CS Education Research Increasingly Important Lynda Thomas Senior Teaching Fellow Aberystwyth University

Why is it important? The future needs more qualified people Numbers of students have slumped, although they are rising again We need ways of helping a wider range of students Gender issues

What is it? ?? CS Ed ?? Research CS Teaching Education Research Math and Physics Education Research Qualitative and Quantitative techniques CS Ed Research Fairly New Field

What kind of Papers get published? Experience Reports describe an idea, course or classroom experience that worked well and is now recommended to others. Tool papers present courseware or a concrete process that has been developed and is now ready for wider use. Philosophical papers present an argument for a direction or idea to be considered in the curriculum, a particular course, or the overall field. Research Studies report on a study grounded in theory, and using appropriate methodology (e.g., case study, qualitative methods, quasi-experimental, experimental) to support the investigation and stated results.

Where are they published? ACM Special Interest Group – SIGCSESIGCSE – SIGCSE Conference in 2010 in Milwaukee, WI USA SIGCSE Conference – ITiCSE Conference in 2010 in Turkey ITiCSE Conference – ICER Conference in 2009 in Berkeley ICER Conference – ACM Trans. on Computing Education online Journal ACM Trans. on Computing Education Computer Science Education Journal Computer Science Education

What are big issues? Dealing with Widening Participation How do we help students learn who are not ‘classic’ University material. Teaching Teaching and Understanding Understanding – Factors that predict success in CS – Organising Concepts to help students learn – Gender and CS – Using Technology – E-learning – Visualisation – ……

What am I currently working on? Design: – Can students do it when they leave? – Does reflecting on other people’s designs help you? (peer assessment) Informal Learning: – What do students learn independently? – How do they do it? – How does that compare to formal learning? – What can we take from that?

Thank You