 Computing

The current efforts to expand computer science (CS) education in K-12 schools, such as the “CS for All” initiative, highlight the need for all students to get an opportunity to study computing. However, as recent research has shown, diversity in computing at the K-12 level remains problematic, and additional research is needed to look at how computer science learning environments can impact minority student interest and retention in CS. In this article, we report results from an in-depth qualitative study of high school computer science teachers’ perspective on barriers to increasing diversity in their classes. Based on teachers’ experiences, we provide practical recommendations on how to encourage equitable learning environments in K-12 computer science courses.

Ethics, Identity, and Political Vision: Toward a Justice-Centered Approach to Equity in Computer Science Education

In this essay, Sepehr Vakil argues that a more serious engagement with critical traditions in education research is necessary to achieve a justice-centered approach to equity in computer science (CS) education. With CS rapidly emerging as a distinct feature of K–12 public education in the United States, calls to expand CS education are often linked to equity and diversity concerns around expanding access to girls and historically underrepresented students of color. Yet, unlike other critical traditions in education research, equity-oriented CS research has largely failed to interrogate the sociopolitical context of CS education. To move toward a justice-centered approach to equity, Vakil argues, we must simultaneously attend to at least three features of CS education: the content of curriculum, the design of learning environments, and the politics and purposes of CS education reform. While there are many avenues of critical inquiry within and across each of these topics, the focus in this essay is on the role of ethics in the curriculum, the role of identity in CS learning environments, and the significance of a clear political vision for CS education.

Iterative composition, coding and pedagogy: A case study in live coding with EarSketch

Abstract Pervasive definitions of live coding in music focus on the simultaneous modification and execution of code in a live performance setting where a performer shares his screen with the audience. This article considers a role for live coding that does not focus on live performance but rather on educational contexts. After briefly discussing an iterative model for both musical composition and coding and the potential roles of live coding within this model, the article introduces EarSketch, a learning environment for computer science and music technology that enables students to write Python or JavaScript code to algorithmically generate loop-based music within a digital audio workstation (DAW) workflow. It discusses the impact of code execution time on the learning environment, explains the environment’s current support for live coding and discusses the next steps and challenges involved in implementing additional support for live coding in the curriculum and the software environment.

Using Technology in the Computer Science Classroom: Using a Scriptable Game-engine for Teaching Artificial Intelligence

The aim of this paper is to argue and demonstrate the use of a scriptable game-engine as a supportive technology for understanding and implementation in an active learning environment for computer science. It is argued that the use of an active learning environment as a suitable environment for computer science. As a case study, artificial intelligence is used as a representative subfield of computer science and implements an active learning environment with a scriptable game-engine for students. A demonstration is given of the use of a scriptable game-engine to teach intelligent agents using object-oriented programming concepts. The students were interviewed with general and specific open-ended questions in a written interview. Various Likert-type scale questions were also asked to rate their experience. Interpretive content analysis was used to understand their perceptions regarding the instructional design and their learning experience. Grounded in the students’ and the authors’ own learning experience, practical guidelines for the implementation of a scriptable game-engine as a supportive technology in any computer science classroom environment are provided. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n21p359

Teacher responses to student gender differences

The recent uncertainties in computer science (CS) enrollments have prompted computer science educators to seek ways to increase interest in CS, especially among women. Several current approaches to increasing gender balance in CS have been based on pre-college intervention, recruitment, and curriculum change. Less attention has been paid to the ways in which instructors respond differently - even unconsciously - to females and males in computer science learning environments, and whether these differences can affect achievement or interest in CS. Our study looks at early learners (fourth through sixth graders, where gender differences seem first to become more prominent) and their teachersin a summer enrichment program using robotics. We examine the ways teachers interact with groups of girls and of boys and the changes in attitude and achievement shown by the girls and boys during the summer programs. These observations help us understand the extent to which teachers can affect student interest in computing and can prepare us better to address the ways in which we can achieve CS gender balance.

Communication in computer science classrooms: understanding defensive climates as a means of creating supportive behaviors

All learning environments are characterized by numerous communication and interaction practices, which lend themselves to an overall characterization of the climate as defensive or supportive. A case study of public communication and interaction in a large, research-intensive university's first year computer science courses illustrates a learning environment primarily characterized by elements and behaviors associated with a defensive communication climate. Descriptions of classroom interactions and behaviors illustrate what a defensive communication climate “looks like” in terms of behavior, based on extensive observational research. Interview data demonstrates that defensive communication practices can lead to attrition among women in the major and illustrates ways in which the communication climate that characterizes the major is experienced and interpreted by women in the courses. This data also links defensive communication behaviors with lower confidence among women toward their major --- results consistent with previous studies of the causes of attrition among women in other Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines. Classroom experiences and behaviors that reflect a more supportive communication climate will be discussed within the context of practices and interactions that professors can engage in to ensure that their courses lean toward a supportive rather than a defensive environment as a way of making computer science learning environments more inclusive.